Some think they can’t afford a customized website…we say you can’t afford not to have a website that is customized specifically to your business.
A customized website introduces your services directly to prospective clients. After all, visiting your website is the first step most people will make to follow-up on referrals to your business and your advertising campaign. A professionally customized website keeps your business uppermost in the minds current customers too, updating them on your latest staff changes, services and products – reminding them why they like dealing with you.
- How much input do I have?
- Where do I begin?
- I am a small business with a small marketing budget. Can I afford a web site?
- How long would will it take to complete my web site from start to finish?
- Is it expensive?
- What are the hidden costs?
- How do I know if the design of my website is good?
- Where do the photos, graphics and text come from?
- Do I have the ability to make changes during the design process?
- How can I keep my website up-to-date without having to redesign it?
How much input do I have?
We respect the fact that you know more about your business than anyone else possibly can.
Therefore, we rely on you to tell us what is important about your business, what purposes you want your website to serve and who your intended audience is.
We don’t expect you to be a graphics, writing or technical expert – that’s our specialty. Our creative team at Capitol PhotoInteractive understands how business and marketing work:
- We will help you define your goals
- Transform your vision
- Bring your vision to reality with professional photography, graphics, text and interactives
- From concept to completion we are always in consultation with our clients
Where do I begin?
The creative team at Capitol PhotoInteractive is your partner in the design process:
- We help you define the objectives of the website
- You choose a domain name for your site
- We register your domain name
- Together, we survey what images and text are needed
- Together, we collect all the available materials, what we call assets
- We create logos, graphics, photos and any other assets you need or want to upgrade
- We combine our technical and artistic skills and technical know-how to design and develop the actual site
- We offer professional writing services so you just have to tell our writer about your business and we’ll write the copy
- Or you can create your own draft and we’ll provide editing upon your request
- We arrange for hosting and search engine optimization
I am a small business with a small marketing budget. Can I afford a web site?
You can’t afford not to have a web site! Not being on the Internet is like not being in the Yellow Pages. Your competitors have websites. When a consumer is trying to learn more about services or products, they will go to the Internet to gather information. If you don’t have a presence with a website, but your competitor does, your competitor will get the call!
Capitol PhotoInteractive understands limited budgets. We listen carefully from the outset and keep our clients informed during every step of the way. This reduces the need for changes.
We make it easy to pay for our services. There is a down payment when a contract is signed for Capitol PhotoInteractive to create your website. Then, installment payments are made at each milestone in the development process. Our clients are told in advance approximately how long each phase will take so they can budget accordingly. And we accept cash, checks and credit cards.
How long would will it take to complete my web site from start to finish?
This is the most challenging question because there are so many factors that can influence the outcome. The size, scope and complexity of a website is the first factor. The availability of assets (logos, text, video, photos, graphics, etc.) in appropriate the formats is the second factor.
At Capitol PhotoInteractive, we give you our best estimate based on the size, scope and complexity of the site and the assets your site. As a frame of reference, we can usually create a simple, static, less than 10-page site in less than 2 weeks.
Is it expensive?
Our philosophy here at Capitol PhotoInteractive is KIS – Keep It Simple.
If your website is to inform and educate, motivate and sell, you don’t want to distract your customers with lots of fancy and expensive special effects. But if your goal is to entertain, we can do that too!
The complexity of your site, the number of photos we need to take, the number of graphics we need to create, the amount of text we need to write or edit, the use of video in your site and special effects add to the price tag.
We know how to keep it simple, effective and affordable.
What are the hidden costs?
There are no hidden costs when you contract with Capitol PhotoInteractive. While there are costs beyond the development process, such as domain registration, web hosting and search engine optimization, we will tell about these costs you up front. And, they will vary depending on your needs. You will know what your fixed costs will be before you make you final decision to contract with us.
How do I know if the design of my website is good?
First and foremost, a good website is easy to get around. The design has both practical and intuitive navigation. An uncluttered, easy-on-the-eye design and color scheme with a readable copy are essential.
And, your message needs to be conveyed as well organized ideas with dynamic text to keep readers interested.
The Capitol PhotoInteractive creative team has the skill and equipment to offer:
- Shopping carts
- Forms
- Database connectivity
- Flash animation
- Pop-up windows
- And lots of bells and whistles
Where do the photos, graphics and text come from?
Photography
We are a one-stop shop. The beauty of Capitol PhotoInteractive is that just as our name suggests, we are a photo and interactive studio. This means you tell our team about your business once and we coordinate our efforts as a team. No need for you to spend precious time repeating your information and then trying to coordinate the project yourself. Let us handle that!
Because we started out as a photography studio over 30 years ago, we have years of experience photographing people as well as products in our spacious downtown Fairfield and on-location. We have handled photo shoots in a myriad of industries from small local manufacturers to Fortune 500 corporations.
Graphic design
For more than a decade, our Interactive Department has created graphics for the same Fortune 500 companies. We have the means and the experience to provide attention getting images and interesting, informative graphics.
Copy writing the text
We can provide copy writing or editing so you just have to tell our experienced writer about your business and they will create the dynamic text that is easy to read and understand.
Do I have the ability to make changes during the design process?
During the design process, revisions are a common occurrence. Once a client has signed off on a particular page or section, if it needs to be revised, the client will usually incur additional costs, depending on the scope of the changes.
Capitol PhotoInteractive estimates are based on a limited number of revisions/changes. It is our experience that no more than 2 revisions are needed. Therefore any significant revisions or changes in excess of 2 will incur additional fees.
How can I keep my website up-to-date without having to redesign it?
If you anticipate frequent changes to your website, we can design it so that you can make simple updates yourself. Together, we will determine which pages should be updated then design those pages so you can make changes in a way that won’t risk the integrity of the overall site. This reduces the likelihood of inadvertently breaking links, etc.
We can also make the changes for you into the future. Depending on how often and how involved the changes are, we can work on a contract basis or a per hour charge, as needed.