1. Why go through a one-stop, all-in-one business solution from an entrepreneur like Neal Cormier?

The answer:

1) To cut costs by at least 50%.

2) To get professional quality for a fraction of the cost of a web & print design firm.

3) Because I have 10 years graphic design experience and 6 years of web.

4) Because I am an artist and entrepreneur myself and am sensitized to the custom needs and challenges that the individual and smaller-scale businesses face.

5) Because you will get personally attentive service and a far more custom product than a firm that charges the same price I do.

6) Because it is almost completely one stop: Get your website, business cards, letterhead, print advertising, and more--all done here!

7) If you're an entrepreneur, especially a new one, you can't afford not to!

2. What is a Theme or 'Theme Template'?

A Theme or 'Theme Template' is the 'look and feel' of a website. That is, it is the aesthetics and 'skin' that encompasses a website's design, in fact, it is the design of a website. A theme will include the basics and structure of all that you see on a site: place for logo, box for the banner, how the banner looks, what the side bars and boxes containing the text look like, what color scheme the site has, etc.

3. How can I get a website? How does this work?

I am a graphic designer, but I keep my time-costs low by outsourcing 'theme-templates' for you, mostly through Template Monster.com and then modify them with a designer's eye.

The first step to building a website is pick a theme, and I can help you do that with things like my online 'get a quote' form. which you should really do before anything. Then, I contact you and ask a bunch of questions. Then we pick a pricing plan for you and I will send you an invoice estimate entailing everything you will get for the price offered. At that point, if you don't already have a logo and banner, I will do them for you with up to two included revisions. After that, you really don't have to worry about much, I will ask for your content (pre-edited please, I don't generally do text editing) and I will start knocking out the list of features you have purchased.

4. So if you outsource most of your themes for clients from a public company site, isn't there a possibility I could run into another website with the exact same theme?

Yes, sure, there's a possibility, but what's the likelihood of running into an identical theme with 3,000,000,000 websites out there the world? (source: TemplateMonster.com) Plus, I modify the theme you purchase as much as you want, so it rarely becomes an issue.

All this makes it advantageous to get a predesigned theme, along with the fact that most designers out there are charging $75-$150 an hour (of a standard total of around 10 to 20 hours) to create a professional original design (of which I charge $50/hr to create an original, new theme).

5. What about my content? And my text? What about image editing and re-touching?

All content is put into the site as if it were already formatted. I will correct the text or layout to match the compatibility of a theme (which tends to reformat), but that's as far as text editing goes. As far as images go, editing & enhancing them can be paid for per feature and/or as included in one of my web packages. See my 'pricing' page.

6. If I purchase a web package, doesn't this take care of the whole thing?

Well, yes and no. The answer is not necessarily. Due to the fact that web development/design is so particular and custom by nature, costs can and often do exceed the web packages offered. As a result, I have setup a convenient way of referencing my charges 'pay per feature' so that you can budget what you need in relation to your costs ahead of time.

7. If I buy a web package, and I don't need all the features, then will I still be charged for the standard web package price?

Yes. Although I will add that most often what you think you won't use initially, you generally end up incorporating as a valuable feature later. For example, you might not think you need commenting or blogging at first, but begin typing up blogs to attract clients and key word searches to appear more often on search engines. Then clients start asking why they can't leave feedback and all of a sudden, you need a commenting system! Well, guess what? You'll already have it since commenting comes standard to all the sites I do.

Also, (and to be frank) I am a small businessman myself and need to keep things somewhat standard. Price nit-picking can get out of control on both our ends, especially because I don't generally charge by the hour.