Website Design Questions and Answers

How much does it cost to build a Website?

There is an entire page dedicated to this question, please review our Web Design Costs page for more information.

How do I go about getting a Website designed?

There are a few basic steps that you can take to prepare yourself for getting a website designed.


With the above basic information in hand, you can better engage and discuss your situation with a potential web designer. Furthermore, you can review our Website Development page for information about the actual website development process, including details of what qualities to look for in a web design company.

How do I find the best Web Design Company for me?

There are several factors that will determine the best Web Design Company for your needs, including

• Your website budget
• The final size of your website
• The web design company's design and technical capabilities
• The turnaround time needed for the completion of your website
• and the ability of the web design company to design a great website.

You can help better your chances of finding the right web design company by reviewing a few simple steps as outlined on our Website Development page, and by making sure you actually contact and communicate with more than one web designer.

How important is the location of my Web Designer?

Given the nature of web design, you don't actually have to sit down or meet face-to-face with a web designer to have a website designed (even though it helps), since most communication can happen over the phone or over email. Even if you are able to sit down with a web designer, most of the actual design and development work will be done remotely - so the web design process may not be that different in either situation.

The main distinction between working with a remote or local web design company is if the web designer has a need to visit you or your business location onsite, to either take photos or to get a better sense of your business needs in person. Overall, a proactive and open approach to communication between the web designer and the customer can have the most positive impact on the web design process and the final website itself.

How do I know what I need for my Website?

There are several ways to determine what you need for your website. First and foremost, remember that you understand your business and customers the best, so you are the first resource to determine what content and functionality is needed on your website. By simply taking some time to review other similar websites on the Internet and by generally thinking about your clients' expectations and your business' strengths and marketing needs, you can begin to list specific requirements for your website.

However, given the interview ability of the web designer you have chosen, you may be surprised on how many functional, content, and design ideas can flourish from an interview session, so don't hesitate to discuss all of your ideas with your web designer.

Additionally, since professional web design companies have a pulse on relevant web technologies, they should be able to suggest concrete technical and functional capabilities that your business website could benefit from, that may open and lead to new ideas flourishing for the design of the website.

I found a company that charges less for a Website, should I go with them?

Vision Bloom suggests that you first review our Web Design Pricing Guide to get a better sense of what drives web design costs.

If one company is offering to build you a website for less, that does not necessarily mean that they are agreeing to build you the same website that another company (who may charge more) is planning on building for you. Remember websites are custom solutions, hence the details of the design, content, and functionality being proposed, will most likely vary from one company to another.

Besides the cost of the website, you should also focus on the design and technical capabilities of a web design company being considered, the quality of their previously designed websites, and their overall professionalism. These factors combined are as important as the price of the website itself.

Additionally, you need to answer one question for yourself, how important or strategic is your website for your business? The more important the website is for your business, the more focused and thorough you should be about the quality of the website you are having designed, and generally the cost of the website will be directly related to the quality of the website being built, both in terms of design and functionality.

So if your website is strategic for your business, then it makes more sense to invest more money into the development of your website. But in any case, do make sure that the Web Design company you have chosen can actually provide you with a great website, independent of their pricing.

I really just want a basic Website, how much will it cost?

If you are specifically looking for a minimal website, that may not entail the same amount of content or functionality provided by a more comprehensive website, simply contact Vision Bloom with your specific situation so that we can better provide you with feedback.

I hired a Web Designer, but I don't like how the website turned out, what can I do?

At a minimum, let's first discuss how and why you may end up in a situation where you are unsatisfied with your website:

• The final design of the website does not reflect your taste or business image, or is of general poor quality
• The organization of your website does not help your customers find what they need as soon as possible
• You were expecting more functionality for your website, but the web designer says that was not part of the agreement
• The web designer is now telling you that additional funds are needed to complete the website
• You did not see the website until it was basically completed, and now you don't like how it looks
• None of the above applies, but your just not happy with the final website that has been designed for you

Vision Bloom takes specific steps to avoid the situations listed above, specifically:

• Vision Bloom provides a mockup design sample of your website, allowing you to be comfortable with the design before actual development is started
• Our website development process specifically centers around first gathering your website requirements, so that they can be appropriately organized and prioritized
• Before a website is developed, Vision Bloom draws up a comprehensive contract that besides serving as a formal agreement, details all specific functionality that will be part of the website being delivered
• Vision Bloom provides our services with flat fee and upfront costs, guaranteeing you that the cost of your website will not exceed what has been previously agreed to
• As your website is being designed and developed, you will have real-time access to the latest version of your website, so that you can appropriately provide any feedback or request for changes back to Vision Bloom before your site goes live
• Your satisfaction and the success of your website are key, therefore Vision Bloom only collects the remaining balance of the website development fee after you are completely satisfied with the website being delivered to you

Remember, the best thing you can do is to not find yourself in a bad situation with your website project. So make sure you communicate well with your web designer and that you feel comfortable with the level of service and professionalism being offered, well before you begin the website development process.

I found an article/photo/song/video on the Internet; can I use it on my Website?

Most content found on the Internet - including articles, photos, music, and video are owned by different copyright holders and can not be simply re-used on your website.

There are several ways where content (of any kind) can be used on your website:

• You own the copyright to the content
• The content is in the Public Domain
• The material will be used under Fair Use
• You strictly have permission from the copyright holder to use the content
• Or you have purchased a License to use the content and will adhere to the Licensing terms

In general, your Web Designer should be well versed in the correct use and linking of content found on the Internet.

What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and how does it work?

There is an entire page dedicated to this question, please review our Search Engine Optimization page for more information.

How many email accounts can I have? How much space can I get with my website?

The number of email accounts and the amount of space made available to you for your website are mostly all qualities of the hosting being used by your website. Vision Bloom's hosting can provide adequate email accounts and disk space for most website requirements. If your needs are specifically different than most, this will be exposed early on during the requirements gathering process and will allow Vision Bloom to appropriately support your additional needs.

What is Website Hosting?

Website Hosting refers to the environment and essentially the server hardware that allows a website to be "hosted" on, allowing the website to be accessible through the Word Wide Web. More importantly, the hosting of a website can provide email accounts, security, runtime resources, databases, website bandwidth, disk space for the website and emails, and other capabilities.

The Vision Bloom provided hosting provides all the capabilities that Vision Bloom requires to design and deploy a website to meet the needs of our clients and our design process.

What is a Content Management System?

A website Content Management System is simply the functionality created for the website owner (such as yourself) to manage and update the content of their own website conveniently and independently without the need of the website designer to be involved. This process usually entails logging into the back end of your website through a secure login and password prompt, and simply choosing a specific website section to manage, and by either adding, updating, or removing content, the website owner is able to instantaneously update and maintain specific sections of their website by themselves. This allows the website owner much flexibility in the management of their website, since it can be maintained at any time and at any place with an Internet connection, even 3'oclock in the morning in your pajamas.

Providing Website Content Management usually makes sense for content that can change periodically, for example for content such as news items, real estate listings, workshop or class information, and similar dynamic content. If you are interested in a Content Management system for you website, please contact Vision Bloom for more information.

What can I have on my Website?

Basically any reasonable media, content or functionality you can think of can be integrated into your website. This is obviously a good thing as it is a reflection of the skill set of today's professional web designers and the flexibility that modern web technology provides. However, this flexibility can also be cause for pause, since a website that has too much irrelevant or distracting content, or one that is not organized well, can end up eventually hurting the credibility of the website and the business behind the website, which is counterproductive.

When Vision Bloom initiates the Web Design process, we first focus on the goals of the website and take the perspective of the users of website in mind, so that as we progress on the website design process, we are continuously utilizing appropriate content and maintaining an organized view of website requirements. This is one aspect of a good website: relevant and quality content that is organized well.

I have a question not answered here, how can I contact you for more information?

Please feel free to contact Vision Bloom directly with your specific questions.