OMAG Media, Inc. ::: Creative design and marketing for a new generation

Why don't I create a web site myself?
The greatest reason is the same one that causes you to use a mechanic to fix the pinging in your car engine. Experts do a better job than amateurs. The reality of life is that people who focus on a specific area can learn more about it, gain more experience, and produce better end-results.
Professional web page designers spend their days creating web sites, building pages, tuning graphics for fast delivery, thinking about navigation of online-information, and keeping up on the wide array of new products, services, and design styles that appear on the Web.

What is the purpose of having a site, other than a web presence?
The purpose of a web site is to present content efficiently and in an attractive manner.
The first critical step in the process is for you to have already thought about various aspects of the site that you'd like to create. Keep in mind that the best and most useful web sites are information-centered and not centralize on technology or wee-wow features. You not only want people to come to your site, you want them to come back a second time, finding the site a valuable part of their daily or weekly web travels.

Just like an excellent marketing brochure, an informational web site answers all possible questions and concerns about your product or service.

Make it fun and interactive. Creating an interactive site can reap significant benefits. Interactivity can be as simple as a search system so people can type in a keyword about the product they seek and have relevant pages on your site displayed, or even interactive games and entertainment to keep people amused. Your goal is to draw them in and have them use your services or buy your products.

How can I drive traffic to my site?
Use lots of useful up-to-date news and information. If you're in an industry where there's lots going on and important news each week, you might decide that having a news area on your site will prove invaluable to your customers and potential clients. It can certainly demonstrate that you're plugged into your industry. Also, search engine registration in important, as is e-Marketing.

Who will visit my site?
Identify whom your audience will be and what kind of information you will need to include in your site. Choose these two ingredients correctly, communicate them to your designer and you're on your way towards getting the
site of your dreams.

You also need to spend some time identifying the target audience for the site. An answer of "everyone" is not going to help your designer create the best possible site. So here are some choices to consider. Your best bet would be to number them 1 to 10 in order of most-important to least-important.

Existing customers - this can be a great way to retain brand loyalty among your current customers. Help them out and give them a site that continues the good will you've already created through your professional services.

Prospective clients - people who come across your site due to a magazine article, a news paper ad, a referral or an online listing and are in the market for your particular product or service. A good web site can help establish your credibility in the same way that a well-designed brochure can.

Customers of your competitors - well that's life! Business isn't always friendly, and one way that you can grow your own is by steering people from your competitor to your business. Your web site designer can design a site that directly compares your own service or product to your competitors in a way that's quite favorable.

How do I get started on a look and feel for my site?
Sketch out your ideas on paper with the items that you want to see. Decide on what type of content and how it should interact with your company.

Another task that can greatly aid your designer in creating your web site is for you to sketch on paper the kinds of things you want, with as many specifics as you can think about. If you know of a designer, ask him or her for ideas. They have a lot of imagination and ingenuity in this area.

Some of the content areas to consider when sketching out a site design include the number of pages with specific types of information, such as; your products and services, jobs, solutions, what's new, cool links, specification of any interactive areas such as; database lookup, content searching, email feedback forms, online registration, download areas, games and amusements.

One of the best things that you can do for your web designer to ensure you're all on the same track is to spend time exploring other sites on the Web to get ideas for your own. Write down their URL and a note about what you did or didn't like about the specific site. The designer can then visit the same places and start to understand whether you like open designs with lots of blank areas, flashy animation, complex background graphics, lots of short pages versus a small number of long pages, etc.

How can I keep the cost down when developing a site?
Providing any logos, artwork creations you may already have on hand and any typing of material as needed will help keep pricing down.

Do you already have artwork the designer can use, or will they have to create new material? Is the text portion of the proposed site already in electronic formats that's easy to convert to HTML (like MS Word) or does it just exist on paper, requiring a typist? The two areas that most affect pricing are the overall size of the site and the level of complexity of the interactive sections, which can by itself cost you hundreds or more for the custom programming time.

Another factor that influences pricing is the level of bureaucracy in the company.If each and every variation of the design needs approval by ten people and four committees, this will eat up a ton of time, increase pricing because the job will drag on and take longer than the same site design would take without that level of bureaucracy.

What are the price ranges?
The range of prices can vary widely. You should expect no less than $75 per page for a simple static site with no interactivity and up to $150 - $500 per page to create custom interactive sections, implement search engines, add new artwork, etc..

How long does it take to develop a site?
Set a timeline for your site project. Work with your designer as a team to create it.
A timeline might look something like this:
- 01 June: sign contract to start project.
- 15 June: first prototype of home page online for examination.
- 31 June: static pages online, domain registered and active.
- 15 July: interactive areas are functional.
- 31 July: site goes live, everything approved and complete.
Sticking to a timeline is both your responsibility as well as the web developers.

How do I pay for the development of my site?
As with most web design firms, OMAG Media prefers to be paid in pieces. Often it's 50% on signing, 50% when the site is live, or split into even thirds, with the first upon signing, the second when the first major steps are achieved and the third payment when the site is done. This of course, is negotiable, depending on your needs.

There's no hardcore rule for how to price out a site implementation, but it's guaranteed that the more interactivity you have the higher your site cost will be.