Got a Question About My Services or Process?
Check out the frequently asked questions below. If you have a question that I haven’t covered, please feel free to get in touch.
Why should I choose you for my project?
Here are a few reasons why I might be the right developer for you...
- I am an experienced web consultant with over 9 years in the industry as both a project manager and a developer.
- Building sites from scratch I have development and design skills, which means I understand the creative process and terminology required to implement a pixel perfect design.
- I am a freelance developer which means I understand what's required to run a business and I know how important it is to provide a quality service for a good price
- I work within your deadlines and communicate with you throughout the process so that I can provide you with an exceptional experience, ensuring you have regular updates.
- I can provide training and support long after the project has finished so you aren’t left hanging. Check out my website support plans for more info.
Which technologies and software do you specialise in?
I work with HTML5 (obvs), CSS3 (SASS & Compass), Javascript and jQuery, PHP and MySQL. I develop using Sublime Text as the editor, CodeBox for snippets and CodeKit to manage the pre-processing. All backups and files are stored on Adobe Creative Cloud. I'm very proficient in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, and use a Wacom Intuos 4 for design work. I specialise in self-hosted WordPress websites, always beginning with a personal fork of Eddie Machado's Bones as a framework. For online shops I work with WooCommerce, an e-commerce solution for WordPress.
How long does it take to build a website?
That entirely depends on the size of the project. With a good design to begin with on a small site, it could be 5 days. Larger more complex sites have taken 6-8 weeks, which includes the time it takes to receive feedback from the client, revisions, go-live and project handover. Length of time given to training is dependent on the existing skillset of the user.
How much does it cost?
Website development starts at a minimum of £350 but it really is a piece of string. Something seemingly simple such as adding a blog involves adding 3 pages - index, search results and a single blog page. As an experienced developer though, I'm able to draw on past projects to complete most tasks a lot faster than someone just starting out. Each quote is tailored to your specific project requirements and goals. As a rough guide though, most small business websites with a blog or portfolio are likely to cost less than £650.
Please contact me for a quote.
What are your payment terms?
A 50% deposit is required prior to the commencement of the project in order to secure your spot in my schedule (Note: for work below £450 full payment is required upfront).
The final amount is due upon completion of the website development. If you are hosting elsewhere, then payment for domain and hosting account is necessary prior to the site go-live.
If the project runs longer than 8 weeks, then a payment installment of 40% will be issued, with the remaining 10% due upon project completion.
If you're an agency, all invoices will be issued to you and not your client, so you are responsible for payment. It is unreasonable to ask your developer to wait until your client has paid you before you pay them, especially if the project has been delayed because we are waiting on the client. To avoid this situation, I suggest requesting a 50% deposit from your client upfront for the entire project cost and then another 30% installment upon design approval to ensure that you have the necessary funds in advance to pay your developer.
Payments can be made via bank transfer (details will be provided).
Can we meet in person?
Yes, of course!
Can you help me figure out what needs to be included in my website?
Yes! Before I can give a quote we'll need to go through your ideas and plans for the site and decide on features and functionality that are either essential or nice-to-have. I'm happy to provide an hour free of charge to help us both get an idea of where we're heading and whether the project suits us both.
Where are you?
We live and work on a 36" Westerly Conway yacht called Milos which, at the moment, is floating in the river Medina in Cowes on the Isle of Wight - at the very south of the UK, in the middle right here.
The thing about website work is that it can be done remotely, so if you don't mind using a telephone, email, or even Skype, the location shouldn't make a big difference. I've even worked on a project 12,000 miles away in Bali - I heart 6.30am Skype calls.
Will I be able to make content changes on my own?
Yes! You'll be provided with logins to the WordPress website and any relevant custom training videos/guides will be supplied so that your client can easily update their own website. With responsive websites, more advanced layout changes on pages are likely to need an experienced developer to make sure it still looks great across all screen sizes.
I also would encourage you to take a look at my website support plans.
What happens if I or my client needs changes made in the future?
Websites aren’t finished as soon as the site goes live, it's generally an ongoing process. In the month after go-live I'm happy to make small changes to the site where you feel something isn't quite working as it should. I'm also here to help you and provide ongoing support long after the project is finished. A telephone call is free because it's nice to chat. Other advice, updates and support can be purchased in 2 hour blocks for smaller tasks, or can be custom-quoted for larger updates.
It is important to keep the website up-to-date and secure so I encourage you to sign up to one of the website support plans to ensure the site continues to run smoothly.
Can you make some changes to an existing website that you didn't develop? Or make some changes to a theme I picked?
Short answer: No.
I'd prefer not to work on existing websites or themes to do tweaks. Every web developer has a different way of coding and it’s also difficult to determine how much to quote for a job when you are unfamiliar with the code. What you thought was a 2 minute job can turn into a day of frustration due to the site being poorly written.
Developing your own website template is a creative process in itself and it’s just not as rewarding working on someone else’s stuff - it's like painting your own picture compared with tweaking someone else's.
Having said that, I do make exceptions so please contact me for a chat.
I really only offer design services. After I've completed the design can I just send the client to you?
Please send your client to this form to get the process started.
I can manage the project from here, so all communication and invoicing will be sent directly to the client.
Do you offer hosting?
No. To do hosting properly requires a lot of skill, expertise and investment. Economies of scale apply when it comes to storing and backing up multiple sites, server management, appropriate disaster recovery if a meteor hits the site, etc. It really is best left to professionals. It also doesn't pay or make a lot of sense to be the middle-man, relaying messages between client and the host.
I do whole-heartedly recommend a hosting service - TSOHost - definitely no affiliations. They host most of my customers' websites, and my own. The customer service team there are excellent and resolve most issues within 20 minutes of logging the call.
I'm here to provide advice on the best plan and once the account has been created I'll set up all the hosting for your site. It's also best to contact me (free of charge) for a sense-check on a problem before raising a ticket with the hosts but a good host will have such a bulletproof set-up that you'll rarely need to contact them.
You can of course bring your own hosting, provided it meets the minimum requirements for running WordPress. Please refrain from using cheap hosting providers such as GoDaddy, and Windows hosting (Plesk) which struggles to run Wordpress properly.
Are you hiring?
I don't work like that. If I know you're competent, and personable, I'll gladly put your name forward for projects or let you know if there's work available. You'd be working directly for the client, not subcontracted through me - here be dragons!
That all sounds great! How do we get started?
Excellent! I can’t wait to hear more about you. Head over to the contact page to get the process started, or better still, just give me a call and we can meet for a coffee.
If you use the contact form I'll get back to you within 24hours.