Why a budget is important and why you shouldn't be worried about disclosinThe Importance of a Project BudgetAs aweb design companywe are very familiar with what goes into preparing proposals and recommendations for a web project. If the web design budget is not outlined from the beginning, it's just guess work trying to establish the best solution for a project – as the saying goes, "There are many ways to skin a cat". Likewise, there are many ways to build a website. We always say that there is a solution for every budget and we genuinely mean that. However, what you want to achieve and how you achieve it is often dictated by your budget. How does knowing the web design budget help?It's quite simple – if we know what your budget is, along with your business requirements, we can work out the best solution for you. There is little point in us working out a solution aimed at a $15,000 budget if you only have $5,000 available. It just saves wasted effort and puts all of the companies involved in your RFP (Request for Proposal) on a level playing field. It can be frustrating to find out that the custom-builtecommerce web designsolution you have presented is overkill because there is only a small web design budget and an eBay shop would better fit the budget! When the budget is smaller, we would suggest working smarter, not harder. For example, consider a basic web design or template design and use tools readily available for some of the site's functionality. We suggest things such as: Google maps API for showing the locations. Flickr to manage your photographs and integrate it into the site as an RSS feed. YouTube or Vimeo for managing your site video content. Basecamp for managing your clients' area. We can develop alternatives to all of these tools, but they obviously take time to develop and cost money. If the web design budget is tight and compromises can be made, the available tools are usually more than capable of doing the job. A set budget means sharper quotesAs a customer, you want to get the best price possible and you should. We understand that you want to keep costs to a minimum; however it doesn't always work in your favor. By not giving a defined budget you will likely end up with wide range of quotes from the companies involved, as each one suggests a different solution.  It is simple economics really; each company involved is likely to charge similar amounts for similar solutions to cover overhead costs. By defining your budget, you are more likely to get similar proposals and suggestions for the work required, this means you can concentrate on establishing which solution is best for you, not just the cheapest one. Will you just quote for the whole budget?In some cases, yes, we would aim to build you a solution that meets your web design budget. In others, we understand that you need some of that budget for other things. For example, in the case of a new website, you will need some of that budget for advertising. There is no point in spending your entire budget on the website if no one can find it for several months! If your budget allows you should allocate funds towards the website development and set aside some funds for Internet advertising such as pay-per-click and search engine optimization work. ConsultantsFromecommerce web designto a full-featured CMS system, we want to deliver you the best solution we can – the solution that maximizes your return on investment and ultimately brings you the most business. If that means saving money in one place to allow you to spend in another, then so be it. We consider ourselves to be consultants on your project, not just the company hired to design and develop your website. ...read more

What normally attracts you to a story, whether that be on the printed newspaper or the world wide web? Well if you're being honest you will have to admit that it is the headlines.What encourages you to read the article in more depth? It's probably the strong headings and sub-heading as you scan over the page.Headings, headlines and subheadings—perform several important functions:-- They give your readers a quick overview of your content-- They help to organize your content into readable scanable chunks-- They tell a story that makes it possible to grasp the gist of the content quicklyA strong and successful headline will summarize your copy in a few very powerful words. Headlines that don't engage the reader are unsuccessful. Inaccurate and misleading headlines will drive readers away.Check out these important points when writing headlines.-- Make sure you understand your content-- Your heading should identify the tone of your copy-- Your heading should be the sole most important point of your copy-- Utilize your strongest keywords in your headlines. 2–4 keywords should do fine-- Use strong active accurate verbs. Example "Stocks Crash" is much more powerful than "Stocks Fall". Be sure that its accurate though.-- Be consistent in your capitalization. Whether you're using Sentence case, or Title Case. But be stingy in using ALL CAPITALS.-- Be stingy with your punctuation. Headlines don't normally carry punctuation. It helps to give flow to your copy. ...read more