Q) My key question, specifically how does bespoke and non-bespoke designs differ?
As this is your key question I will answer this first – as it may help understanding in other areas. By definition bespoke is “made to order”, “custom built”, “built to specifications”. This can be confusing as it appears to imply that any non bespoke package offered is the opposite- i.e. not built to spec, however this is not the case.
When we use the term bespoke it is used in the context as any additional functionality added to the website, that we do not already include within a package.
Q) Do people use templates or are the designs 100% custom or customised templates.
How do your designs/service differ from others?
We build all our websites from scratch and do not use templates. A lot of web companies provide a library of templates to choose from and some choose from such a library and don’t mention it. This probably is a good way for them to cut the costs and doesn’t mean that your website won’t work, however the question to ask yourself is whether you’d be happy having a website that looks just the same as so many others. Perhaps not the best marketing approach. So your son has raised an important point.
Q) So I can compare prices accurately please give me an idea of what other people might hide as extras within their prices or where cheaper quotes might cut corners. The website will be very important to us and we need to get it right first time.
There are thousands of web companies to choose from and how they market their websites will vary to a large extent. An example of cutting corners is the use of templates, however there are countless others from the hosting they use, to not using images that they have the rights to, from outsourcing the development to incompetent developers to misleading you to purchase a product that you don’t require….and it goes on and it doesn’t necessarily mean that if you pay more for a website – that the company you are using isn’t still cutting corners.
I’d argue that the most important question in your selection process will be – “who can I trust to build a website to fit my requirements?”.
Q) What is the order process and how long will each process take until completion?
On agreeing to a specification and price we normally split each website into 3 sections:
Design: Here a design is constructed for you and agreed on before progressing to the next stage.
Build: Here the design is turned from a static picture into a working website.
Go Live: Here the built website is uploaded onto a web server and your website is accessible for everyone to see.
Time for each stage can vary depending on several factors:
a) The website specification.
b) The time it takes for a client to respond on queries.
c) Developer availability.
A more accurate ETA can be provided at the time of agreeing to a specification.
Q) We have a logo and can provide 2 or 3 images, will this be enough? How do you compose the text for the site or do we have to write it?
As important as the website design is the content of a website. Not only does it provide a better purpose for people looking at your site, but good content helps in gaining a good place in search engines. The amount of content you have available will also govern your page requirement. If it was only a few paragraphs available then you’d be better advised to start with a smaller amount of pages. The way a website is designed will need to take into account the amount of text or pictures you wish to display. A few marketing companies will write the text for you, although they normally come from a “Marketing” background rather than a web design and development one, and this could mean perfectly phrased text on a not so great website.
That said we do have our own marketing specialists in house – for a chargeable extra we could help you out on the text if required. Generally companies have brochures or previous marketing campaigns etc that they use.
Q) Please advise on what our specific requirements might be, what does your price include which others might not? I am thinking of an 6 or so page website providing details about our business and the service we offer plus a contact page?
As afore mentioned – it would not be in your best interests for anyone to guess at your requirements, as a few more questions would need to be asked to better define your specification – otherwise you will not be getting a like for like comparison. So I suggest perhaps if you would like to call us we can discuss further.
You mention that you just want to know how much it will cost to be up and running and any annual/ongoing fees thereafter. I’ll make several assumptions to help regarding budgeting, although definitely recommend a chat, because your real requirements may turn out to be a 3 page website!
I return to the most important question – can you trust us to deliver?
We have designed websites for multinational companies who we are proud to retain as our customers.
All our developments we are creating in-house by our own competent UK based development team.
Webcouk is part of JPC Infonet Ltd – which means we can securely host all websites we create in our own secure hosting centres – with residual connectivity ensuring your website will be accessible and in safe hands.
