Does my company/organisation even need a website?

This recent viral picture should sum up the state of play with regards to how customers shop around these days.

Why do we even need a website?

We already have a website - why will the site you build be better?

The sites we build use modern technologies, those sometimes given the label “Web 2.0″.  Without going into too much technical detail, this broadly means that the sites we build are interactive, user-friendly experiences, specifically designed to give people a great first impression of your business so that they are encouraged to become customers.

Our sites are built and tested using all recent versions of all popular browsers.  Our aim is that our sites are equally accessible no matter the user nor the technology being used to access them.  This of course encompasses the increasingly popular mobile smartphone market.  

What is my website going to cost?

Obviously this is going to depend on what you want.  Just the same as if you had a builder do some extensions to your house, some jobs are smaller and simpler while some jobs are larger or more complicated.  Having said that, our rates are extremely competitive.  We’d love to talk to you about what you have in mind, and it doesn’t matter if you’re just throwing around ideas…it won’t cost you a cent to have a brainstorming session about what might be.

What's next? How does the whole process work?

The first step is for us to meet with you to discuss what you have in mind, and broadly talk about the overall requirements of the website.  Following this, Ninth Mosaic Media will formulate a detailed quote from that initial meeting.

In the quote, it will state:

  • the features of the site (e.g. search bars, event calendars, shopping carts/online stores, blogs, newsletter subscriptions, image galleries, social media widgets, administration console, the list is endless….)
  • the site navigation (menus/subpages etc),
  • any parts we will need from you (usually just the actual words you want on various pages, e.g. the description of your company etc, as well as any logos, images and photos you want to appear),
  • any other design ideas you want integrated into the final site, and
  • the detailed cost of the work, including website hosting and support, as well as an estimated delivery date.

If you’re happy with the quote, we’ll do a draft version which will demonstrate the look and feel of the site, which is traditionally the bit that is difficult to describe in a quote, followed by the main site build.

Will you provide support for my site once it's live?

Yes.  The first year’s support is included in the cost of your website.  After the first year, if you choose to continue to receive support from Ninth Mosaic Media, this is usually charged at 10% of your original site cost.  We’ll make sure your site is running smoothly and perform routine maintenance tasks.  We’ll even check your statistics and notify you on where your users are located, how they found your site, what they’re clicking on and more.

What is a domain name? Can you help us with all this?

Every website has a unique number (an IP address) which identifies it amongst the many millions of websites on the internet.  A domain name is simply a human-friendly version of this identification, so that people don’t have to remember long strings of numbers.

You register a domain name so that you have the right to use it as the address of your website.  You pay to reserve this right for a year or more, and then renew it before it expires.  If you don’t already have a domain name, we’ll arrange to get your chosen name for you (assuming that it is still available).  This is an extra cost, although most domain name registrations are very cheap – many are less than a hundred dollars.

What is hosting? Is this included?

When we’ve finished making your website, we need to put it somewhere so that folks out on the internet can see it.  This is where hosting comes in.  We put the content of your website – the photos, text, videos, databases and the actual computer program that runs it all – onto a computer somewhere that will sit and wait for people to go to your website.

The cost for hosting will be included in the itemised quote we give you.  We will manage all aspects of getting your site out into the “live” environment of the internet.