FAQs

How are your prices so much lower than those of other Web Design companies?

There are two major reasons why our prices are lower than the vast majority of web design companies:

1. We exist specifically to cater for small businesses and charities that can't generally afford the ridiculously high prices charged by our competitors.
2. We have very few overheads which means that we are not passing on the costs of premises and support staff when we create your website.
3. We estimate how much time that a project will take, and charge based on the amount of time we think it will take.

How many pages do I get?

Unlike many website companies we don't charge by the page, as a general rule.

When paying by the page, clients tend to squeeze as much information onto each page as possible, rather than pay for a new page. This results in really long and overloaded pages which are both hard to read and to navigate.

Believe it or not, once we've made one page, making new pages is relatively simple. So, we let the content fill as many pages as it needs to fill.

So instead of limiting how many pages you can have, we charge based on how much time we think the project will take.

How much is a One Page Site?

Most companies offer a one page site so that they can say that they sell websites for far less than their rivals. The fact is that most people will soon realise that the information they wish to display won't realistically fit onto a single page.

This is why we don't offer single page sites unless specifically requested. See also: How many pages do I get?

When do I pay?

We are now asking for a small non-refundable deposit when we start work on the project - This is usually about 10% of the total cost of the project. This is to cover the cost of any stock photography required for the designs.

We ask for the second payment when we have both agreed on the final design of the site. This is usually for around 40% of the total. This also covers the cost of aquiring the domain name(s), database(s) and hosting .

The third and final payment is payable when the site is ready to go live. The outstanding amount is usually around 50%.

After the payment is recieved, further minor changes can be made for another month. We recommend that our clients check thoroughly for mistakes during this time.

How long will it take?

An average site takes somewhere between 5-6 weeks to complete but, as you might expect, this depends on a number of factors including:

1. The complexity of the project.
2. The speed at which you can get us feedback about the designs, page text and images.
3. The number of other active projects (this is usually 3-4 at any one time)

How much experience do you have?

Doive Designs started back in 2005, following the graduation from the University of Glamorgan of our web developer, Dave Burton, where he studied "Internet Computing" and attained a 2:1. In the 5 years since graduating Dave has designed sites for many charities, churches and small businesses (a selection of which can be seen on our Portfolio.

What kinds of websites do you have experience of?

We have designed a wide range of websites including websites for churches, non-profit organisations, retail outlets, bands, gigs, production companies, videographers, special events, music teachers, job agencies and financial services. To name but a few.

Can you show me samples of your previous work?

Examples of our work can be seen in the 'Portfolio' section.

Who owns the code and designs?

Once you have paid us, you own the designs and can use them in any way you please.

The coding of the site is yours to do what you like with, apart from using it on another website. You can edit it, add to it, remove it or even get another developer to do work on it. However, you can not sell on our content management system to other clients claiming it to be your own unless excessive changes have been made to the code. This of course, excludes sites which use open source content management systems like Joomla, Wordpress or similar.

You are under no obligation to use any of our services beyond the set up and payment for the site, unless a regular maintenance arrangement contract has been agreed.

What browsers will your site be tested on?

Most internet users use a version of either Firefox or Internet Explorer. But in addition to these two browsers, there are lots of smaller browsers that many visitors will utilize (even if they're a relatively small percentage). In addition to Firefox and IE, we test all our designs work in the latest versions of Apple Safari and Google Chrome. We also test that the site works well on an Apple Mac as well as a PC.

What unplanned expenses might I incur during the building process?

This depends on what is initially agreed between yourselves and us during the initial meeting. It is unlikely that any extra expenses will arise, but extra expenses could arise if:

1. The scope of the site changes drastically from that originally agreed.
2. The site requires vast amounts of stock photos
3. The quote was made more than 6 months before the start of the project
4. Payments of any invoice is delayed by more than 14 working days without realistic reasons given and/or bank charges are incurred as a result of late payment.
5. The project is taking excessively longer than expected due to delays made by the client.

What will I have to provide, and can you provide it?

In general, you as the client will need to provide all text, images, etc., for the site. If this is difficult for you, we offer writing, editing and stock photo purchasing services fpr an additional fee.

Will you be required to use us for maintenance and/or hosting?

No, its totally up to you. As a part of our set up packages we include relevant hosting in the price but this is on an opt in basis and even if you do decide to host the site with us, you are under no obligation to do so in future years. In fact, we will provide you with a copy of all the files and aid in the transfer of the domain name.

Does you have experience with marketable websites?

It takes about five minutes of surfing a "cool" flash website before you want to scream with frustration. How do you find the company's contact information when every "menu option" is a different sparkly jewel? Sure, they look great. But "cool" websites aren't generally the most effective at bringing in traffic and creating revenue. It's easy to fall for the flashy fun of showy, modern websites.

We only provide sites that can be easily navigated and that are accessible to everyone, no matter what the users abilities may be. Meeting as many of the core accessibility guidelines as possible.

Can you provide me with detailed site statistics?

We like to know how our sites are doing, so as standard we install the Google Analytics software into the sites so we can see how they are performing and how they can be used better. If you have a Google account, we can give you direct access to this data for free. Or we can supply you with regular reports and statistics on request for a small fee.