Web Design FAQs

Because the requirements for each business and what they need from their websites differs, it's not possible to come up with an accurate cost for a completely bespoke website without prior discussion. It would be pure guesswork otherwise, which could easily lead to over or under pricing.

Variations in cost:
It would be reasonable to expect that a 5 page website would cost more than a website containing 3 pages, and less than a website containing 10 pages. But that's not always the case... Styling and functionality will also play a huge part, but there is much more to consider when having a website built.

For example, if you're approaching this with a budget of £300-£400, you can certainly get a website built, but you might find that it will be built by a part time web designer with limited technical and design skills, limited business or industry knowledge. They might not be able to provide ongoing support, SEO work, competitor analysis and other forms of analytics work either.

At the other end of the scale it's not unusual to find web designers and agencies charging upwards of £1000 for a single page website, and £2000-£3000 for a 4-5 page website.

So you might be wondering whether those who charge more are ripping you off, or are cheap websites not very good?

Cheap Websites:
A cheap web designer is more likely to cut corners which could result in your website being slow, poorly displayed on mobiles, difficult to find in search engine results, and if it goes wrong you might need to hire someone with experience to fix it.

That might cost you more than your cheap website cost you in the first place, and in the mean time you might be stuck with a website which doesn't work, which could be losing you business.

Read more about web design costs before you commit. You might be glad you did!

Fixed Price Packages:
A fixed price option can work well, because you'll know in advance what the cost will be, and what you'll get for your money.

Targa offer fixed price website packages starting at just £649, but feel free to check out our web design cost calculator and explore a wide range of options without any pressure.

Try pricing up your own website:
Feel free to check out our web design cost calculator and explore a wide range of options without any pressure.

It depends. Let's consider this from two perspectives...

In one respect we could say that to update a website involves changing content, adding or removing sentences or paragraphs, correcting spelling mistakes, and other similar non-technical updates.

We could then make a distinction between these kinds of minor updates and those which require adding new pages, making structural changes to existing pages, adding or changing functionality, etc. Those would be considered major updates

Minor Updates
To make content updates on a website which Targa already manages for you, provided that you're able to help us easily identify the page and content which needs to be updated, AND provide us with the new or revised content that you want it to be replaced with, we might even be able to handle those updated free of charge.

Of course if there are multiple minor updates, there would likely be a small charge based on the time it takes to do them.

Photos/Images
Image updates usually take a bit more work, because besides getting the image to the right size, we also need to consider other variations suitable for use on mobile, tablets and desktops. But costs can be kept to a minimum due to the efficient way we're able to use tools such as PhotoShop.

Major Updates
If the changes are extensive or require us to physically type new content on your behalf, then a reasonable charge would apply, but we can discuss the detail beforehand. The same would apply if we are required to actually produce new content for you.

If you need require new pages, structural changes, etc., the cost of that work can only be determined after prior discussion.

You'll find plenty of web designers who will happily produce you a cheap website for between £200-£400, and for some people this will be acceptable. But there are many reasons that it might not be.

There could be hidden costs such as additional fees for updates and fixes and other services which many other more realistically priced web design services would usually include in the price.

It's also possible that corners could be cut in the design and production of the website, which result in reliability issues, poor search visibility, and potentially a loss of business due to functional or display errors on desktop and mobile devices.

One very important thing to bear in mind is the technical ability of cheap web designers, and their capacity and willingness to handle updates, but more about that later.

Also bear in mind that if a web designer producing budget websites for about £300, that could mean that he'd have to build a new website every single day, which equates to 5 websites per week, and 20 each month.

So realistically

• how many of those websites do you think will have been built to the clients specifications
• How much time will have been spent discussing and creating content, preparing images, deciding on page layout, navigation, colour schemes, contact form creating, etc?
• How many will have been thoroughly tested on mobile and desktop?
• How many of those clients can expect to be given the attention they expect, when there that web designer had also built 19 other websites that month, in addition to the 20 websites the previous month, and will be building another 20 websites the following month?
• How many of those budget web designers are likely to still be in business this time next year, and what will happen to all of those clients and their websites which can no longer be supported?

Cheap websites could be the perfect solution for many small businesses, local groups, sports clubs, etc., but they can have hidden costs and consequences.

Not only might there be additional fees for updates, fixes and other services which many realistically priced web design services would usually include in the price, but web designers who produce cheap websites often cut corners which can turn out to be costly.

Cutting corners often results in reliability issues, poor search visibility, and potentially a loss of business due to functional or display errors on desktop and mobile devices.

Cheap website designers are often novices with limited technical ability, and their capacity and willingness to handle updates might leave you wishing that you had chosen a more professional and committed web designer to entrust with your website.

Also bear in mind that if a web designer producing budget websites for about £300, that could mean that he'd have to build a new website every single day, which equates to 5 websites per week, and 20 each month.

If you need to get your business online without breaking the bank, an affordable fixed price website package could be ideal for you.

Fixed price website packages allow you to clearly see what you'll be getting for a fixed price without any nasty surprises. Fixed price website packages are also easy compare with each other, which makes is easy choose the right package for your needs.

TargaWeb’s fixed price website packages are great self-contained options, but you'll always have the option to upgrade, add more pages, features and services as and when you need to.

Our fixed price website design packages are designed to cater for businesses which need to quickly get online with an affordable professionally built website, without any hidden costs or the risk of the final price creeping up.

For more information visit our Fixed Price Websites page.

Many reputable web designers and web design agencies offer fixed price web design services as a great way of staying within budget.

Fixed price websites can be perfect for many clubs and small businesses, but it is important to stay within the guidelines set by the web designer to avoid costs accumulating.

It is advisable to compare packages so you understand what you will be getting for your money, and also make sure that you understand any restraints or requirement of the terms of the agreement. It is therefore important to know what is and is not included in the package, and what might cost you extra.

TargaWeb, for example, offer Bronze, Silver and Gold fixed price packages, which clearly list each of the features and benefits, and all of their packages can easily be extended or upgraded without incurring huge costs.

For more information visit our Fixed Price Websites page.

The cost of a fixed price website package will depend on what the package or offer includes. Some will provide you with just the website and may charge based on the number of pages it contains.

Some fixed price packages might include additional features and services within the price, and also offer a range of optional extras. For example, prices for TargaWeb’s fixed price websites start at just £649 for the Bronze package, but some web designers may charge lower or higher prices depending on their own criteria.

Content Option:
Note that TargaWeb also offers an option for those who want us to produce their website content for them. Our content done for you packages start at just £1049 for the Bronze package.

Shop around:
It is wise to shop around, but instead of basing your decision on price alone, also consider the ability of the web designer to be able to provide you with a website which truly represents your business.

For more information visit our Fixed Price Websites page.

There are many reputable web designers and web design agencies offer fixed price web design services to help you stay within budget.

It is wise to shop around, but instead of basing your decision on price alone and going for the cheapest you can find, also consider the ability of the web designer to be able to provide you with a website which truly represents your business.

UK based web design agency TargaWeb, for example, offer fixed price websites from just £649 which can easily be extended or upgraded, but some web designers may charge lower or higher prices depending on their own criteria.

For more information visit our Fixed Price Websites page.

1: Introductory call:

• We can arrange a short phone or Zoom call to enable us to learn about you and your business, and what objectives you have for your new website.
• Phone and Zoom calls can be very effective, but there may be good reason to meet face to face.

2: Down to detail:

• We can discuss the details of what each page of your website needs to contain, as well as styling, colours, and other visual aspects of your website.
• If you have any content for your website, whether it be paragraphs of text describing your business and services, photos, logos, etc., you can send them over by email or via DropBox.

3: Content for your website:

• Your website needs to have relevant quality content for the benefit of your customers and also for success with the search engines.
• It is advisable to give serious thought to your website content, but we understand that not everyone has the time or feels comfortable producing website content.

4: The design stage:

• If you already have some ideas or can suggest some existing websites that you like the look of, that would be great.
• Maybe you would like us to put forward some suggestions. That's fine too.
• So before coding starts, we'll discuss some visual ideas with you, get your feedback, and then we can begin developing your new website.

5: Keeping an eye on things:

• You will be able to check in with us to see how your website is shaping up, and you will be given access to each page for your feedback and approval.
• Your new website will only go live when you give us the approval to do so, and we will work with you until you're happy with it.
• Of course there may be the need for us to meet a specific deadline that you have, and so we will work to a project plan to meet that deadline.

There are many factors that it is almost impossible to say how long a website should take to build. For example:

Size, purpose and features:
How many pages will the website contain? Will it be used to promote your services or to sell products and handle secure online payments?

Will it require a CMS (content management system), or a searchable database of content. You might require a list of subscribers to be generated which will grow as more people fill out their details on your website?

Will you be providing your own website content and images, or will you be relying on the web designer to do source suitable images on your behalf?

Will you require your website to tap into your social media feeds such as Twitter, so it displays your latest or selected Tweets?

Average time period:
There are many other variables too, but websites for the average small to medium size business can typically take between 1 and 8 weeks to produce.

You can certainly find some web designers who will produce websites quickly and cheaply, but that's another story! Cheap websites often have many corners cut in order to speed up the process and keep costs down, but the results, performance and reliability can be poor, and many such website owners end up having their websites rebuilt. In the mean time it could be costing them money in lost businesses and brand reputation.

What about AI?:
You might have heard that websites can now be built using AI. That's true, but you need to anticipate the lack of control, styling, editorial input, the ability to update content, add or change images, and make it mobile friendly.

What if it goes wrong? Can it be fixed? Who will fix it? How much will that cost?

So bearing those points in mind, just be careful and do some research before diving in!

The time it takes to complete a website depends on various factors such as the complexity of the design, the number of pages, styling, features, functionality, and the availability of content.

Typically, a simple website can be completed in anything from a few days or weeks, whist larger more complex projects may take several months or even longer.

The 'right' web designer for one businesses might not be the right web designer for another business, so it's important to remember that not every web designer or web design agency is the same...

Some may have limited experience but can produce a nice looking Wix or WordPress site; some may be very experienced in design, user experience, page structure and website architecture, and some may have excellent technical skills in specific coding languages and database management.

There are some businesses who offer web design as an additional service to their core business of, for example, logo design, business cards and stationary printing. But does this make them experienced and dedicated enough to build and manage your website to the level you expect?

It depends how serious you are, how important your website is to you, what you want your website to do for your business, and the level of involvement you're going to need from your web developer.

Whatever their level of skills, knowledge or experience, one of the most important aspects of selecting a web designer is to find one with good communication skills, who seeks to understand your business or goals, and can provide the solution you need.

You are also going to need ongoing support, and maybe someone to handle SEO, Google Ads and Google Analytics, besides development and general maintenance of your website.

So if you can find someone through recommendation, or have a chat with them to get a sense of what they might be like to work with, that would be a good starting point.

If you find the conversation difficult and come away feeling uncomfortable because you haven't understood half of what has been said, move on and try someone else!

Yes, of course. If ever you either need or choose to have your website managed by a different web designer, TargaWeb makes this as easy as possible, even in the event of TargaWeb ceasing trading.

As a regular procedure, every month you will receive an up to date version of your website by Zip file. This will give you the peace of mind that if you need to find another web designer to manage your website, you can simply send them the latest Zip file and they can proceed from there without the complications of having to access the files on the original web servers.

It's important to be aware that not all web designers can code (at TargaWeb we have years of coding experience!), whilst some designers exclusively use WordPress, Wix, and other platforms.

So if you do need to switch to another web designer, check that they can readily accept your website, otherwise you might find that they'll have to rebuild your website. That, has experience has shown, can not only be costly, but it can lead to a number of other problems which the new web designer will need to anticipate and overcome.

TargaWeb always seeks to provide great value, but there is a difference between value and cost. To be the cheapest would mean that we would have to corners on quality, service, features, and attention to detail. That would certainly save you money, but you're unlikely to be happy with the results.

If you think that you'll be happy with a web designer who needs to rush through the design process so they can quickly move on to the next cheap website on their list, there are plenty of cheap and relatively inexperienced web designers out there who will put a basic website together for you.

What if something goes wrong?
Then they'll hope that you don't contact them when something goes wrong or some amendments are needed, because they are either likely to be busy building more cheap websites and can't (or don't want to) commit to any more time to your website, or they might have already gone out of business because they were charging prices which were unsustainable.

Look at the numbers
The reality is that for a web designer to survive by building websites for £200-£300, they would need to build several cheap websites every single week. Multiply 3-5 websites per week by 52 weeks and you can see that they would need to build an average of 200 websites per year, spending between 1 and 2 days for each website, and having little chance to manage and maintain them all to the satisfaction of most of their clients.

What you should expect to happen
Bear in mind how much attention a web designer should commit to making sure that the website represents your business and meets your objectives.

It will also need to be designed to look and behave correctly on all screen sizes and devices, with optimised images and code to ensure that the website loads quickly... especially on mobile... and includes all of the ingredients needed to be effective in search engine results.

Saving money often feels good in the short term, but corners cut on quality, service and attention to detail tend to bug you for much longer. Therefore if I'm building a website and feel that some tweaks are needs to make something look or work better, I'll do it. If those tweaks take 2 minutes, 2 hours or 2 days, I'll do it!

My objective would be to make your website the best it can be, without unnecessarily adding to your costs. The cheapest web designers won't do that. But at least you have the choice to use them if you want to.

Remember... PRICE is what you PAY, but VALUE is what you GET!

Understandably you won't want to spend more money than you have to, but it could be wise to avoid entrusting the design and management of your website to inexperienced or part time web designers who can only attract business by being the cheapest.

Here are some of the things to be aware of when choosing a web designer based mainly on price...

Corner Cutting
Undercutting the competition usually means cutting corners on the work they do.

To build even a small professional website properly can take time, because the needs of the business will need to be discussed and understood, and the needs and expectations of their target audience will need to be given sufficient attention. Those needs will also need to be met... and tested... on desktop, tablets, and mobile.

Search engine success
SEO success usually doesn't happen without analysis, tweaking and monitoring, which can take time, effort and experience. In addition there might be Schema markup used on each page to enhance search engine results, and also Open Graph tags. These all need to be set up and tested properly.

Getting what you pay for
This is why professional web designers and developers charge more. But that's not unreasonable, given the skills required and the time involved. On the other hand cheap websites are likely to have been built very quickly. That could mean:

   • little attention to detail.
   • a That will have to do approach to getting the job done in the limited time available.
   • an increased chance of there being problems, technical issues and design flaws.

For example the website might look okay on a laptop but doesn't work properly on mobile because of oversized images impacting speed, as well as width and other layout and design issues.

Problems
If anything goes wrong, how willing is the web designer likely to be to spend the time to investigate and implement a fix, and thoroughly test it afterwards to make sure that the fix hasn't led to another problem.

The likelihood of you needing a more experienced web designer to fix those problems or even build you a new website is therefore quite high. Problem solving, testing and monitoring takes time, patience and experience, which are rarely top of the list for those web designers out there who can only attract business by being the cheapest.

Unless the web designer continually produces lots of cheap websites with a quick turnaround so they can move onto the next, and the next, and the next, they might not be able to stay in business for very long, and then what will happen to your website?

TargaWeb offers ongoing support and maintenance services to ensure that your website remains secure, up-to-date, and performing optimally. This includes regular backups, software updates, security monitoring, and troubleshooting assistance as needed.

It is also important to be seen, and so core SEO techniques are taken into account right from the start.

Yes, provided that it has been designed correctly.

The term Responsive Website is often used, and this refers to websites which are designed to work on all screen sizes and devices, including mobile phones.

More information can be found in this article about mobile friendly websites.

Provided that your website has been designed to be responsive, it should work correctly on a range of screen sizes smartphones to large desktop monitors.

The term Responsive Website is often used, and this refers to websites which are designed to work on all screen sizes and devices, including mobile phones.

More information can be found in this article about mobile friendly websites.

A responsive website is a website which has been designed to display and function correctly on a range of screen sizes and devices.

Whilst it may be possible for a desktop monitor and laptop to display the same layout of a web page, a smartphone is usually viewed in a vertical (or portrait orientation), and therefore typically requires a different layout of each web page.

Likewise, a tablet such as an iPad is likely to need a slightly different page layout when in portrait orientation compared to when viewed in a landscape orientation.

Besides different layouts for smartphones, a well designed responsive website is also likely to use smaller versions of images on mobile phones, to make web pages load more quickly by not having to download larger quantities of data over a mobile phone network.

Yes. Because mobile phone users account for more than two thirds of people using the internet, making your website mobile-friendly and responsive is essential, and comes as standard.

I prioritise responsive design techniques, including page and image optimisation to ensure that your website looks and functions correctly across all devices, including smartphones, tablets and desktop computers.

A Responsive Website is a website which is designed to work on all screen sizes and devices, including mobile phones.

Because of the increasing numbers of people who use their smartphones to access the internet, it makes sense that all websites should be made to be responsive. However, some websites which are intended to be responsive have not been correctly designed for use on mobile devices.

This is usually because the web designer has not paid enough attention to how the page design should be configured for different screen widths and orientations.

The use of oversize images can also be cause problems. Oversize images can cause pages to load slowly on mobile devices, but some images and the code (usually a combination of HTML and CSS) might not have been set up correctly to handle the visible re-sizing of images to suit the narrower screen with on of a typical smartphone.

No, your website doesn't have to be built using WordPress. There are many other options such as Wix, SquareSpace and other website builders. Let's explain...

Website builders such as WordPress and other tools can be really good to get to online cheaply, and even allow you to make some of the updates to the website yourself. But there are limitations, especially in the hands of novice web designers who use WordPress. Many of their websites can be slow on mobile phones, and depending on your needs and what you want to achieve with your website, you might find those limitations hold you back or cause problems.

There is also a reliance on 3rd party plug-ins to perform certain tasks and add features, and some of those can introduce reliability problems which are outside of the actual WordPress platform, and outside of your control.

Pros and Cons:
The up side to using a platform like WordPress is that it can make the process of building a website quicker and easier, but it can be at the expense of flexibility, scalability, functional limitations, and slow websites. Slow websites can be especially problematic for mobile users, and with the proportion of mobile v's desktop users on the increase, it is becoming more and more important to have a fast loading website.

In the right hands WordPress can be great, but there are many web designers out there who use WordPress to fill the gaps in their skillset, and that can... and does... lead to problems which they're unable to resolve without further help from someone with more experience.

Website builders such as WordPress can be really good to get to you online cheaply, and even allow you to make some of the updates to the website yourself. But there can be limitations, especially in the hands of novice web designers who use WordPress. Many of their websites can be slow, especially on mobile phones. You might find some of those limitations hold you and your business back, so it is therefore worth understanding some of the pros and cons of WordPress before committing.

Because WordPress is a very well established platform which has made it far easier for people without any knowledge of web code, such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, etc. However, despite WordPress being known as a no code tool, that is from the perspective of the user, but in many respects its own codebase can make the final product... the website... very code heavy.

Another thing which made WordPress popular is that it can also provide the option for the website owner to make their own content updates via it's CMS (content management system).

Other options:
Alternative no code options to WordPress include tools such as Wix, SquareSpace, Ionis, and others. They all provide a means of building websites without having to employ the expertise of an experienced web developer, but all have their limitations which you ought to be aware of before making a choice.

Of course you also have the option to use an experienced web designer who has the skills, experience and knowledge to build and maintain a website without needing to rely on drag 'n' drop website builders to compensate for a lack of technical skills.

No, TargaWeb doesn't use WordPress.

It was a conscious decision NOT to use WordPress for a number of reasons, but I'll start with some of the benefits of WordPress.

WordPress is a great option for building relatively small and simple websites, which in many cases is all that a lot of small businesses need.

Wilst there are many incredibly good WordPress websites out there, there is a huge number of poorly built WordPress websites which have been created by inexperienced web designers, which has given WordPress a reputation that it doesn't deserve.

So you could say that WordPress's reputation has suffered somewhat in the hands of novice web designers, but here are the main reasons that TargaWeb doesn't use WordPress.

Experience:
TargaWeb's web design experience began way back in 1996. That experience has been acquired through many years of designing, developing and managing small business websites to huge fully dynamic and fully interactive corporate e-commerce websites designed to cater for international markets in more than 28 languages.

Therefore TargaWeb hasn't seen the need to rely on tools such as WordPress to make up for a lack of experience and technical skills.

Reliability:
Because WordPress automates a lot of the structural coding in the background outside the control of the web designer (which of course web designers who don't understand code love!), this can lead to the website doing or including things that we not intended, and which the web designer is often unaware of.

WordPress provides access to a huge number of third party plug-ins which can quickly and easily add features and functionality to the website. But because those plug-ins are built and managed by 3rd party companies and freelance developers (therefore NOT WordPress), there can be incompatibility issues with other features on the website. Therefore it is not unusual for things to suddenly stop working due to 3rd party plug-in updates.

Flexibility and Scalability:
Because the websites that TargaWeb builds are completely free from the constraints of the templated method that most WordPress websites use, TargaWeb can provide almost unlimited flexibility in the styling and functionality of it's websites. This can provide clients with a greater range of options, and fewer restrictions on what their website can do for their business.

You have the choice:
If you specifically want your website to be built on WordPress, there are plenty of web designers out there with varying levels of experience who can build a WordPress for you. But there are other options.

You can read more about the pros and cons of website builders, but another option is to get a quote from an experienced web developer, who doesn't need to rely on drag 'n' drop website builders to compensate for a lack of technical skills.

Some people feel that because they're paying someone to build a website for them, the web designer should also produce the content. After all, that's part of building a website, right?

In reality, you're likely to be more of an expert is your business than your web designer, and so it makes sense for you to produce your website content.

However, we understand that not everyone has the desire or the time to sit and write their own website content, whilst others will insist on writing every single word. So to make life as easy as possible for you where your website content is concerned, Targa has two content options...

Option 1 - You supply your website content
Because you're the expert in your field, it's usually better for you to say what you want to say about your business and services. But everyone can get stuck for words at times, so we can guide you with some suggestions and prompts.

Option 2 - We create your content for you
If you don't have the time, capacity or inclination to produce the content for your website, we could do it for you!

Because of the additional research and content preparation we would have to do on your behalf, this done-for-you content option would of course come at an additional cost, but it can save you a lot of time that you might not have. All you'd need to do is approve the content so you're happy with what your website is saying about you and your business!

Then you have up to 30 days after your website has launched for you to feed back any changes that you'd like us to make to the content. Those would typically be small tweaks, additions or removals, and come at no extra cost to you!

You might find either of these two articles about writing quality website content and creating content that your customers want useful.

After all, it will be your business that the website represents.

The amount of content you need for your website will depend on the type of business you have, and the services or products you offer. Think of what a customer wants or expects when they arrive on your website...

Do they want to buy a product, find a service, research a subject, make comparisons, be educated or entertained?

Once you have a clear idea of why people would come to your website, then ask how easy it is for them to find what they're looking for. In fact, do you actually have what they're looking for on your website?

What you want to avoid is making people leave your website due to a lack of quality content. The general feeling is that if a potential customer wants to find specific information, they'll find it. If they can't find it on your website, they'll go elsewhere to find it.

This article on creating content that your customers want could provide you with some useful ideas.

Yes you can have a website built from scratch, including all the content.

Not all web designers or web design agencies provide content writing services, mainly because the business owner is usually far more knowledgeable about the subject matter than the web designer is.

But there are web agencies such as TargaWeb who recognise that not all business owners have the capacity to create suitable content for their website, and offer a done-for-you content service as part of the deal.

For more information visit our web design with content creation page.

Yes you can hire a web designer who also creates the website content. Whilst it is usually considered that the business owner is the subject matter for their business, there are certainly web designers and agencies who offer done-for-you content creation services.

It is considered best practice that you as the business or website owner should approve and sign-off on any content which has been prepared on your behalf. This provides you with reassurance that all content which is published about you and your business is accurate.

After all, you won’t want it to be making claims that you provide services that you don’t, or display prices which are incorrect.

For more information visit our web design with content creation page.

Costs to create a website and the website content can vary wildly, based on the size and nature of the project.

Besides the work involve in produce the website, content writing can be a time consuming process which typically involves research, preparation, writing, and validation for relevance and accuracy. Each type of business from accountants to window cleaners and kitchen installers to solicitors has its own unique subject matter to cover.

The number of pages and volume of content required are usually the biggest factors, but content of a highly specialist or technical nature might cost more to produce than more generic content for a common type of business.

There might also be costs to cover arrangements for periodic content updates, which might also include content preparation for social media posts in addition to content for the website.

It is therefore difficult to say how much a website and done-for-you content package could cost, but as a guide you could take a look at the range of packages that TargaWeb provide.

For more information visit our web design with content creation page.

Yes you can hire a web designer who also creates the website content. Whilst it is usually considered that the business owner is the subject matter for their business, there are certainly web designers and agencies who offer done-for-you content creation services.

It is considered best practice that you as the business or website owner should approve and sign-off on any content which has been prepared on your behalf. This provides you with reassurance that all content which is published about you and your business is accurate.

After all, you won’t want it to be making claims that you provide services that you don’t, or display prices which are incorrect.

For more information visit our web design with content creation page.

Sure. Whilst TargaWeb has handled content creation to varying degrees for the websites we have produced and manage, Kevin Robinson from The Content Generator comes highly recommended.

Don't forget to tell him that Daron sent you!

For more information visit our web design with content creation page.

Registering a domain is quite easy. Most hosting companies have a facility which will enable you to search for the availability of your intended domain, and they will return a list of results, prices and alternative suggestions.

From there it is as simple as adding the domain(s) to a shopping basket, answer a few questions, and pay. Costs can vary widely.

Domains are usually registered for 1 or 2 years, and they can be renewed prior to expiry if you intend to continue using your domain name.

You have two easy options to find out when your domain expires:

1: If your website is being managed by Targa, just ask and we'll be able to tell you. In fact we make a point of notifying all clients at the beginning of the year about when their domains are due for renewal, and also a month before the actual renewal happens. Unless instructed otherwise, we keep domains set to auto renew to avoid running into problems with websites shutting down.

2: You can go to https://who.is/ and enter your domain name in the search box.

Amongst other information displayed, you should find the expiry date under the Important Dates section.

Yes, TargaWeb can assist you with domain registration and recommend reliable web hosting services suitable for your needs.

We can also handle the setup and configuration of your domain and hosting, ensuring a smooth transition to your new website.

If you can see a locked padlock symbol in your browser's address bar, or you can see that your web address (your URL) uses https instead of http then your website is secure. If you don't yet have a website or are looking for someone to host your website, look for a hosting package which will include an SSL Certificate.

If you don't yet have a website or are looking for someone to host your website, look for a hosting package which will include an SSL Certificate.

SSL (or Secure Socket Layer) provides that level of security you need. In some cases your hosting package will include SSL, and other cases you'll need to pay for SSL.

SSL stands for Secure Socket Layer

Having a valid SSL Certificate for your website will provide that level of security you need, and will allow your web address to use https instead of http

It is a legal requirement that any business which processes personal data must have a privacy policy.

If you are a website owner you will need to provide access to a copy of your privacy policy at the time you collect people's personal information.

If your website does not have a privacy policy page, speak with your web designer.

Even if your web designer insists that you do not need one, if you capture and process personal data it will be your responsibility to provide a privacy policy.

GDPR stands for (General Data Protection Regulation) and was introduced on May 25 2018 by the European Union (EU) to which is is a set of rules that govern how organisations handle personal data individuals within the EU.

Where websites are concerned, GDPR requires that websites must explicitly obtain consent for the collection of data, and provide clear and transparent information about data use and storage.

In summary, websites need to respect user's privacy rights by handling user data responsibly and transparently.

For a more official explanation about GDPR, you can visit either the What is GDPR atricle on the GDPR.eu website, or the Data protection page on the Gov.UK website.

If you want access to the full GDPR regulations just visit the link which will open up the regulations in a new tab or window.

Need advice on GDPR?
For expert advice, consulation and training on GPDR, Cristina Vannini-Goodchild of CVG Solutions Ltd comes highly recommended. Don't forget to tell her that Daron sent you!

It's a fact that there are some very unscrupulous people who will try to spam and scam any target they choose, whether it's a bank, social media platform, clone an account, or target manipulate users phones or laptops of individuals like you and me.

However, a good web designer can take steps to reduce spam and malicious communication by people who attempt to send things through web forms which could be potentially harmful. These include detection of malicious, obscene or offensive content, cross site scripting (XSS) prevention, etc.

TargaWeb's methods include ways designed to stop malicious robots trawling websites to find online forms and automatically filling them out and submitting them, often with junk, links and scripts added to the fields.

Capturing IP Address:
Behind the scenes, the forms on the websites of TargaWeb clients also discretely capture the IP address of the sender.

Each web form on ALL websites produced by TargaWeb is checked against several hundred IP addresses which are known to have previously been used in a suspicious or malicious way, and if the IP of the user's computer matches an IP address in our blacklist, the form will be disabled on their computer to prevent them using the form.

Sanitisation:
Certain types of web form content are monitored and sanitised if necessary before being delivered by email to the owners of the website. We make it an ongoing policy to continually improve the security, functionality and stability of all new and existing forms that TargaWeb creates and manages.

For a more in-depth view on how TargaWeb handles contact form submission, take a look at this article on web form security

To reduce the number of automated form submissions, TargaWeb uses bespoke method which generates two random numbers which the user simply needs to add and submit the answer in a form field before the form can be submitted. The form will only be able to be submitted if the correct answer has been entered.

TargaWeb chose to use this simple method in preference to the more common CAPTCHA method, which often required the user to follow instructions to click on all of the squares containing a bicycle, traffic lights, bus, etc., in the photo which was displayed when the user submitted the form.

We thought that the CAPTCHA method was a pretty good way of ensuring that a real person was completing the form, but it could lead to frustration for users of a website who were being asked to carry out additional tasks, some of which were slow or didn't work properly.

Malicious content:
Obviously not all human visitors who submit forms on websites are legitimate. Some will manually submit forms with links, code, scripts, or obscene or malicious content, and others will use robots to automatically complete and submit forms in seconds.

This, of course, can be really frustrating to the website owners, and also concerning considering some of the malicious intent behind these submissions.

Targa's response:
Targa has applied steps to handle such activity, which includes a sanitisaton process. This will identify and treat links, prevent certain characters and code from being submitted, and identify and filter out obscene language.

Very importantly we are able to identify the IP address of the computer which was used to submit the form, and add that IP address to a blacklist, thus blocking that same computer from making further form submissions.

For a more in-depth view on how Targa handles contact form submission, take a look at this article on web form security

Cross site scripting, also known as XSS, refers to malicious activity carried out by unscrupulous visitors to a website adding JavaScript to form fields or search boxes.

This JavaScript can subsequently cause things to happen on the user's phone or computer, usually with harmful intent.

Passwords and personal data can be stolen, computers can be hijacked, analytics may be gathered, and many other malicious actions could be carried out.

SEO efforts, when done correctly and methodically, should be able to show measurable results within a 4 to 12 month period.

Your website needs time to establish itself, and search engines will need to determine how your website and the individual pages it contains compares to the vast number of websites already out there and currently ranking for keywords that you intend to rank for.

So you'll need patience, but also an SEO strategy.

There are exceptions to this rule of thumb, such as the immediacy of important news, sports updates, etc. Those are typically handled by search engines in an entirely different way to the general way that SEO works for most websites.

In most cases, it can be quite easy to get you to the top in Google, especially if people are specifically searching for your business name. But if people are searching for services in a specific town, city or area such as 'plumber in london' or 'electrician in Derby' the effort needed to get you to the top of those searches is considerably more, and of course comes with no guarantees.

To explain this further, let's look at an example using a fictitious plumbing company in London called DripQuick Plumbing

A search for DripQuick Plumbing is likely to place that company at the top in Google, with little effort or SEO strategy required. This is because there aren't many companies called DripQuick Plumbing around the globe, and even fewer in London.

So yes, I could probably get you to the top in Google for something, especially if people are specifically searching for your business name. But it depends what you want to be at the top for...

A search for plumber in london or london plumbers is a much tougher one to get to the #1 spot in Google for compared to DripQuick Plumbing.

In fact getting on pages 1, 2 or 3 is really tough because there are some very well established plumbing companies out there who will be competing for position, and some of those will be using paid search to get a prominent position above the organic (unpaid) search results.

In summary
Getting to the top in Google is a competition. You need to earn the right (or pay in some cases) to achieve a high position, and your competitors are also putting in the effort to be #1 too.

So let's be honest here... Nobody can guarantee that they'll get you to the top for all of the search terms you want to be found for, but without a focused SEO strategy you are unlikely to get even close.

You might be wondering why, when we ay that SEO takes time and patience, Google can display up to the minute sports scores or updates on major news stories which happened earlier that same day.

Google has a way of categorising certain search topics and search terms, and it can make use of different features based on industry and, in the above examples, news and sport.

This special ranking feature is called QDF, which stands for Query Deserves Freshness and aims to serve up to date information in its search results.

Most business websites are unlikely to get the QDF treatment, and therefore we have to compete in a much broader arena, where updates to our website content will take much longer to take effect.

SERPs simply means Search Engine Results Pages

SERPs is a term which you may or may not have come across, but you use them a lot... probably every day.

Run a search on Google and then look at the list of search results displayed on the pages in front of you. Those are the SERPs!

It is a common mistake for many businesses is to think that every person is a potential customer.

In some cases that may be true, but in most cases it is worth businesses targeting narrower groups or types of people. This may be based on age, sex, location, interests, habits, people with children, people with elderly relatives, pet owners, cyclists, car owners, people going abroad, etc.

By knowing who your target audience is, you should then ask yourself what do they need or want from a visit to your website?

What are your customers needs and want?
By knowing who your target audience is, you should then ask yourself what do they need or want from a visit to your website?

• What do customers expect when they reach your website?
• Do visitors to your website expect to find out enough information about you, your products and services so they can make a purchase?
• Does your website and it's individual pages clearly communicate their purpose, or is the website content too cluttered, ambiguous, or trying to cover too many points for the visitor to understand or want to spend more time reading through?
• Are potential customers likely to carry out some research before making a decision? If so, is your website informative enough to allow most of that research to be done on your website, or will they need to go looking for answers elsewhere?
• Even if your website has all of the information that potential customers could even want, is it easy to find and clear enough to understand?
• To make an enquiry, are they more likely to call you, email you or complete an online form? You need to consider what a potential customer is more likely to want to use to contact you, and make it as easy as possible to allow that to happen.
• To place an order or make a purchase on your website, how can you make the decision and buying process as simple as possible for potential customers?

Are your customers all from your local area?
Are your customers local, or do you reach out to customers right across the UK?

If your customers are local, it might be worth considering targeting customers in specific towns and villages. That way you could get the edge on your competition by getting targeted landing pages to work well for you in search engine results.

By knowing who your target audience is, you should ask yourself what do they need or want from a visit to your website?

Most business owners are 'too close' to their website to have a truly objective opinion, so a some simple advice is to ask friends or family to play the role of a potential customer visiting your website, and give you their honest opinion about their experience

Don't just accept comments like 'It was pretty good' or 'I thought it way okay' - ask them why, because feedback with explanations can be far more useful to you.

Consider your customers need and want?
By knowing who your target audience is, you should then ask yourself what do they need or want from a visit to your website?

• What do customers expect when they reach your website?
• Do visitors to your website expect to find out enough information about you, your products and services so they can make a purchase?
• Does your website and it's individual pages clearly communicate their purpose, or is the website content too cluttered, ambiguous, or trying to cover too many points for the visitor to understand or want to spend more time reading through?
• Are potential customers likely to carry out some research before making a decision? If so, is your website informative enough to allow most of that research to be done on your website, or will they need to go looking for answers elsewhere?
• Even if your website has all of the information that potential customers could even want, is it easy to find and clear enough to understand?
• To make an enquiry, are they more likely to call you, email you or complete an online form? You need to consider what a potential customer is more likely to want to use to contact you, and make it as easy as possible to allow that to happen.
• To place an order or make a purchase on your website, how can you make the decision and buying process as simple as possible for potential customers?

Whilst TargaWeb doesn't directly handle social media for clients, we can link to your social media pages, and, if required, embed specific postings onto your website.

It's not an ideal approach for everyone, but it can certainly be useful for those individuals or businesses who want to display their latest Tweets on their website.

Depending on your type of business or location, there may be some social media experts we can recommend, so please feel free to ask.

If you're asking if you can have an email address based on your domain name, sure.

The general feeling is that an email address based on your domain name looks more professional than, say, a Hotmail, Yahoo or Gmail email address.

What looks more professional to you?
  autumnglaze@gmail.com
  autumnglaze@hotmail.com or
  info@autumnglaze.com

So whilst it isn't mandatory to have a business email address, the general opinion is in favour of them, and TargaWeb can certainly set business email addresses up for you.

You might already be aware that many computers provide a very simple way to set up access to their Hotmail, Gmail or Yahoo emails. All you usually need is your email address and password, then the set-up widget does the rest for you.

However, for email addresses which are based on your domain name, there are some additional details required, because those emails need to be sent and received through via your hosting company.

The precise labelling of these fields may differ based on your machine and operating system, but the additional information required will be something like these examples:

Incoming email server: imap.ABC-hosting.co.uk:993:1
Outgoing (SMTP) email server: smtp.ABC-hosting.co.uk:465:1

You might already be aware that many computers provide a simple way to set up access to their Hotmail, Gmail, Outlook or Yahoo emails.

All you usually need is your email address and password, then the set-up widget does the rest for you.

However, for email addresses which are based on your domain name, there are some additional details required, because those emails need to be sent and received through via your hosting company.

You're like to need the specific IMAP or POP3 settings for sending a receiving emails, and the 'port' numbers, such as 993 for outgoing emails, and 465 for incoming emails.

The precise labelling of these fields may differ based on your machine and operating system, but the additional information required will be something like these examples:

Incoming email server: imap.ABC-hosting.co.uk:993:1
Outgoing (SMTP) email server: smtp.ABC-hosting.co.uk:465:1

Your web designer should be able to help you with the exact information you need, or you can contact your hosting company directly.

The preferred method of payment is direct bank transfer. Details will be provided when an invoice is submitted.

Alternatively you can pay by PayPal.

We appreciate that some web design projects can be costly investment, which is why many businesses on a tight budget look for the cheapest web designer they can find.

That can often lead to problems relating to experience, skill levels, reliability, scalability and limited scope to give your business a website which really works for you.

So to help with making larger projects more affordable, TargaWeb is usually able to offer a split payment plan, whereby a deposit can be paid upfront, and the balance paid in 1, 2 or 3 installments.

Just ask about split payment options, and we'll be happy to discuss.

A front end web developer is typically responsible for the visual aspects of the website that the user sees and interacts with.

The key aspects of front-end web development include:

HTML
HTML provides the basic structure and content of a web page. HTML is used to define the various elements on a page, such as headings, paragraphs, images, links, etc.

CSS
CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets which is used to style the HTML elements and control their layout, appearance, and presentation. It allows developers to define colours, fonts, spacing, and other visual aspects of the website.

JavaScript
JavaScript is a programming language that adds interactivity and dynamic behaviour to web pages. It is used to create features such as image sliders, form validations, and interactive elements that respond to user actions.

Responsive Web Design
Front-end developers need to ensure that websites are accessible and usable across various types of devices and screen sizes. This involves using responsive design techniques (mainly involving CSS and HTML) to adapt the layout and design based on the device being used, such as desktops, tablets, and mobile phones.

Front-end Frameworks and Libraries
Developers often use pre-built frameworks and libraries to streamline the development process. Examples include Bootstrap, React, Angular, and Vue.js.

Front end developers are typically responsible for the visual aspects of a website that the user sees and interacts with.

On the other hand back end developers are more likely to be involved with the coding the dynamic elements of the website which allow users to have a personal experience based on their type, location, selections made, and many other factors which could result in specific messaging and features being displayed during their visit to the website.

Front end web developer's areas of expertise in designing and laying out web pages are likely to include HTML, CSS and JavaScript and they'll have an understanding of have to create pages which can conform to the different screen sizes and orientations of devices from smartphones, tablet and desktop computers.

Whilst a back end developer is also likely to use HTML, CSS and JavaScript, they might also write dynamic code in PHP and create databases which the website will interact with.

Exactly what happens if your web designer stops training will depend on that web designer, and the steps or procedures (if any) that they have in place.

For your peace of mind, try to find the answer to that question before you commit to a specific web designer or agency. Bear mind that some businesses suddenly cease trading without giving their clients any prior notice, so it would be wise if your chosen web designer has routine safeguards in place, such as providing you with a monthly backup of your website in case of an emergency.

If TargaWeb was to cease trading you should have no need to worry about what will happen to your website, because as a regular procedure, every month you will receive an up to date version of your website by Zip file.

This will give you the peace of mind that if you need to find another web designer to manage your website, you can simply send them the latest Zip file and they can proceed from there without the complications of having to access the files on the original web servers.

Your website should always be backed up. It will obviously exist on the hosting server, but the latest version will always be backed up separately in case anything goes wrong.

TargaWeb's policy is that every month our clients receive an up to date version of their website by Zip file.

Being provided with a copy of your website on demand will depend on your web designer, and their willingness or ability to send you a copy of your website.

In some cases there might be something in the contract that you have with your web designer or web design agency which states that they own the website. In that case, despite what you might have paid them for the design, development and upkeep of your website, they are not contractually obliged to send you a copy.

Will TargaWeb provide me with a copy of my website?

TargaWeb actually provides each client with a copy of the latest version of their website every month. This provides peace of mind that they will always be in possession of the latest version of your website, in case they either need or decide to transfer to another web designer.

As a client of TargaWeb, you wouldn't need to do anything with the monthly Zip file, other than keep the most recent version safe in case you ever need it.

MVP stands for minimum viable product. In website terms this could apply to a large project which will take a long time to build, but very often the company cannot wait before every requirement has been implemented and all fine tuning has been done. So the initial release will usually be considered with the MVP in mind, and subsequent releases could expand or enhance the features and functionality of what was delivered with that initial release.

Let's expand on this by answer the common question Can we at least get something live in the mean time?

So what could we consider as the minimum viable product, or the MVP?

Some of the functionality, styling, sections, integration with other systems, etc., may all be required on completion, but those may take time and might not all be ready for the target launch date.

Decisions:
To enable you to get the project live sooner, discussions can be had to determine which features of the website are launch critical and therefore MUST be in place before the first version of the website can go live.

Other features can therefore be assessed and prioritised, and the project can be broken into phases. These phases may or may not have critical dates to go live, but the MVP (Minimum Viable Product) is the version of the website containing the features essential for the initial launch.

Budget:
Budget management may also be a reason to split a web development project into phases, as this could not only spread the cost, but it could allow the first version of the website to start generating income whilst the overall project development continues.

What about testing?
Testing is not only carried out to ensure that the new website, page, feature or function does what it is supposed to do, but also to ensure that there are no bugs (errors) in the new feature, or which have been caused by the introduction of the new feature.

So even though deadlines are usually tight, it is advisable not to risk cutting corners on testing, because it could turn out to be a costly mistake. Read more about website testing for an idea of what things should be included.