At Alba Websites, you don't have to take a ticket and join a queue when you have a question. Ring or email and you will be contacting the person who runs the business.

We work closely with our clients on a one-to-one basis to ensure your site is exactly what you want. You don't have to pay for things you'll never use, and we don't speak jargon.

Even if you're not really computer literate, you can still have a fabulous website. We do all the hard work for you.

Our step by step process is
Step 1: Briefing from client (by email, phone or personal visit)
Step 2: Proposed layout(s) uploaded for client approval
Step 3: Content received from client and uploaded
Step 4: Client review and approval of content
Step 5: Domain name activated
Step 6: Counter inserted if required
Step 7: Site optimised and submitted to major search engines

We prefer content be sent on disc or emailed, however we will scan images and typeset small portions of copy at no additional cost. Proposed design is generally available for viewing in less than 5 working days. Depending on the size of your website, it will generally be up and running within 5 days of receipt of copy.

DOMAIN NAME ASSISTANCE
You will need a domain name. This can be either an international domain name (i.e. www.yourcompany.com) or an Australian .com.au (ABN required for .com.au). The cost of your domain name is approximately $50-$70 for two years, depending on the package you require. We can arrange it on your behalf although this may incur an additional small fee.
It can be cost effective to also buy hosting at the same time you take out your domain name.
We will direct you to our preferred domain name providers so that you can be sure what you buy is what you need.

HOSTING
If budget is a consideration, we can host your site on our server at no charge. However, you will need to host your own site if :
a) Your site is 20 pages or more, or generates more than 2000 hits per month
b) You wish to do your own updates
c) You wish to upload large video files
We can recommend our preferred provider who will host your website for around $60 per year. (NOTE: hosting your own site may result in better search engine rankings).

MAINTENANCE
We can organise for you to (1) update your own website or (2) we can maintain it for you.
(1) Updating your own site gives you freedom and flexibility to grow your site at no additional cost, but incurs some additional charges for software and hosting - approximately $400. However this may be offset by not paying us for annual maintenance. If you require additional help after your site is launched, the fee will be $50 per hour paid in advance. You will require an intermediate level of PC ability.

(2) If we maintain your website, one year's reasonable maintenance* is included in your initial website fee. Thereafter, a small annual maintenance fee is due on each year on the anniversary of your site This annual fee is one-quarter of whatever your site initially cost. e.g. If your site costs $550, on each anniversary of your site's completion date, you pay only $137.50. If you have a two-page site costing $350, you pay only $87.50 per year. So you will always know how much your site is costing you with no hidden fees. Our aim is to have your maintenance done within 3 days of receipt; we're proud that our actual timeframe is generally 1-2 days. We recommend that you change your content fairly regularly to keep attracting new visitors and to keep your content up to date. However if you have absolutely no updates for 12 months, your annual fee will be a low $30 which covers hosting of your files and general back end maintenance.

*Reasonable maintenance is calculated at 30 minutes free maintenance for every paid web page. So if your site has 6 pages, you're entitled to three hours per annum of free maintenance. If you use your quota before the anniversary of your site, you can either leave further updates until your site's annual maintenance fee is due and paid, or you can pay an additional maintenance fee of $30 for 30 minutes of $50 for one hour. Minor changes to text or swapping of photos can take as little as 5 minutes. You can ask for a timelog of your site updates at any time . From experience, the majority of clients use less than two hours of maintenance time per year for a 6 page site

SEARCH ENGINE SUBMISSION AND OPTIMISATION OF YOUR SITE
Regardless of whether your site is listed on the search engines or not, if someone types in your website address, they will find your website. This aspect confuses many people. However every website aims for good rankings with the major search engines.

It can take a minimum of six weeks for a new website to show up on search engines, and sometimes longer. Although nice photos are important, CONTENT is KING on your website. When you flick through a newspaper, your eye is attracted to photos. However when people surf, they are usually actively looking for information and key in search criteria. The key to good ranking position is good quality relevant content that matches what people are searching for.

As well as ensuring keywords are used in the text of your website, we insert relevant keywords and meta tags into the html of your website to assist with search engine rankings. We also submit your site to the major engines and supply you with information on how to proceed with resubmissions. We can resubmit for you on a quarterly or six-monthly basis at your request, however this will come under maintenance and be included in your allocated time.

We will not make untrue promises, and tell you that your site will be number 1 in Yahoo or Google. Even if you paid big dollars, to be number 1 in the rankings, your business would have to be built around something that is absolutely unique in the world. For instance if your site was selling something called Prooptoos, then you would be top of the rankings as you'd be alone! However if your site is selling computers, then there are millions of other sites selling computers. So we have to optimise your site as intelligently as possible to boost you in the rankings and help narrow down the search criteria. Different search engines use different methods for ranking websites, and rankings can change almost daily depending on new sites coming in and others dropping off. Search engines do not 'guarantee' to list your site.

LOYALTY PROGRAM
We believe word of mouth is the best recommendation. We're also confident that you'll be more than happy to recommend us. So for each website order we receive from one of your friends and colleagues, we will give you a 5% discount off your annual maintenance fee. So the more you recommend Alba Websites, the more you save. Don't forget to tell your friends/colleages that they MUST MENTION THAT YOU'VE RECOMMENDED THEM.

CREATIVE DESIGN
Most creatives are done by Alba Websites as part of our service. This includes some Flash effects, roll-over button effects, image manipulation, image extraction and design of banners and logos for your site. However we also have a graphic artist, with over 20 years industry experience, available to work with clients who may need advanced artwork or creation of a very special new logo. This cost will be agreed between you and our artist independent of Alba Websites.

PHOTOGRAPHY
We're happy to take digital photographs for your website if you live within a approximately 30 minute radius. However, we prefer you email photographs, or send hard copies, which will be scanned and returned safely.

ELECTRONIC PRESENTATIONS
Impress your clients with a professionally designed Powerpoint presentation, which can be based on the artwork used in your website. Price dependent on size but generally around $50-$100.