Most businesses and charities find that a very simple website is the best option when starting out online. If the process is beneficial, they can then expand their site gradually and organically over time, as their audience grows.

A web design job will usually include three basic elements:

1. Purchasing a domain name (e.g. www.onekind.co.uk)

The domain name is the name of your site and needs to be purchased through a Domain Registrar. I can handle the registration process for you. In most cases a new ".com", ".org" or ".net" domain will cost approx. £8.50 a year. A ".co.uk" domain costs approx. £8.50 every two years. Unfortunately, registration fees for ".im" and ".co.im" domains seem to cost four or five times more. If you have your heart set on a domain name that's already taken, it is possible to buy the domain off the existing owner, but this can often be very expensive.

My recommendation would be to think creatively if your first choice name is already taken, and opt for a generic ".com", ".org" or ".co.uk" domain, as these are more widely recognized tend to get more visitors.

2. Buying web hosting from a hosting provider

In order for your website to be available to users on the internet 24 hours a day, every day, you will need to rent "web space" from a web hosting provider. They will keep (or host) your web pages on their servers, keeping them running, maintained and "online" on a permanent basis. Hosting plans differ from provider to provider. On average, web hosts will charge around £10 per month for hosting. As a web designer, I purchase lots of hosting accounts and so qualify for lower rates. This means I can keep this cost down for you to £50 per year.

Finally, there is my fee for:

3. building and installing the website (and helping to realise your vision)

For a budget design package, this will include the following:

• Building and designing the framework of the site.
• Placing all your content, text and pictures onto the site, and "linking" all the pages and content together.
• Registering the site with a domain registrar and web host
• Uploading the web pages onto the internet and then calibrating them so they work on any computer, with any web browser, anywhere in the world.
• Registering the web site with Google, and other search engines, so that people can find it online

If you have opted for my Budget Web Design Package, this part (my bit) will cost £75.

Total Cost:

All in all, to get a budget website designed, installed, registered and running online will cost £133.50

If you wish to have an ".im" or ".co.im" domain, this will cost a little more.

What I need from you:

In order to create the site, I will need you to provide the crucial words (and any special images, such as product photos, or maybe "your team" etc) that will form the main content of the site.

The text and images do not need to be formatted in any particular way. A simple Microsoft Word document would probably suffice (one document for each web page). But including titles and headings and any bullet-point lists (if needed) would be helpful.

For the Budget Web Design Package, this will include three web pages:

1. The Front Page

This will be the first page visitors will see. You can put any information you like on this page, but it is generally advised to put the most crucial information first. Most web surfers have short attention spans, and if they don't find what they're looking for straight away, they will leave.

So you should probably put your core message on the front page. What are you providing to your visitors? A service? A product? Information? You don't want to bombard the user with too much too soon, so try to keep everything succinct. Consider using bullet-point lists, keep paragraphs short, and insert a sub-heading every two or three paragraphs.

2. The About Me (or About Us) page

This will give a more in-depth view about who you are and what you do. If you have credentials, a history, a philosophy, here is where you include it. You are basically fleshing out the picture you created on the front page with information that will help users have a better idea of who they're dealing with. It's impossible to overemphasize the importance that an About Us page plays in helping a visitor to feel comfortable with dealing with you, or giving your words and content credibility.

3. Contact Us

I will create a automated form that will send any visitor queries directly to your email inbox.

In terms of text for this page, this can either be a simple sentence or two saying something to the effect of "drop me a line and I'll be in touch", or it can be a more detailed explanation about how someone can enquire about a service or product, and how they might proceed in making a purchase/donation etc.

These three pages cover the most basic three questions any visitor will ask:

1. "Who are you?"
2. "What do you do?"
3. "How can I contact you to make a purchase/donation or proceed further?"

Other information I will need from you is:

• What would be your desired domain name?
• Do you have an existing email address that I can send customer enquiries to?
• What is the general "look and feel" that you are thinking of?
• Do you want me to put your address and phone number on the site?
• Do you have an existing logo that I can easily insert?

I'm sure there may be other bits and bobs along the way, and that you might have some questions of your own, but these can be tackled as we go along.

As a budget web design package, the site will have minimal graphics and a simple design. It will be generally text-based. But it will be artfully done, and elegant. And as time goes on, it can always be made to look more elaborate if needed. However, some of my most pleasing sites (to me) have been very minimal - where the core message is left undistracted.

If you are now feeling fired up to get going, then drop me a line via the Contact Page and we'll move forward from there.