Arup Designs

process
diy

The Design Process

So how does it work?

For the basic package you get seven ready made pages. There is some dummy content and images to give you an idea of how your site will look. You need to provide your own textual content and images. I then create pages with your images and text and then place them (upload them) onto your server. You may find that you can just edit the dummy text as it will hopefully be fairly close to what you need. And of course you will need to provide me with details of your classes for your timetable page.

Your images will need processing. They will need to be cut to the size required for the templates and have their file sizes reduced to speed up loading times. There may also be a bit of touching up such as brightness and contrast. The images may also need cropping in order to provide better composition. You can do all this yourself or let me do it. There is an image processing charge but if you feel confident then you can use the diy tips page to process images yourself.

Domain name

You also need a domain name. Such as suesmithyoga.co.uk. It's a good idea to put your name in your domain name as well as the word yoga as you will get a better search engine rank that way and people can find you more easily. Next you will need to register your domain name. Usually registration is for a year or two. I can help you with this but there is a charge if I do it for you. You can reduce your costs by doing it yourself. Have a look at the diy tips page or send me an e–mail.

So what about hosting?

Your website has to live somewhere and be accessible 24 hours a day. The host is a computer that is switched on all the time and permanently connected to the internet. You rent some space on that computer, called the server and that allows people to access your site by typing in your domain name. There are many hosting providers. You can open a hosting account yourself or I can do it for you for a small fee. I will need your ftp username and password in order to upload your pages.

How long will it take?

Usually it will take about a week or so. It may even be quicker if you have all the text and images ready. Domain name processing can take up to three days. Sometimes I won't be able to start on your project immediately if I have a lot of clients. I would then give you a proposed start date for your work and a completion date. A start date that is two weeks after your initial inquiry, would give you ample time to write all your content and process your images, plus to regisiter your domain and open a hosting account.

What about the standard package?

With the standard package you also get a header image or logo and you get up to 5 extra pages. You can decide how you want to use these extra pages and of course you will write the content for them. They will be based on the template and will easily fit into the look of your site. You also get basic SEO. Search engine optimisation. It basically means that people can find you more easily using search engines such as Google. For more details on SEO see the faq page.

The custom package

This package does not use ready made templates, but is designed from scratch. Or you can "customise" the basic template as I have done in the example. You can even submit your own designs. It does involve the signing off process. After our initial meeting I break the process into phases. Each phase will require approval and payment from you before I begin the next phase. This is to make sure that you are happy with the process so far. The first phase is usually to provide you with a possible site map. Once you officially approve the site map, then I move on to basic layouts. I will then do the layouts over and over again until you approve them. You could even go back one phase, but you would not be refunded for a previously completed phase. So we gradually work our way through the various steps until your site is complete.