FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1. What can a Web site do for my business?
2. Why should my site be made accessible?
3. Do you perform updates to a Web site?
4. Do you offer hosting packages?
5. How long will my project take to complete?
6. Do you work for state agencies?
7. Do you perform spec work when estimating a project?
8. What are your payment terms?
Q: What can a Web site do for my business?
A: Depending on what you wish to accomplish for your business, a Web site can serve purposes such as providing information, collecting data, e-commerce, promotions, streaming media, social networking, and more. Some sites are developed in order to attract traffic in order to draw in more customers, while others are used as the core business concept. Whatever your needs are, there are no limits to what can be accomplished with today's technology.
Q: Why should my site be made accessible?
A: Many people in the world suffer from disabilities, including impaired vision. Ensuring that your Web site can accommodate their needs can only help your business. There are also laws and regulations requiring that government agencies comply with these standards.
Q: Do you perform updates to a Web site?
While we are more than happy to make any Web site updates for you once your site has been finalized and launched, it is our usual recommendation that we develop a content management system (CMS) for all the Web sites we design and develop.
One of the benefits of having a full content management system is that you are able to update all text on your Web site by yourself indefinitely (using our easy-to-learn Web-based application). While it does require a bit more of a initial investment, it can help save money in the long run if you do not have a Webmaster who works for your organization in-house.
If you prefer not to invest in a CMS, we are more than happy to make any Web site updates for you. Please talk with us about this at the onset of your project so that we are able to communicate our current rates to you. Turn-around time can be relatively quick in terms of a day or so depending on our current work load at that given time.
Q: Do you offer hosting packages?
While we do not offer hosting on our own physical server, we can certainly set up and configure a host for you through various third parties. We do this very frequently for most of our clients.
There are three basic types of hosting:
- Shared - this is essentially one physical computer that hosts anywhere from 5-30 Web sites at the same time. These are typically lower in cost (anywhere from $4 - $50 a month) but if one of those sites uses up too many resources, or is hacked, it could potentially affect your site as well. Shared servers also generally run slower than others as they have less memory dedicated to each site.
- Virtual Private Server (VPS) - this is one physical computer with "virtual" operating systems. You are able to login remotely and install anything you want as if you were sitting right at the computer. If someone else's site is hacked yours is unaffected. The benefits include customization, flexibility and security. The disadvantage however is they generally do not give you as much memory and disk space as the next category. VPS's run from $60 - $150 a month.
- Dedicated Server - A dedicated server is as it sounds - you pretty much rent a physical computer that is stored in a warehouse. You can have their management team install memory, upgrade components, etc. The benefits is this is the most stable and flexible hosting option. It is a VPS without the "virtual" operating systems. The down side is it is the most expensive, commonly from $100 and up to $400 (such as rackspace.com - the cream of the crop).
We are happy to provide you with our recommendations on what type of host best fits your needs.
Q: How long will my project take to complete?
At the beginning of each project we will inform you of delivery timeframes, such as when to expect the initial concepts/planning documents, and how long possible revisions may take. As each project is different, we wait until learning about your needs before providing a deadline. Depending upon complexity, Web design and development projects can last from a few weeks in length to upwards of six months.
Q: Do you work for state agencies?
Yes, we do. The Riddle Brothers are an eVA registered vendor. eVA is the state procurement system used by government agencies located in Virginia. We also hold a Small, Woman and Minority (SWaM) Certification as a small business through the Department of Minority Business Enterprise (DMBE) in Virginia.
Q: Do you perform spec work when estimating a project?
We have a policy in which we do not perform spec work (design mockups) without being formally contracted. The American Institute of Graphic Artists (AIGA) states:
AIGA believes that doing speculative work seriously compromises the quality of work that clients are entitled to and also violates a tacit, long-standing ethical standard in the communication design profession worldwide. AIGA strongly discourages the practice of requesting that design work be produced and submitted on a speculative basis in order to be considered for acceptance on a project.
We ask that if you are interested in us performing design work that you trust in our professional experience as designer and developer and view our portfolio as a testament to the work we have done previously.
Q: What are your payment terms?
Upon project initiation, the client is billed 50% of the estimate total for payment. After the design phase is completed, another 25% is billed. Once the project is fully deployed, the final 25% of total is billed. If the project is cancelled or postponed prior to completion, the client agrees to pay for time and materials used.
The client retains full ownership rights of all materials and products designed and/or developed by us as outlined within the provided estimate. We also reserve the right to display the completed work within our portfolio and blog.
