Ex Air Force, college trained, graphics artists/photographer/advertising and military electronics hardware career after service, turned software developer, evolved into website development, in a 30 + year career. I have been developing websites professionally since 1996, after four prior years of personal Internet usage and tinkering with the rudimentary formof HTML in those days. My web interest accelerated while working as a fault-tolerant systems programmer in California, where many companies had websites long before the rest of the country did. It was clear the web was going to be everywhere. I wanted to get in on the ground level. As a result, I now have more experience than the majority of web developers.
I've learned a lot about web development since those early days. The web development methods have evolved and been refined over the years, preparing for a better future for all. One important aspect is that there are standards issued by the Web Consortium (W3C.org), yet so few web developers know about them or can code properly. I produce a 100% validated website using the W3C.org validation service (the group that issues the web standards). My simple comparison is what would our lives be like if there were no plumbing, wiring, or building code standards, or enforcement? There are web standards but no web standards enforcement since the web is worldwide. Only the truly dedicated, top of the heap developers will back their work up with proof of validation (as I do).
Regardless of how well a website adheres to the standards, it still has to work for the desired audience. This falls into the advertising area, including appearance, and proper ad copy to sell a product. My experience in producing advertising materials, brochures, graphic arts, manuals, photography services, and other advertising needs from the 70s on have made my websites user-friendly with great aesthetic qualities. What methods and features used on a website should be based on the intended audience. Small print, or features that require downloading a web browser plugin before the content can be viewed or utilized turn off elderly users. Younger audiences don't think twice about a website needing the Flash plugin because they already have it installed. Regardless, I make my websites such that text can be sized by the user, and all users can access the website regardless of computer used, browser used, or any accessibility issues they may require. Special features are implemented to ensure physical accessibility limitations do not block users, and the same for visual accessibility users. My help pages describe these important aspects of my websites.
My 17 years of computer consulting for enterprise level corporations gave me great training in handling large jobs in a professional manner. I use a contract to ensure I produce the website in a reasonable time or I lose money. My start time is dependent on being supplied the necessary content of course. The client provides content, and I provide the glue (intellectual property) to make everything work, and be presented in an effective manner. I use a two-way non-disclosure agreement to ensure both parties that their individual contributions are used only for the purpose of the website to be developed and maintained. I use a license agreement that allows my intellectual property to be used for the purpose of making the website work and to be accessible to the public/users. For domain name services, I require an agreement contract before I register or make any changes. By keeping everything legal by contracts, there are no surprises.
The websites I produce are copyrighted to protect the client's content, and my intellectual property. As a software developer, I do not want others stealing my software, and likewise, I do not want to steal from others. My websites must use original material and images/photographs. In other words, I will not help you to break the law where copyright issues are concerned. Instead, I will show you how to be 100% legal. I do not use any plagiarized or stolen/borrowed images from other websites. It is easy enough to get our own originals. Photographs must come from a known source. We give credit to the photographer and need a model release for photographs that contain recognized personal items or individuals not at a newsworthy event. The forms for this purpose are made available as part of the public website. That way if someone wants to have you publish a photo they took, we provide the release forms online so everything is made legal from the start, and with simplicity. It is easy to get proper permission to use images, photography, and text, when it is absolutely needed to come from a specific source. In most cases, we can make our own photographs of anything that we need. I can do wonders with a bad photograph by using the right software tools. There are cases where the professional photographer can make a difference with proper lighting, etc. If there is a need for any special photo images, there are legal resources, such as royalty free photography CDs to explore before hiring a photographer.
I use modern methods of development, meaning modular design, tableless layout, Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) formatting and layout, producing consistent, easy navigatable, user-friendly websites.
There are five important expenses to having a website.
A lot of people think that having a website means instant world exposure, producing more clients than they can handle. It doesn't work that way. Having a website without advertising it is like having a storefront with zero width. Before you get significant exposure via the searchengines, if you don't tell anyone about your website, no one will even know it exists. It takes a while for the searchengines to index your website, and then it takes a while to get a respectable ranking so that others can find it in the search results.
A website is a great place to point people to for "more information" than you can possible provide on a business card, in a brochure, on the phone, or in a short personal conversational encounter. These days, people are reluctant to do business with companies that do not have a website. One of the most important things a website offers is a confirmation that your business exists, where it is located, hours of operation, phone numbers and other methods of contact. Next is the ability to provide as much information as you desire in order to sell your product or service.
Searchengines come into play only after a website has been properly indexed and someone performs a search that ends up with the results containing links to your website. Searchengines have no idea what your website is about, merely what words it contains, the frequency of those words compared to normal text on any given page, the number of pages in your website that contain the searched on words, the overall size of the website, and a multitude of other factors. Where your website comes up in the search results is based on what the user searches on, and how your website indexed statistics compare to other websites.
My job is to ensure that your website is correctly coded such that the searchengines can properly index the website, and give it a fair ranking. It is not easy to get a website ranked properly. I have managed to get websites from many pages down brought to the first page, simply by doing the right thing (by following the searchengine guidelines and not try to pull the wool over their eyes). Your website ranking will improve over time through increased usage of the website due to more visitors clicking on your link in the search results and going to your website, an implication that your website is what fits the bill when the specific words were searched on.
You are competing with many similar websites and yours is the new kid on the block. It will not start out at the top. It generally takes many months before a search on the most important keywords gets yours listed on the first page.
There are no cheat methods, or tricks to get you a better ranking than you deserve. I've encountered people that have fallen for some quirky solicitations, such as, "We've got a guy that can hook us in right at the top by paying a friend of his." No he can't. A fair approximation of rankings can be determined through examination of the website text and comparison to other websites. If a website is ranked way off base, it stands out like a sore thumb and its rankings could quickly be shown as foul play. No searchengine company is willing to risk their reputation to give any website a ranking it does not deserve. Websites are often plagued with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) solicitations. Anyone that tells you they can get your website in the actual top 10 search results, obviously can't do it for the 11th similar website, and since there are multitudes of companies that claim such results, they can't show any improvement without first altering your website content. All they can do is place an advertisement for your website, the same as you can do yourself. My job is to make sure your website contains the best content at the correct frequency for the words that you want to be found when searched on.
You can advertise on searchengine websites and be listed as an advertised sponsor at the top of the results listing (before the actual search results). These are not the same as getting to the top of the actual search results. Whether your website is displayed is based on what words you have selected that will cause your site to be listed. You basically bid a dollar amount on keywords. This advertising method can be very effective but it does not affect your website rankings simply because your website is advertised there. Your increased traffic can improve your ranking however. Because you will end up with more website visitors, your ranking will improve over time. Whether you decide to advertise online is your choice. The amount you pay depends on what your competition is bidding at the time.
Your website is where you present your information to the public but I show you that your website can also be used to contain materials that are not part of the public version. You could have a special PowerPoint presentation already loaded to the web. You send a link to the person needing access. Essentially, the website becomes a repository of important files anyone might need, you, business associates, or potential customers. It could be documents you may need while on the road, such as business card designs, letterhead, brochures, non-public forms, spreadsheets, PowerPoint Presentations, or anything else that you might carry along with you. The worst time to realize you need a file stored on your home or office computer is while you are 1500 miles away. The same as you might carry a laptop on a business trip, except as an archive copy. Should your laptop be left behind or lost, you still have access to the resources you need. From any computer attached to the Internet, log in to the private section to access the materials. Voila, back in service!
There are many web applications that can be added to your website such as business software that you may need access to from different locations. The world is changing and the possibilities are endless.
I publish all of my charges on my gcsrss.com website so there are no surprises. My prices are very competitive with other professional level web developers. For almost any charge, there are numerous others that charge a lot more.
My goal is to produce quality professional websites at a reasonable rate that allow both the client and myself to be proud of the work. The work I produce for you will be used to show my future potential clients.
If you have any questions regarding our guarantee, please contact Customer Service.
| Intro | Introduction to Web Design Services | |
| Why | Why you need a web page. | |
| Stats | This should scare you (at least back then it did). | |
| Prices | Packages, Prices, Options | |
| Extras | Extras Prices (with Descriptions) | |
| Additional Services | FTP, Link Maintenance, Webmaster, Proofread, Backup, Restore | |
| Web Design Help - Registering/Hosting | US Copyright Office | Copyright Basics | 10 Copyright Myths | US Code on Copyright | ||
| Web Design Terms & Conditions | Web Design Guarantee | Web Design Disclaimer | ||
WebPage Design Services taken on a First-Come-First-Served basis!
For any of these issues, please send e-mail.
Click the browser back arrow or use your (Internet Explorer) backspace key to return to the previous page, or click on the following links.
| Back
| Top
| Home (Web Design)
| Contact | Help About | Copyright | Disclaimer | Privacy | Terms |
Copyright © 1996-2008, GCSRSS, All Rights Reserved Worldwide and the Space Station. No portion of this page may be copied, distributed, altered, or used in any fashion without prior written permission from Galaxy Consulting Services Content is based on opinion of the author and from data available at time of creation and is not guaranteed to be current. References to product or company names may be registered trademarks, or service marks of their respective companies. Links and graphics are not an indication of endorsements or sponsorship. Even though the Internet allows access to websites worldwide, your viewing and use of the website is conditional upon your agreeing with the Site Terms and Conditions. For more information refer to the legal documents included in the links at the bottom of the page.
•
