General Questions
Business
Is this your full-time job?
Yes. I am fortunate to be able to work full-time as a freelance graphic designer and web developer... and I love it! Longevity is important to me and my clients. You should know that I'm sticking around.
How many employees are in your company?
One. I have an extensive network of folks doing similar work that I collaborate with. I make sure to take on only the work I can handle, and carefully schedule and manage each project in order to meet all deadlines.
Do you have office space, or are you home-based?
I'm a home-based consultant. Epiphany Multimedia, Inc. was incorporated in 2005.
Are you a reseller?
Yes. I resell web hosting services and print services through preferred vendors. Benefits include: passing savings onto you, efficient project management, and proven quality of services.
You are not required to use these vendors, however.
Also, I ensure that you retain complete control and ownership of your hosting accounts and domain names.
Experience
Do you have marketing experience?
Yes. I have a long history of working with budget conscious non-profits, small businesses, educational institutions and community-based organizations. This forced me to always take a measured marketing approach to all projects.
Why should I hire you for the job?
I create wicked good design. I can offer budget conscious and measurable solutions to your marketing problems because I have proven experience in multiple mediums: print, web, e-mail marketing. Plus, my clients seem to like me!
Pricing
Do you charge by the hour or by the project?
I provide both per-diem and hourly rates. For large projects spanning weeks or months, you may prefer a per-diem payment structure.
What are your payment terms?
The per-diem fee is broken into 3 payments (downpayment on contract signing, mid-project, and project completion).
How much do you charge?
My fees are based on national averages taken from The Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines, and depend upon the services I am providing.
Do you offer any type of discounts?
Yes! Through my affiliations with various vendors, I am able to periodically provide savings for web hosting, printing, and e-mail marketing. I also have a referral program for clients.
Process
What if you get hit by a bus?
I insist that you retain complete control of all elements of our work together. I make sure you have the original files so that you can provide them to another designer down the road, if necessary. I will provide you with a detailed web site manual with all logins and account information, and all the information a new web developer would need to take over.
Will I talk to my designer directly or a project manager?
I am designer and project manager. You will always work directly with me.
Results
Do your clients realize a return on their investment?
Yes. I like to stay in contact with clients over time (paid or not!) to measure the results of each project. I'm am interested in my clients' success, and becoming a more effective designer.
Terms
Who owns the design when it's done?
You own the entire project and will be able to make changes whenever you want to, through me or another designer.
Graphic Design Questions
Process
Do you actually do the design work?
Yes. I do the design work for all projects.
Do you design from scratch or use premade templates?
Both! I provide custom design work for all of my clients. Sometimes, though, using a template is a great, low-budget way to get a print project out the door fast. A template can be purchased for under $100 and then customized for another $200 or $300.
What design software do you use?
Adobe® InDesign®, Adobe® Illustrator®, Adobe® Photoshop®. I can also work with QuarkXPress®.
Web Development Questions
Technical
What programming languages are you proficient in?
XHTML, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), ColdFusion, SQL, Ajax, JavaScript.
What HTML editing software do you use to assemble the graphics?
Adobe® Dreamweaver®
Do you provide hosting?
Yes. I am a reseller for HostMySite. I have worked with them to provide domain registration, web hosting, and e-mail hosting for nearly 10 years.
Do you program with Web Standards?
Yes I do. This site was designed and developed using Web Standards standardized best practices for building web sites. Considerations include the interoperability, accessibility and usability of web pages. In essence, this means that web pages will load faster, reach more users, and cost less to design and maintain.
Are your designs tested for multi-browser and cross-platform compatibility?
Yes. On top of viewing the site in multiple browsers as I develop, I also test the site with BrowserCam's Screen Capture Service. I choose the browsers and operating systems I want to test and get screen captures of the web pages in each environment.
Are you able to guarantee a high ranking in the search engines?
I can't guarantee itnor can anyone else. I can promise that your site will be search engine friendly. And, I can give you plenty of solid, proven advice on how to increase your ranking for particular search terms, in particular search engines.
Search Engine Optimization and Marketing takes time, patience and a ton of effort! It depends upon how much time, money, and energy you have to dedicate to the task.
Do you do search engine optimization?
Of course. Creating a web site that doesn't speak the language of the search engines is pointless. Since 80% of people are now researching products or services on the Internet you need to ensure you put your best foot forward. A majority of your web site traffic is likely to be from search engines, and you can't afford to have roadblocks to potential customers.
Process
How long does it take to have a web site designed?
Depending upon the web site's overall complexity, it could take anywhere from 2 weeks to 6 months.
Do you actually do the programming?
Yes I do.
Will you find/supply photos for my site?
Yes. I believe in using photos to convey messages because people can instantly relate to pictures. I can shoot original photography on location. I also have a library of inexpensive, royalty-free, stock photography.
What do I need to supply you to get started?
After our initial consultation, I will provide you with a detailed list of things I will need from you. Examples include: graphics or photography for use on the site; content for Web pages in Microsoft Word and/or Microsoft Excel format; names and e-mail addresses for a 5-10 person Web usability test group; web hosting and domain name log ins for site launch and/or transfers.
Marketing
Do you offer any Internet marketing services?
Of course. Creating a web site without marketing is like having a party and not inviting anyone. A web site needs to be developed and marketed to promote the growth of your business. A combination of web and print marketing strategies will be suggested based on your budget and needs.
Maintenance
What is site maintenance?
Web maintenance consists of refreshing and adding content to the site, reviewing web site statistics and traffic on the site, monitoring the site for hacker activity, keeping an eye on server maintenance schedules or server errors.
Can I maintain my own web site?
Yes, you can maintain the content. The web sites I develop are always created with client content management in mind. Adobe® Contribute® is software that lets you connect to your web site to make simple text modifications, add photos, and files.
If you're site is a WordPress blog, you will be able to manage the content to a much greater degree, including the addition of pages.
Do you offer maintenance training?
Yes. Whatever content management system you choose, I will provide on-site training. There are options beyond Adobe® Contribute® depending upon your technical experience.
Can design changes be added later?
Of course. A web site is never done! It should be ever changing and refreshed on a regular basis.
