I’ve had several people ask me about package pricing lately, so I’ve decided to create some packages. First up is a WordPress package. WordPress organizes your content and applies a consistent theme to all your pages. A big plus is that you’ll be able to edit content without having to know anything about code!

Lowcountry WordPress Package

• Installation of WP on your WP-compatible hosting (assistance can be provided in purchasing a domain name and hosting)
• Recommendation of 2-5 WordPress themes as a starting point (many themes are free)
• Minor changes to chosen theme – the theme’s color and images can be changed to reflect your company/website
• Transfer of current site’s content or, if you don’t have a site, implementation of customer-provided content
• One hour of training users on the basics of content updates and management

All this for only $300! If your site requires additional services, my rates are reasonable and, as always, your satisfaction is my goal. For a free consultation, visit the Hire Me page to send me a message.

There are times you might find yourself needing a service and not knowing where to go. You might have recently moved and need someone to mow your lawn, or you might need some carpentry work done and none of your friends have someone to recommend. Where do you turn? Well, several people turn to Craigslist and post in the appropriate (sometimes) category. You can’t just say anything, however. There are a few things you need to keep in mind.

Offer real money.

Too often I see people post that they aren’t willing to pay, but are offering the ‘luxury’ of being the guinea pig for someone so they’ll have something to put on their portfolio. Two things will come from this offer. First, you will turn off most anyone who could do the job well. Second, you’ll get yourself flagged and/or get comments posted about how horrible you are.

You don’t have to offer thousands of dollars for something, just fair market value. Or you can say you’ll take the lowest bid. The main thing is you have to let people know you’re willing to pay for their work. And if someone responds to your ad that has little experience, they may offer a lower rate in exchange for actually getting the job, but that is their option.

Don’t tell them how to do their job.

Sure, you might have read up on the project a bit, but just because you’ve heard some buzzwords doesn’t mean you’re an expert. I’m not going to tell Dan the carpenter that he needs to use a mitre saw for my crown molding just because I did a little research online. Dan will use the tools that he likes because he knows how to get the job done. I’ve never heard of someone requesting a certain brand of lawn mower be used to cut their grass, have you? But frequently I see people doing that exact thing when posting in the area of web development. They have no business listing any/all sorts of words related to web design. “You must know ASP and .NET and PHP and Flash and….” They aren’t experts and shouldn’t position themselves as such.

What should you say instead? How about the results you are looking for. Back to the lawn example, I want my yard cut, and maybe edged. I’m not going to tell you how to do it, just the results I’m looking for. So maybe you’re looking for a contemporary website that can get people to sign up for your newsletter. Or you want it to include videos that you make showcasing your products. Or you want blogging capabilities.

When posting a job you need to share your vision–the end result that you’re looking for. You also want to attract people that will do the job well by offering fair market value for the service you’re looking for.

What oddities have you seen in job postings? What jobs do you have a hard time finding someone to fill?

How often have you had to change something on your website (a date or price, perhaps) only to wait days or weeks for your developer to get around to it? There is a way to bypass the waiting game–and it doesn’t involve you learning how websites (and html) work. You need a content management system (CMS) so you can quickly and easily change the information on your website to reflect the status of your ever-evolving small business.

There are three steps to having a website that you can edit yourself:

1. Find a web developer with previous experience in using a content management system.
2. Make sure you know how to make changes to your site.
3. Change and add content on your schedule.

Find a Developer With CMS Experience

You need to find a web developer with at least some experience developing for some type of content management system. If you pick someone without that experience you’ll just be paying them to learn a skill they’ll take to their next client.

There are many different systems for content management but the basic ideas behind them are close enough that you don’t have to pick the exact CMS before you pick a developer. As long as the developer has worked with one CMS he or she should know what they’re doing. As different CMSs have different primary functions and available plugins, knowing what you want your website to do will help your developer decide on which CMS to use.

You should also specify in your agreement that you want an open-source content management system to be used for your website, as proprietary CMS software isn’t always reliable and can be hard to manage by a new developer, should you part ways with the current one.

Add Training to the Agreement

During negotiations you need to make the developer aware of your need for training to make changes to your website. A content management system does you no good if you don’t know how to manage your content. For this part of the process it’s helpful to have a local developer, but not necessary if you are willing to learn the abstract methods via online tutorials. When your developer comes to train you, you should already be familiar with the front end, which is what regular visitors to your website see. Pay attention to the content and purpose of the different pages and make notes about those you are most likely to edit. During the tutorial make sure you ask about those specific pages and take notes. You don’t want your developer to bill you every month because you can’t remember how to change the specials.

If possible, add the training to the agreement with your developer so you are not suprised that he charges a $500 fee for onsite visits. It’s not easy to find someone cheaper to try to teach you a system they know nothing about.

Change and Add Content on Your Schedule

Finally, if you go to the trouble of having a website that you can update, don’t let your Christmas announcement stay on the website until July! Log in and make those changes you always wanted to. Add directions to your new location or change the name of your supplier if you switch. Check your website thoroughly every week to make sure all the information is current and complete. Make sure your employees communicate to you comments your customers make about the website. If you run weekly specials or put something on clearance, now you have the opportunity to publish it for free. Put it on your website so your current and, more importantly, potential customers can know about it.

If you want to have a dynamic website without waiting on someone else, you need to:

1. Find a developer with CMS experience
2. Get trained in the process of making changes
3. Add and remove content when needed.

No matter what type of business you run,  your relationship with your customers is dynamic and you need to be able to communicate with them. Whether you are thinking about getting a website or have one that you can’t change, you should talk to a developer with CMS experience.