How do you get your brilliant idea out there online for all to see?
First you need a domain name. And some hosting space.
I can set this all up for you: I offer two types of hosting- one for static pages and another for the more complicated sites that require Databases and dynamic content.
Then we're away- I'll listen to you, note your design ideas, what you want your site to achieve, who your target audience is etc. Do you want bells and whistles and animation and squiggly writing? Or a straight-forward HTML site that says it like it is? Once we've established that, I'll come up with a first draft, which I'll publish on my servers for you, and only you, to see.
Once we've wiggled and jiggled things about and you're totally happy then I'll publish your site in cyberspace and you're up there with the big boys.
It's as simple as that.
Search Engine Optimisation- This is important!
I'd love to be able to type 'Web Design, London' into Google and for this company to come at the top of the list- but there 53, 2000, 000 I have to share the stage with. I do come pretty high up the ranking for 'Female Web Designer, London', though.
Your site is online but it's like building a lovely shop in the biggest field you can imagine. Unless your customer has directions they're unlikely to just wander across it. SEO is an incredibly complicated subject and many big companies employ people to work solely on improving their websites chances of being found.
Don't assume that your site will suddenly be top-ranking in Google.
But I always build my websites with organic SEO in mind and use best practices within my designs. I can advise you on your key-words and meta tags and do all I can to optimise your chances. You may even be prepared to pay Google to improve rankings. We can discuss your best options.
Read all about SEO on Wikipedia.
Do you think you might want to edit and add content to your site? An out of date site as worse than none at all and its important that your copy is current. I have a simple CMS system which means you can keep your site up to date as simply as filling out a form.
Still with me?
You may have seen a site you really like & imagine your own along the same lines. It’s always useful to me to have a sample of pages that you like & maybe some you don't! There are so many different types of computers & monitors (PC, Mac, Blackberry) & so many different types of browser (Firefox, Internet Explorer, Chrome etc.,) This means that your site won’t always look the same on every machine, so I can help you with this. There are certain fonts & colours which aren’t ‘web-friendly’- so let me help you to optimise your designs so that your website looks great to everyone.
Oh, and, most importantly. make sure you have the copyright for any files you use: logos, graphics, mp3s etc.