RealTown's RealTalk

Susie in Myrtle Beach wrote:
Exactly how do I tell if my website uses frames?
<snip>This will be a custom site using Dream Weaver that is being put
together with some help from a free lance technical writer who has
quoted me $25 per hour to help design the new site. Does $25 hour sound
fair?

_____________________________________________

Your site does not use frames. If it did, when doing View Source, you
would see something like this:

<frameset rows="100%,*" border="0">
<frame src="http://XXXXXXXX.com/"; frameborder="0" />
<frame frameborder="0" noresize />
</frameset>

$25/hour sounds way too cheap (I charge $100/hr). Does this writer have
a track record of designing real estate web sites that generate great leads?

Suzanne

--
Suzanne Hathcock Stephens
Point2Agent Qualified Web Site Designer
http://www.SuzStephens.com
360-666-0881

Hi Susie,

http://www.w3schools.com/HTML/html_frames.asp

Above is a link explaining frames. If you want to know if your website is using frames you can do so by viewing the html source of the document. To view the source in Internet Explorer use View->Source in the menu bar. This will open up the document in notepad (or another text editor).
Do a search for the word "frame". If it exists and it is preceded by a "<" (which means its an html tag) then your site is using frames. Generally speaking you do not want your website to be using frames. Here's an article discussing why frames are bad http://www.html-faq.com/htmlframes/?framesareevil

As to your question about a graphic designer, $25/hour is relatively inexpesive. A typical web design company will charge $75 an hour or more. Keep in mind that the overall project price is what's really important. Make sure you have a clear idea what the designer will be delivering and the estimated hours before going forward. Also consider that while a more experienced designer will charge a higher rate, they will likely perform the work in less hours and deliver a better product.

Good luck with your website.

-Brian

ePower OrganizeIT wrote:
But how does your per hour cost relate to a finished product? I have
heard from colleagues who have spent thousands of dollars and still have
no product (web site) to show for all their money, let alone SEO.
Typically how much time and money do agents have to invest in your
specialized expertise and approach to production before they see a
return on their investment? I know agents who just gave up because they
could not continue the elongated process.

___________________________________________________________________

Carolyne,

When an agent hires me to design his or her site, they pay for either of
two flat fee design packages. Because I always have a waiting list,
typical turnaround time is 2-3 months, plus my clients usually receive
free consultation on a long term basis and free minor site updates. Time
for completion varies widely by how responsive my clients are to
requests for input and information.

I include a limited amount of SEO work in my design packages, and also
advise my clients to contract directly with DomainDrivers.com,
WebsTarget.com and/or a copywriter who specializes in SEO copywriting.

ROI is highly contingent on the amount of traffic a site is receiving at
the time a new design is installed. If a site is already getting good
traffic, my clients usually tell me that they experience a strong
immediate uptick in leads. Many of those with existing high traffic have
told me that their design had paid for itself in new business within a
week of launch. ROI is slower on low traffic sites, but I advise my
clients on how to increase their traffic.

Even fairly low traffic sites often benefit from design. For example, I
began installing a new design on http://www.PrescottLiving.net on
February 20th. Tim contracted with me in mid-January. This project is
not yet finished as I am waiting for copy from a copywriter. When it's
closer to being finished, my client will direct another, higher ranked
domain name to his site and his traffic will increase. Even though the
site isn't finished, the site gets little traffic, and his SEO company
has yet to begin work, the client has already received a nice $300k
buyer lead via a Perfect Home Finder submission. (If that lead pays off,
it will pay for his web site design.) So, that's roughly two months
elapsed between contract and first verifiable lead, and I lost about a
week of that time to illness.

Another client reported ten new buyer/seller contracts directly
attributable to her web site within two weeks of launch of the new
design, prior to which time she had had only 1-2 leads over several months.

When prospective clients who have new sites or who do not currently have
sites contact me, I consult with them on how to increase their traffic
BEFORE they hire me. I don't want realtors to tie up their money in
design when they should first be using it for SEO and for content
creation. Then I usually get feedback from my recommended vendors about
clients whom I've referred to them, so I know who is following my advice
and who is not. I am hesitant to accept as design clients those who are
not following my advise about how to increase their traffic.

In addition, my business practices and those of other Point2Agent
approved vendors are closely monitored by Point2's vendor coordinator.
She has reviewed our standard contracts, and has also set up a long list
of requirements/procedures that she requires us to follow to help
prevent problems reported to her by Point2 members. We are required to
sign an agreement that we will meet these requirement. I assure you that
if many of my clients still had no web site after a long period of time,
I would no longer be an approved Point2Agent designer.

Suzanne

--
Suzanne Hathcock Stephens
Point2Agent Qualified Web Site Designer
http://www.SuzStephens.com
360-666-0881

Exactly how do I tell if my website uses frames?
I have had a homes.com website for years and I'm happy with it. It is easy
to change info and I try to do that a few times a week to keep it updated.
I've decided to target another niche in my market. Right now my niche is
condos on the ocean front but I want to have another site that zeros in on
single family homes. This will be a custom site using Dream Weaver that is
being put together with some help from a free lance technical writer who has
quoted me $25 per hour to help design the new site. Does $25 hour sound
fair?
Susie Axt
\
===

Susie:

You can tell if your site uses frames by looking at the source code for the
pages and seeing if there is an HTML tag <frameset xxxx>

It appears your site does not use them... you could also tell from watching
if a section of a page changes when you click an internal link, and the rest
of the page does not refresh... but this could be a number of things.

I did not go through every page, but the several I viewed did not use
frames.

$25 an hour sounds fair, provided the guy is an efficient designer, and
actually can get much done, as rates are generally higher than that in my
experience.

Hope that helps.

Have a great day!

Best regards,

Paul Silver
Focus Professionals, Inc.

"Exactly how do I tell if my website uses frames?"
Susie Axt

Paul Silver Esq. Other , RI
March 14, 2009 9:15 AM:

Susie:
You can tell if your site uses frames by looking at the source code for the
pages and seeing if there is an HTML tag <frameset xxxx>
It appears your site does not use them... you could also tell from watching
if a section of a page changes when you click an internal link, and the rest
of the page does not refresh... but this could be a number of things.
I did not go through every page, but the several I viewed did not use
frames.
$25 an hour sounds fair, provided the guy is an efficient designer, and
actually can get much done, as rates are generally higher than that in my
experience.
Hope that helps.
....

Are these pieces of advice coming from/given by a web site designer?

Regards,

Hans O Oscarsson LL.M., MBA, ASPR, e-PROR

Susie:
You can tell if your site uses frames by looking at the source code for the
pages and seeing if there is an HTML tag <frameset xxxx>
It appears your site does not use them... you could also tell from watching
if a section of a page changes when you click an internal link, and the rest
of the page does not refresh... but this could be a number of things.
I did not go through every page, but the several I viewed did not use
frames.
$25 an hour sounds fair, provided the guy is an efficient designer, and
actually can get much done, as rates are generally higher than that in my
experience.
Hope that helps.
....
Are these pieces of advice coming from/given by a web site designer?
Regards,
Hans O Oscarsson

---

I am an attorney, but I have owned a software company that deals in website
development for some 12 or so years. But regardless, I know what a frame set
is, and what the code for it looks like, and can create and modify them
without much thought... so whatever the source of actual fact, it remains
fact never the less.

Have a great day!

Best regards,

Paul Silver
Focus Professionals, Inc.

Hans wrote:
....
Are these pieces of advice coming from/given by a web site designer?
Regards,
Hans O Oscarsson
---

My response was from an actual web site designer. Frames are easy to
recognize, even for a designer like me who has not done a site using
frames since around 1995-6.

--
Suzanne Hathcock Stephens
Point2Agent Qualified Web Site Designer
http://www.SuzStephens.com
360-666-0881