Site Designs for You offers a variety of website related services, and here I’ll explain each and share budgetary pricing. 

Website Design and Development Services

If you’ve visited my site, chances are pretty good that you are exploring website options either for an update or new website build. I offer two main options, WordPress and Blogger. I would say 80% of my clients use WordPress, but there are still 20% who are comfortable with Blogger and wish to stick with it. I am happy to help you with whichever option you choose. Below, you’ll find budgetary pricing. Certainly, every website is unique and varies in complexity. 

Your first step in planning your website is to start looking at websites that appeal to you. I suggest just starting a Google Doc as your “dump sheet”. Add color schemes, fonts, links to websites you like, screenshots of page sections you might want to replicate, and any other important notes you’ll want to share before getting started. I will also have plenty of suggestions to share with you too. In fact, I have a Google Form I’ll want you to complete before we get started linked at the end of the page. 

Choosing the Platform You Want to Use

Let me share a few pros and cons for WordPress and Blogger. 

WordPress Services

First of all, WordPress is the best for SEO and offers the most flexibility for web design. I use Elementor for my websites because I want them to be easy enough for clients to edit if they need. WordPress uses plugins to provide many of the functions we want and need. Some are paid plugins, but there are many that are free. Less is more with plugins. You don’t want to overdo it. Like ingredients in a cake, sometimes plugins don’t mesh well with each other and can lead to problems. 

This leads me to one very important point and that is maintenance. If you choose WordPress, you must be prepared to maintain your site or hire someone to help you. You may also find Youtube tutorials helpful in learning about all things WordPress. I am happy to point you to a few wonderful channels. 

Blogger Services

Unlike self-hosted WordPress, Blogger sites are hosted on Google’s blogger platform. This means that you will have to point your domain name (dot com address) to the Blogger site. Blogger does not have the benefit of plugins, so you also need to do all SEO manually. This is very hard for new bloggers to do. 

Advanced bloggers typically find WordPress better for their businesses, however, if you are uncertain if blogging is for you or have a limited budget, Blogger is a great option. It migrates well to WordPress if you ever decide to switch. 

Next Steps

1. First, pin down your domain (I purchase my domains from either Go Daddy or Namecheap), Once your site is ready to install, I point the domain name to either your Blogger site or your hosting company if you choose WordPress.
2. Next, decide on your theme or features you like. For Blogger, you can find themes on Etsy now, but before you purchase, let me confirm that it will work for your site. For WordPress, we’ll use the Hello theme by Elementor or Ocean WP themes. 
3. Pick your color scheme. You can search Pinterest for color palettes that appeal to you. Before I create your graphics, we’ll need to pin down colors and fonts.
4. Look at other sites you like. Make note of the features you like in them and share them with me to give me a feel for your style.
5. If clipart or photos are needed for your site, make sure they are approved for use on websites and purchase what you want to include. I don’t mind doing some sourcing of images, but this is not included in my quote. 

Think about what you want on your home page? What additional pages will you need? What widgets will you want to include and where? Talk to friends and take screenshots of things you want to include. 

Sign Up for a Design Slot

Once you’ve got an idea of what you’d like, then the next step is to schedule a design slot. To do that, simply email me at Carla@sitedesignsforyou.com and complete the form attached below. Once the form is complete, I will schedule a Zoom meeting to develop our plan, get your design proposal together, and book your design date.