About Gillian McAven
B.Bus, Dip. New Media Production
After attaining my Bachelor Degree in 2000, I started Design and Development of websites in 2001 – building html websites for small businesses. In 2012, I discovered WordPress websites (which are CMS – Content Management Systems). So now, my skillset is that of a Front End Designer/Developer, WordPress Trainer, and Site Maintainer. I do not write back-end code or code new templates from scratch. Rather, I install and configure pre-made themes to make them look absolutely unique, as I know how to customise them, to get the most out of them. This is quicker, as there are tens of thousands of ready-made themes with coding already done, i.e. at WordPress.org, so no need to re-invent the wheel.
Design. If its a new site you want, I choose a reliable theme, change its look from the front, and hey presto, you receive a completely unique-looking website within a week without me having to bring any other techno-geek on board, which keeps your development costs down. Free themes however have very few fancy features. You may like to purchase a Premium Theme, as they provide more bells and whistles (interfaces that facilitate more functionality). See www.themeforest.net.
View my design portfolio here.
Develop. Besides tailor-making the theme to fit your needs and adding your information, a website also needs SEO Tags, Social LInks, Google Analytics Code, and be submitted to Google Directory once it is published. I perform these tasks incorporated with all my projects for new sites. If you already have a site, but some of those things are missing, then you can contact me to assist you. Or there may be other services you require such as training users to edit and maintain your site.
Train. I provide training one-on-one, on how to edit WordPress, so that once your site is published, you can self-manage your own site which keeps ongoing costs down.
Maintain. WordPress owners will need to maintain and update their site, via the Admin Dashboard. This is another service I provide upon request. You can make an appointment to attend my training so you can do future updating yourself, and be independent. Or you can opt for a service plan for me to regularly maintain your site and update it on a year-to-year basis.
Your first consultation is FREE!
Newbie Tips on how to prepare for a brand new web project meeting with me:
- Think about what you want your website to be like, or look like, and list what functionality you require
- Make a note of what features you must have, or need.
- Research existing competitor sites, and list those URLs that you like.
- Make a note of 3 likely themes designs you think would suit your line of business, i.e. take a look at WordPress.org or www.themeforest.net
- Don’t worry if you can’t find a design you like, you can leave that to our consultation, as I would select the most appropriate to fit your needs.
What happens at a consultation – we cover the following.
- We would identify what type of website you want, what its objective is.
- Discuss a domain name, hosting company to start an account, and what email accounts are required, if you don’t already have these
- We would choose a theme that best fits your business.
- Design: We discuss colours, logos, and your available images
- Structure: We discuss site layouts and how many pages: i.e. Home, About Us, Services, Fees, Blog, and Contact us.
- We discuss your home page structure and slider and promo boxes.
- Content: We will discuss what you need to contribute, i.e. sending me your text and images, images for the slider on home page, and content for a few Blog posts such as notices about an event or news, or an article.
- Plugins: We discuss which extra plugins you want; i.e. a shop or Mailchimp newsletters.
- We would define some of your keywords for SEO Tags, and provide Social Media Links.
- We would discuss setting up Google Account, LinkedIn, Facebook, and adding your site on Google Directory if you don’t already have these things
***Gillian has the experience to do all tasks needed to build and launch a small business website. However after launch and registering it on Google Directory you will need to find your own Advertising or Promotion Expert, to promote the site if that is what you require, i.e. Ad Campaigns. That is not my area of expertise.
Fees
- A 5 paged Informational-style website with a free theme, includes a contact form, SEO tags, and Links, starts from $490.
- A 10-page simple site with everything filled in for you $950.
- A Premium Theme, Hosting and domain name is extra and depends on where you purchase from.
**Some typical content I install with a new project: I add text, images, logo, sliders, Blog articles, Contact forms, and on-page SEO tags, and your Social Media links. However if you already have a site and you only need to contract me to fill gaps or do specific tasks, then you can view my list of labour costs below.
A quotation can be provided upon request.
Extra Labour Costs
- Social media links and Google, when purchased separately, $250
- Extra block of pages $95 per page or 10 extra pages is $490
- Shop Products – added to Woo Commerce Plugin and load up to 50 products- $490
- # Please note Standard Paypal Payment Gateways is configured for Shopping Carts or e-commerce sites.
- Any other gateway can incur up to $500 or more depending on quote from a specialist E-commerce developer.
- Mailchimp Account integrated with WordPress for Newsletter Signup $100
- On-Page SEO and Google Account when purchased separately $250 for up to 10 pages.
- One on One Training how to self-manage your WordPress site $50 per hour.
- Content Writing $50 per hour.
- Graphics or PDF creation $50 per hour.
- Site Maintenance Plan from $50 pa, or $50 per hour.
You can contact Gillian by phone or email, to arrange a free consultation; meanwhile view her other design website, www.webdesinz.com for more details and charges, and view some portfolio pages of WordPress sites recently completed.
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