– The size of a website

The more pages in a website the more time it will take to complete. I generally build a home page and one internal page for the client to view so that the rest of the site will follow the same design, once the client is completely happy. With more pages come more photos to edit, more search engine optimisation to apply and more layout choices depending on the page subject.

– The complexity of the website

The design of a website is a balance between style and content. I can add movement with gallery sliders, animation of images or text boxes so that they fade in or move in from the side. Perhaps you need the site to do something that the theme does not do by default, this will involve additional coding. This takes additional time to achieve.

– The amount of input I have into the content

Some clients can supply me, out of the box with all the text for every page, optimised to appeal to Google, with good meaningful titles, subtitles and content. A Google search by a visitor to a website is a question on a particular topic, your content must answer that question as fully and as meaningful as possible, with high-quality content that answers the who, why, what, when and where to that search question. Your content has to not only persuade the search engines that you are the right website to answer that search question, but you also then have to convince the visitor to your website that you are what they are looking for. This is one of the major ranking factors to consider when building the content of a website. Structuring the content takes time as well as understanding what you have to offer to a visitor.

– The number of images on the website

Every website needs a few images to bring it to life, but the amount will affect the fee I charge. Every image will be edited to the exact size required for its place on the website, then reduced in file size to ensure the speediest loading time for that page. I then save the image with a meaningful file name, upload it to the site and place it on the page with Alt text (a short-written description of an image for accessibility) and a description to aid search engine optimisation. A website where the main focus is lots of photos will take a huge amount of time.

Some clients are able to supply their own photos and employ a professional photographer, others have to depend on stock or royalty-free photos. I offer stock photos at a reduced rate for clients if they require them.

– The functionality of the website

I supply my premium theme as part of the contract with my clients, they get it free and I shoulder the annual cost, however, if they choose not to use my WordPress maintenance service, they will need to renew it after a year themselves. Some websites call for additional functions, not available from the theme, that is where plugins (like apps) come in. I would only suggest premium (paid for) or reputable plugins. Adding these and getting them to work as required also takes time and additional cost to the client. Included with all my website is a premium plugin for a contact form and other required forms, which, once submitted are sent to a required email address, again the renewal is free for those using my maintenance service.