Below are some of the more commonly asked questions relating to our web design and related services.
WordPress is the most used web design platform in the world. There are many advantages of WordPress but, to keep the explanation simple, it is completely customisable for web developers and has no ongoing fees for the customer. It also has a massive library of plugins that are designed to quickly and easily provide extra functionality.
A web developer spends their entire career building websites. They can make the website look nice but also understand the finer workings of website speed, useability and search engine optimisation. Graphic designers are experts at designing things to look nice but generally lack the technical expertise to make your website really perform.
The answer to this question varies depending on the scale of the website and whether it requires additional functionality or features. Online shopping / e-commerce websites tend to cost slightly more because they require the integration things like payment facilities and, in some instances, complex shipping rules.
Generally not. We have created thousands of websites and in most instances we have not met the customer face to face. Where necessary we can meet in person, or can do a phone call / zoom chat. Email is great for website projects because everything can be referred back to at a later date.
There are many shady SEO operators out there that will make empty guarantees that they will get you to the top of Google. Generally they will ask for a bulk payment up front. There is no way to guarantee position 1 as there is too much competition in Google. We don’t make fake promises at Align Media, instead we build your website to meet all of Google’s criteria to best position it to achieve great rankings in the future. Page 1 rankings take alot of ongoing work and commitment, which can become quite expensive over time. We recommend a balance of unpaid rankings in combination with paid Google Ads as this results in a more measured approach.
Generally this question relates to the customer’s available budget. The answer is yes, we can make you a basic website. You must be aware that a basic website is unlikely to get much traction in Google. If you are just chasing an online presence to make your company look more professional, and are not worried about generating new leads via Google search, then a basic website may be suitable.
Yes. All websites are built as mobile responsive. Any reputable web developer will be building your website as mobile responsive these days. Some website builders are more capable than others at adapting the website’s layout to suit different devices. You should ask to see a few examples of their work.
Generally a small business website takes between 2-6 weeks. Timeframes can change if there are delays in gaining responses, photos or content from our clients. Larger websites, particularly those with custom booking systems, can take much longer.
With new website builds we required 50% deposit up-front with the remainder due 14 days after completion. We have 14 day payment terms for most other services. If you are a new client and we are performing a website update or smaller task we may request payment up-front to cover any risk.
In instances where the website development takes longer than anticipated or is paused for any reason, we may request a progress payment to cover the work done to that point.
Yes. Once complete payment for the project is received by Align Media, the website becomes the intellectual property of the customer. All creative artwork and technical works contained within the website and the associated files become property of the customer.
Yes you can. It helps to have a good level of computer skill. Previous experience in web design platforms is a great advantage.
Basic text changes or updates are very easy to make in WordPress.
On some occasions we will custom build pages with very unique layouts, this can make it tricky for you to make changes without affecting the website layout, so sometimes it’s better for our experienced team to perform the website changes.
Unfortunately the answer is yes. Whilst efforts can be made to secure a website it is simply not possible to guarantee a website can’t be hacked. We recommend taking regular backups and storing a copy of your website locally. Hosting providers generally run daily or weekly backups also.
Whilst we do have extensive experience in dealing with email configuration, we are not I.T. professionals. We can set you up with one of our I.T. partners to assist with configuring or transferring your email to a new server or new set-up.
In the instance where a customer has an existing website we generally will build the new one on our development domain. This allows your current website to remain online during the development phase. It also allows you to review the new website and make sure you’re happy with everything before go live and before the general public can see it.
On some occasions there may be an hour or so of downtime when flipping over to the new website, but in most instances there is no website downtime.
