The most common misunderstanding regarding search engine ranking is that you can spend X amount of dollars to ABC company and suddenly your website will appear at the top of all the search engines. Unfortunately, this is not the case and anyone claiming otherwise is just after your money.

Being #1 on Google is worth BIG $$$ and if anyone could guarantee you that spot for X amount of dollars, you probably couldn't afford to pay it.

Search Engine Optimization is more a form of art than a method. In other words, there's no proven method that will guarantee your site will receive top rankings. There are no shortcuts, no tricks, no magic wand that we can wave that will change this. Well... there are a few tricks, but, if the search engines find out that your site is using these techniques (and they will), your site will be banned from the search engines and left out in the cold for a long time.

Achieving good results is all about time and good programming practices. Every website that we produce uses the most widespread and effective methods to ensure that your website will have the best chance of moving up in the search engine ranks. Sometimes (if your name is unique) this can happen quickly, most websites though require a little more patience before substantial results are seen.

Again, watch out for anyone claiming they can guarantee you top rankings on any search engine. It simply doesn't work that way. To learn more, please read our Search Engine Facts & Myths article.

Search engines are only one advantage to doing business on the web. There's also many effective and affordable solutions to advertising your business on the Internet as well.

One Under Productions has over 20 years of marketing and sales experience and extensive experience marketing business on the web. Creating an advertising campaign for your website is a valuable tool and one that every serious website owner should have in their arsenal.

Some common and effective ways to market your website:

• Creating Banner Adds that you can place on sites of similar interest or websites you wish to partner with. They place a banner add on your site, you place one on theirs.
• Create an Email List and offer your visitors the option of signing up to receive periodic newsletters.
• Utilize a FREE service such as Myspace to get the word out.
• Join several Discussion Forums related to your business. These can be a great way to pick up good information as well as let others know who you are. Just remember common courtesy and ethics and don't join just to post your website address everywhere.
• Make sure all your emails contain your company information and website address.
• Make sure all your business cards, letterhead, flyers and everything else in your office has your website address on it.

Give us a call on this. There are various affordable options that have delivered significant results for our clients. A solution that could work for you could be right around the corner.

As mentioned above, there is no set cost for developing a website because each client and project is unique. There's also many different technologies that can be used to build your site and selecting the correct technology for your particular needs will determine some of these costs as well. But, as a general rule, costs are determined as follows...

1) Size of Website

How many pages will there be? Will there be a login area? Will there be a photo gallery? Will there be a Blog or Forum? Will you be using e-commerce? Etc...

2) Technologies Needed

Determining the right technologies to use is very important, not only from a cost-effective approach, but from security standpoint as well. Depending on what your website needs to do, there can be over a handful of technologies to use for each solution. During your initial consultation we'll discuss the various options available and help you determine which route will be best for your purposes and budget.

3) Bells and Whistles

Want to spice things up? Having features like animation, music, videos, slide show galleries and revolving banners are all popular aspects of an attractive website. These features are a great way to add some eye-candy and attract more visitors to your site.

4) Development Time

The project scope vs the technologies used will determine how long it will take to finish everything. Though some projects can be time consuming, it's important for clients to understand that the bigger the project, the more testing there will need to be to ensure everything is working properly once the site goes live. Every website we develop undergoes rigorous testing to ensure your new website will function properly an be a productive addition to your business.

5) Domain Name and Hosting

Have you purchased your domain name yet? Do you have an existing hosting account that you would like to use? If not, we can assist you with purchasing these items.

In the world of website design, cheap is not an option you want to dabble with. At least not if you're serious about your business and what you're trying to accomplish on the web.

The biggest issue with inexpensive designers is that most come with a severe lack of experience or knowledge regarding the technologies used in website design. Most of these "designers" use templates downloaded off the web that restrict the ability to customize your website and limit the features you can offer your visitors. Your website may look ok when it's done, but what happens down the line when you find out that your entire site has to be re-done because it wasn't built with expansion in mind and the technologies used won't allow you to do what you need to do? What about Search Engine Rankings? What if you want to utilize E-commerce? What about updates and maintenance? The list can go on and on....

In the end, being cheap will cost you much more than spending a few more dollars to hire a professional and get the job done right.

Out of all the issues that come with hiring a cheap designer, the most serious is a lack of expertise in security. Protecting your information as well as your customers is serious business. Hiring someone that has no idea what they are doing when it comes to security is too risky just to save a few bucks.

Supplying us with content is easy. All images, and existing graphics like logos can be provided on CD, DVD, or emailed in ZIP and PDF formats. All text can be supplied in Open Office, Word or Plain Text file formats.

When preparing the text for your site, take some time to think about what you would like to say. How do you want to represent yourself to your visitors? A little planning on your part can save lots of time down the line and prevent unnecessary updates or changes.

If you're not sure what you would like to say or don't feel you have a "good voice" to express yourself on your new website, just let us know. We can help you develop your message to the world. After all, marketing is one of our specialties.

Well, it depends. A basic website (5-10 pages, graphics and text - no interactivity) can be done within a week. More advanced websites requiring interactivity and database solutions can take up to 2-4 weeks to complete.

Meeting your timetable is very important and in order for us to do this, you must supply us with all content you wish to use on your new site and make yourself available to answer any questions we may have.

The more complex the project, the more testing it will require and the longer the time it will take to complete.

After your new website is completed, it will need to be periodically updated with fresh content. Search Engines love this and it also gives your visitors a reason to keep coming back.

One Under Productions offers various maintenance options to keep your site up to date and running smooth. We cover these services with you during your initial consultation, but if you have any immediate questions, you can always give us a call.

Can we do our own updates? Yes, but only if your site will be built with a system to allow this. This kind of feature is called CMS (Content Management System). Usually updates are done by your designer, but if you need to have the ability to update certain aspects of your site, we can build a custom update system for you. Call us for more details.