Rate:  $49 Per Hour
 
Special!  Mention COUPON CODE: ESTES for 20% off all hours - through Oct. 20 ($39.20 per hour with discount).
     
The minimum charge is only a half-hour.  So if you have a small project, that's fine.  Just give us a try!
 
If you're a small business wanting to get online with a nice-looking, economical 4-6 page website, that can usually be done in 10-15 hours.  With your 20% discount, that's under $400 - $600. 
  
If you only need a simple site with 1-2 pages, that can be done in 4-6 hours — $160 - $240 with the discount.
      
Domain hosting for clients is only $10 per month, bill up front for 6 months.
      
Invoices are sent weekly by e-mail.  Payments are due within seven days after invoicing and can be made online by debit or credit — through PayPal Processing, or by mailing a check, whichever you prefer.

Please read this page carefully... 
    
In just 10-15 minutes, you'll know everything you need to know in order for us to get started on your project.

Hourly charges/billing details
  
I value and appreciate my customers and bill fairly. However, because I basically sell time, I bill like an attorney—though of course, at a substantially lower rate!
  
The hourly rate is charged for all design, revisions, and writing, as well as all planning, discussion, and consultation — by phone, e-mail, and in-person. 
   
Some design companies pad their hours to account for things like project planning and discussion.  I prefer to let you know up front that I'm charging for all time spent on your project.
  
Certain projects require extensive planning and discussion (a time-consuming back-and-forth process), and while not as productive as the actual design work, it is often an unavoidable part of the process.
  
We bill in quarter-hour increments, with a half-hour minimum each time any work or changes are done on your project. 
 
For most projects, you'll receive an invoice each week for all hours completed. 
 
Certain projects, such as those requiring programming, will be quoted by the job and will require a 50% deposit.  Print jobs also require a 50% deposit before printing.

Regarding in-person meetings...
 
Since it's the most efficient use of time, project planning, discussion, proofing, and revisions, usually take place by e-mail, phone, and fax. 
   
There is NO trip charge for your first in-person meeting, although hourly charges apply during the meeting.
 
In the Estes Park area, after the first visit, there is a $25 trip charge for any in-person visits to your home, office, or other location, in addition to the normal hourly rate charged during the visit.
    
There's a $49 trip charge to northern Colorado areas outside of Estes Park.
    
We can meet at your office or a local coffee shop, if you prefer.

Makin' it look good... can take some time.
  
Please be aware that design work submitted to you is usually the result of multiple revisions — done as part of the 'creative process'  before work is ever shown to the customer. 
   
So design work that might not look very labor-intensive may have actually taken hours of trial and error, before the work you see took its final shape.
 
Finding the right colors, fonts, images, style, etc., and then trying a few ways of arranging it all to look good... can take a while :)
               
When design work is submitted to you, we understand you may not like it at all :) ...or you may want to make some changes... or see some different options...  And even when it looks like the job is finished, there are usually a few more changes and tweaks needed before the project is complete. 
 
Of course, this depends on what (you) the customer wants.  Work is only done upon approval, or at the request of the customer. 
 

Time estimates for design projects:
(extended consultation or revisions may increase)
        
SMALL BUSINESS WEBSITE........ 10 - 15+ HOURS
 
FLASH STREAMING VIDEO............. 2 - 4+ HOURS
 
LOGO............................................. 2 - 6 HOURS
 
BUSINESS CARD............................. 1 - 2 HOURS
 
LETTERHEAD / ENVELOPE.............. 1/2 - 2 HOURS
 
BROCHURE................................... 6 - 20 HOURS
 
FLYER / SALES SHEET.................... 3 - 10 HOURS
 
POST CARD.................................... 3 - 8 HOURS

The estimates above all depend on how design-intensive your project is.  A simple website, flyer or brochure can be done in 4-6 hours.  But more complex projects with photos and professional-looking design takes longer (as indicated by the number of hours listed for some projects).
 
Turnaround time...
 
After we receive your request for a design project, we do our best to start working on the project within 2-3 days, but ask that you allow up to five business days to send you the first draft. 
    
If you need a project started within 24 hours, a $55 rush charge will be added.  Just request this when you make contact.

How it evolves...
     
The design process is kept as simple as possible.  You can e-mail, upload, or fax text, content, logos, and images whenever you like, and/or we can collaborate by phone or e-mail to write your content and come up with a design plan.  (We'll setup an e-mail folder for you, where any images or text you send will be stored until they are added to your website or print design project.) 
   
Many customers find the collaborative process preferable, since the prospect of having to come up with a large amount of content all at once — for something like a website or brochure — can be daunting, and can easily delay a project by weeks or months. 
 
If your budget allows for this type of collaboration, we can work through the project little by little, via e-mail and/or phone discussions.  It could add a few (or several) hours to the process, but it usually helps to get the site finished and online faster...

What's your style?
 
Getting 'the look you want' for your design project usually involves finding similar websites, brochures, etc., that you like, and 'copying' certain aspects or elements of those designs into your project (using similar colors, fonts, photos, styles, and formatting).
   
For web design projects, most customers will send us a list of websites they like — letting us know what design elements of each site they'd like to include in their project.  This makes the design process much easier and can save you money as well, since it usually reduces the number of revisions needed to achieve the overall design style you're looking for.
 
If you can tell us as specifically as possible what you like, we'll do our best to develop that 'style and look' in your design project.
 
But if you're not really sure about the look you want, you can just give us a general idea.  We'll spend some time trying a first draft, and e-mail to see if you think it's going in the right direction... and then proceed from there.

You gotta' have pictures...
    
Adding quality photos or illustrations to your design project is one of the most important steps in the process.
 
You're welcome to e-mail digital images, or you can snail-mail photos, if you'd like us to scan them in.  I can also take digital photos of your building, the owners, or staff, as needed.  There is no additional charge for taking photos, beyond the trip charge and time spent. 
 
Some of the best photos used for design projects often come from third-party sources.  By searching stock photo sites by keyword, you can find excellent and affordable images for your project
 
Here are some online stock photo sources:
  
    •  Microsoft Clip Art  (all images are free)
 
    •  Stock Exchange  (some images are free)
 
    •  Fotolia  (most images are $2 - $3)
 
    •  iStockPhoto  (most images are $2 - $3)
 
    •  DreamsTime  (most images are $2 - $3)
 
    •  BigStockPhoto  (most images are $2 - $3)
 
    •  StockXpert  (most images are $2 - $3)
 
 
Once you find the photos or illustrations you need, you can purchase, download, and e-mail them to us.  Or, you can give us the source and ID number, and we'll purchase them for you.
 
If you don't have time to search, just let me know what type of photos you'd like to add, and we'll do our best to find them.  Unless you mention specific images (or supply them), we'll usually find appropriate images for your project, as needed.

For web design projects...
 
DOMAIN REGISTRATION & HOSTING
 
If you already have a domain name and hosting account setup, I'll need your hosting account username and password (if you have it), along with your FTP and/or FrontPage login and password.
 
If you don't already have a domain name or hosting account, the domain name will cost you about $10 per year, and hosting will cost you $4-10 per month, depending on the company you use.  Inexpensive hosting plans typically include more than enough storage, bandwidth, and features for most small businesses.
 
I charge $10 per month for client web hosting, billed up front for 6 months. 
 
Here are some other domain registration and hosting companies you may want to consider:
 
Host Gator - $8 per mo.
(w/ UNLIMITED domain hosting & e-mail accts.)

GoDaddy - $5 per mo. 'Economy Hosting'
(plus optional $10 per year for e-mail service)
 
GoDaddy - $8 per mo. 'Deluxe Hosting'
(w/500 e-mail accts. + UNLIMITED domain hosting)
     
I have several customers with GoDaddy and Host Gator, and I also have hosting plans with both companies myself. 
    
Registering a domain and setting up hosting can be a little confusing, especially since places like GoDaddy try to sell you a ton of other things you don't need as you're checking out.  Call or e-mail if you'd like me to walk you through it over the phone.  It usually takes 15-30 minutes.  Then I spend another half hour or so setting it up on my end.  (If your hosting plan includes e-mail accounts, I can help you set those up as well — like bob@company.com)

Software used:
Fireworks, Photoshop, Illustrator, FrontPage, Dreamweaver, Corel Draw, Flash, Swish, InDesign, Word, Excel, Publisher, Acrobat, and audio-video editing / encoding software.
  
All original artwork is yours, whenever you need it.  We can e-mail your files or send them on a CD when requested. 

Ready to get started?
 
If all this sounds reasonable, and you'd like to proceed,  you can e-mail design instructions to get started, or give me a call any time at 970-672-9796.
   
You can also e-mail to let me know when you'd like me to stop by your office to discuss your project, and I'll e-mail back to confirm the time. 
 
There's no trip charge for your first in-person meeting, although hourly charges apply during the meeting.
 
So, we can either discuss your project by phone or e-mail.  Or I can meet you at your office, home, or a local coffee shop if you prefer. 
       
I look forward to serving you!
  
  

 
Mark Bradford
Estes Park Design
 
esteswebdesign@gmail.com
 
Tel. 970-672-9796
120 Stanley Circle
Estes Park, CO  80517