So What's All This Then?

We all use the internet but, when it comes down to understanding your own online needs, choosing from all of the various options gets rather confusing.

Well I've, hopefully, made things simple. I'm offering 3 packages. A Small, Medium and Large if you like. I didn't like so I opted to name them Egg, Vibe City and Giant Colossal Squid. Don't ask why, I don't think I know.

I build everything using django/python development. As this requires some quite geeky set-up I also host your site on a shared server.

The reason I choose django/python is that it allows us to have a pretty nifty admin area. That puts you in control of updating the information on your web site. You get your very own CMS (content management system) baked in for free.

Which Option Do I Need?

I've found that, more often than not, if you don't already have a web strategy you won't need as much as you think. If you're not driving customers towards online sales (in which case you'd need an e-commerce platform not a simple web site) then you need a promotional site to attract interest and provide contact details, maps, general information and photos etc. You may have some offers that you want to update too. If this is the case you need a well designed single page that does just that. I designed Egg to be a perfect fit.

If you need something more advanced with multiple pages, more options and access to embedding content from social media sites then we have Vibe City. Vibe City is built on the same platform as Egg and works in a very similar way. The design and build process is more involved though and will require much more work hence it's a separate product.

Finally, maybe the other two options just don't cut the mustard for what you want. Perhaps you're delving into e-commerce or beyond. Perhaps you want to build a social network for gig goers to organise lift shares (I have a friend trying to do this right now). In any of these cases I can help so do get in touch. Oh, I call this Giant Colossal Squid.

Comparison and Prices

The following table compares the options and explains the prices:

Egg Vibe City Giant Colossal Squid
What stuff can I have? About, Gallery, Maps, Contact, Multiple Custom text sections. Everything in Egg plus embedded video, audio uploads, multiple albums of images and additional custom areas. If you can think of it I'll try and build it.
How much stuff can I have? Up to 5 content types on a single, fully featured web page. Up to 10 content types across a maximum of 5 fully featured web pages. As much as you like. The sky's the limit.
Will it look nice? Yes - I'll design to the highest possible standards taking advantage of the latest technologies regardless of package. Yes - I'll design to the highest possible standards taking advantage of the latest technologies regardless of package. Yes - I'll design to the highest possible standards taking advantage of the latest technologies regardless of package.
What else do I get? A fantastic looking admin area where you can update content to your heart's desire. A fantastic looking admin area where you can update content to your heart's desire. A fantastic looking admin area where you can update content to your heart's desire.
How much will it cost? £300
plus £5 per month hosting/maintenance		 £450
plus £7 per month hosting/maintenance		 > £1,500
please get in touch for a complete quote
Let's Do It! Go On Then! Give It A Whirl!

Can I See Some of Your Work?

Yes. I have a general, creative portfolio - cargocollective.com/spiralblast and behance.net/murraysward.

I also recommend looking at the website for Deva Holiday. It wasn't built with Egg but it was part of the inspiration and works in an extremely similar way - devaholiday.co.uk

The following website, a modelling portfolio, is work in progress and built with Egg. I cheated and put the 'About' section on it's own page. Also, whilst there's no nudity it's definitely 'cheeky' and probably NSFW (not safe for work) - hevs.spiralblast.co.uk

Who Are You and What's a spiralblast?

My name is Murray S Ward and I'm based in Cardiff. My e-mail address is murray@spiralblast.co.uk

spiralblast is the name of my business and covers my work in music, multi-media arts and web design. I am registered as self employed under this name. we are in the future is a trading name of spiralblast dedicated to designing and building web sites.

Do I Even Need You?

Hopefully but, too be honest, that depends.

You can actually build and host your own site for free using a blog or similar (Tumblr, Blogspot, Sites and others). If this at all interests you then I recommend it. You'll learn a lot and develop new skills and maybe even move on to making web sites from scratch.

By choosing a professional web developer/designer you're working with someone who not only understands things like editing html and css but also someone who understands how to organise information, communicate effectively and make design decisions.

Can I Get it Cheaper

In principle, yes. There are many budget options out there in the market place. You can also use free services as mentioned above. A professional designer/developer has a skill set beyond basic html/css coding. I work on an hourly rate of £25 p/hr. I believe this to be both reasonable and competitive. The packages above will a number of full days of actual, billable work and therefore are already heavily discounted.

The Small Print

Hosting - This is provided and a monthly fee covers this (prices are indicated above). The web host I use is called Dreamhost. They guarantee up time of 99.9%. If your site becomes excessively popular though it may effect the performance of the server and other users of the server. Dreamhost won't like this and ask me to move your site to a more expensive server. This is standard practice and will mean we'll need to discuss options.

Payment - I ask for 50% upfront and the remainder upon completion. Monthly fees will be paid by subscription starting from the 1st of the month after completion. For 'Giant Colossal Squid', depending on the size of the project, we'll discuss alternative options as necessary.

Design - It's quite normal that the very first design will need modifications. I'm happy to do this but don't wish to be embroiled in endless revisions as time is money and all that. I'd rather play this by ear than have hard and fast limits but for 'Egg' I wouldn't like to have to do more than 1 complete redesign after we've started. For 'Vibe City' 2, maybe even 3. If we've talked through the design well enough before hand this shouldn't even come up.

Business - 'we are in the future' is a trading name of 'spiralblast'. Business address is 81 Connaught Road, Cardiff CF24 3PX.