Getting to a website - with a web designer
A. BEFORE YOU CONTACT THE WEB DESIGNER DO THE FOLLOWING:
- TRADENAME: Check www.USPTO.gov - for trade name
availability and LOGOs - if still available - you should
trademark your name and your logo
- DOMAIN NAME: Check domain name availability -
www.networksolutions.com OR www.digitalspace.net. Make
sure that you register for the domain name and not
your designer - so that you own it. This could be done
prior to contacting a web designer.
- PREPARATION before meeting web designer: sketch
out what ideas you have and make a list of goals so that
the designer can better work for you - have key words
(metatags) that you want used in your website to help
identify it. The more specific you are the better
(saves time and money). Have other websites that
you would like to be linked considered.
B. WHEN ENTERING INTO A CONTRACT WITH A WEB DESIGNER
Contract considerations:
- DATES: Make sure that there is a start and
completion date.
- PRICE: Agree on a specific price with your web
designer - a fixed amount (price can be based
on number of pages in a website)- and only
give 1/3 up front, 1/3 when the design is
complete and 1/3 when it is up and running for
a week with no problems - if possible.
- OWNERSHIP: Make sure the contract says that
you own the work product and graphics of your
website and have your designer state that
there is no intellectual property infringement in
regards to the graphics of your website and
that the designer agrees not to duplicate your
web design or key elements elsewhere. You
should also have contract provisions that
address confidentiality and non-competition by
the web designer. All materials given to the
designer should be returned at a time certain.
- HOST: Discuss with your designer who would
be the best host for your website - make sure
the host is known for little down time -
consider the capacity that your website will
need to operate and the hosting cost. Make
sure that you register with the hosting
company and that the contract is in your name
not your web designers
- MAINTENANCE: Try to get free maintenance for
90 days and a reasonable contract thereafter -
get all information you need to enter your site
and make changes yourself
- Warranty, non-compete
For further information: write Victoria Brown at
vb@brownllc.com and put Kiss FM on the subject line.
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