Web Design Services

A Website Focused on Your Brand

It’s easy to get sidetracked on your way to a great website. Adding all the latest bells and whistles is nice, but does it fit YOUR brand?

I’ll work with you to ensure that your website speaks to who you are. It’s not about latching on to every new trend or color scheme. In reality, it’s about having a website that reflects your brand.

Plus, there’s more to a website than branding alone. Your site should be well-organized, easy to navigate and follow best practices with regards to SEO and accessibility.

My role is to get to know your business, guide you through the process and help you achieve your goals.

Specialties

Smartphone

Mobile Design

The days of forcing your mobile customers to navigate a website designed for large screens are over. People have come to expect that your website will adjust to their mobile devices. Why not give them an easier method of interacting with your business?

WordPress block editor

WordPress

I’ve been involved in the design and development of custom WordPress websites for more than a decade. During that time I’ve worked on a variety of different projects, ranging from e-commerce, sites with members-only content, sites for non-profits, small business, bloggers and more.

Person shopping online

eCommerce

I have experience with a number of shopping cart plugins for WordPress. My favorite is WooCommerce for both its ease of use and the number commercially available Extensions. While powerful out-of-the-box, WooCommerce Extensions will let you work with different payment gateways, integrate with shipping companies or add some highly-customized functionality.

The Process

It starts by determining your specific needs. Once we’ve hashed out the details and agreed to a proposal, the fun begins! My job is to design a look and layout that will knock your socks off (figuratively, of course). Short of that, we’ll discuss and implement any necessary changes. Then, it’s on to building out the rest of the site.

FAQs

Are you currently accepting new clients?

At the present time, my availability is limited. However, if a project is a good fit, I’d be happy to discuss it. 😊

How much will my project cost?

Pricing for a from-scratch website starts at $2,000 and goes up from there, depending on your needs.

The cost of a project is determined by several factors, including the amount of content and the complexity of the website’s functionality. So large sites with a lot of content, or sites that need advanced features like e-commerce will cost more than something basic.

Once I have a firm grasp of your project requirements, I can provide an accurate cost estimate.

Are you able to complete my project quickly?

If you’re looking for someone to build a new website within a week or two, I’m probably not the best fit for your needs.

The time commitment would require me to put all other projects aside. Unfortunately, that’s neither feasible nor fair to existing clients.

Why don’t you take on low-cost projects?

My specialty is building highly-customized websites, which require a good bit of time and effort to produce. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mesh well with lower cost projects. It takes a certain level of investment from everyone involved in order to do the job right.

How does the process of setting up a new website work?

I try to make the process of getting started with your new website as simple as possible. Here’s how it works:

1. We’ll discuss the requirements of your project.
This includes figuring out content, special functionality (shopping carts, forums, photo galleries, members-only content, etc.), budget and the desired timeline for launching your new site.

This is also a great time to determine the best hosting arrangement for your site.

2. A proposal will be created.
The proposal will include detailed information about your project and pricing. The proposal can be adjusted to fit your needs.

3. Design time.
Once we’ve reached an agreement on the proposal, the fun begins! I’ll create a home page design in graphic form to share with you. This usually takes 1-2 weeks, depending on my present workload.

4. Review and revise.
Once you have reviewed the design, any necessary revisions will be made to your satisfaction.

5. Building out the site.
After the design is approved, the process of building the website gets going into full swing. This includes customizing templates to ensure everything matches the design, adding functionality, entering content and testing on multiple web browsers/mobile devices.

6. Ready, set, launch!
After the site has undergone a thorough review (by both you and I), we’ll set a time to officially launch the site!

How long does a typical website project take?

Timelines can really vary. Just taking a website from the conception stage all the way through to launch requires a good bit of work in itself. A small, less-complicated site may be turned around in 4-6 weeks. Larger sites may take a couple of months.

In general, these factors will influence how long a project will take:

  • The size and scope of the project;
  • The length of the revision process (ie, how many changes need to be made to the initial design, etc.);
  • How quickly project assets such as content, logos and photos are obtained;
  • The current state of my schedule;

My goal is to complete every project to your satisfaction and within an agreed-upon timeline. Still, there are variables involved.

Can you train me to update my WordPress site?

Yes, I do offer both remote and in-person training (for local clientele). The session will last about an hour – during which time we’ll go over the basics of WordPress and the details of updating your website.

Please note that this service is only available for websites I have built or redesigned.

I just bought a WordPress theme. Can you customize it for me?

Generally speaking, I do not work with ready-made WordPress themes. While I can certainly understand their appeal, customizing them can often be a much more complicated task than one would think. In some cases the costs can rival that of having a from-scratch custom design.

I have a preexisting website. Will you maintain it?

In most cases, I do not provide maintenance for websites that I haven’t personally designed and developed.

What do you recommend for e-commerce sites?

In general, I recommend WooCommerce for WordPress-powered websites. It works well and is now owned by the same company (Automattic) behind WordPress itself.

Hosting arrangements for WooCommerce sites should be a little more robust than your typical site. I often recommend purchasing hosting from WP Engine due to their one-click staging environments.This allows us to test new versions of WooCommerce, etc. on a private staging site before committing to the new version on your public site. The service is a little more expensive, but well worth it.

Will my site work on mobile devices?

Yes, mobile design is now included with virtually every new website I design. Consumers really expect this functionality and it is often very simple and cost-effective to implement.

Do you provide SEO services?

When setting up a new site (or redesigning a preexisting one), I do provide some basic SEO (Search Engine Optimization) when the site launches.

By “basic” I mean that I’ll optimize the home page and any other necessary parts of your site for search engines. Since I predominantly work with WordPress, I also will install a plugin to allow for easy SEO optimization. Google Analytics and Webmaster Tools can also be setup.

This is not meant to be an ongoing service, however. If you require a SEO expert for ongoing maintenance and strategy, I’ll be glad to point you in the right direction.

Do you offer web hosting?

Yes, web hosting is available to clients for whom I’ve had a hand in designing/developing their website.

For clients using WordPress, the software’s core, themes and plugins will be regularly updated and maintained at no extra charge.

Do you work with Wix, Squarespace or other DIY services?

No. While I can appreciate the benefits of those services, I do not provide any design, consulting or maintenance for websites that use them.

Eric Karkovack Web Design Services, LLC