20-minute Websites 

      Helping small businesses succeed 



Frequently asked questions



Your first web site


I can't decide whether to start a web site now, or to wait and go for a much bigger site when we know better what's involved!

In this situation our advice is always (and we say this whether you buy through us or not) - do it now. Start your first web site now, and simply upgrade or replace it later when you are ready. The important thing about web sites is that they accumulate traffic over time. They get better known by the Internet search engines and other sites, and they also build customer awareness. But this all works through your domain name, so if you later completely change your site for something better, you keep the same domain name and all the "search engine awareness" transfers automatically to the new site, along with all the associated customer interest and loyalty.

Meanwhile, you will no doubt have obtained some new customers through the first site. If your starter site is inexpensive (and we charge just £120), just 2 or 3 sales will be enough, for most companies, to recover the cost.

The one thing to take special care over, now, is in the choice of domain name. For this, see our guide lines on the domain entry page, and contact us if you would like free help in choosing a name, or would like our views on a name you are considering.

Is there a disadvantage in using a service like yours, where other companies could choose the same design template as us?

Minimal. There are over 2 billion web sites on the Internet. The chances of a particular Internet user seeing your site, then later seeing another site also designed by us using the same design, are so remote as not to be worth worrying about.


Our Web Site Design Service


If we purchase a web site from you, do you keep ownership of the web design, domain names etc?

Emphatically No! We retain copyright in the site and page designs, since they are part of our site and can be used to create more than one site. But:-
  • We give you a non-exclusive right to amend or adapt the page and site design as you wish, or to pass them on to another designer to amend for use with a site owned by you, or your company, or your successors or company's successors. "Non-exclusive right" means you have the right to use it, but it is not limited to you alone since another company using our service could choose the same design whether or not in a different colour.
  • The domain name(s) are reqistered in the name you give us to register them in, which could be your company's name or (if you are the owner of the business or if you are creating a personal site) your own name.
WHEN ASKING A WEB DESIGN COMPANY TO CREATE A WEB SITE, ALWAYS ENSURE THEY GIVE YOU OWNERSHIP OF THE DOMAIN NAMES, DESIGN, AND DATA. Many designers, including many expensive ones, retain ownership. And usually they don't tell you up front, but bury it in the small print (if they mention it at all!)

So how easy would it be for us to transfer our site to another web designer in the future?

As easy as we can possibly make it. Our business is to provide a first web site to small businesses who may not yet have one, or who only have a fairly rudimentary one. We fully expect - indeed we encourage it - that as a company becomes more conscious of the value of their web site - often as they see sales and enquiries coming in from it - they will start looking to expand and develop it. Maybe to add a shopping cart (which we currently don't do), often other advanced facilities as well. We will gladly provide bespoke work if asked, but many companies will want to move to a local designer or even get in the expertise to do the work in-house. We fully expect that, and operate our service with that in mind. We charge no "administration" fee to leave, and right at the start we provide the technical details you would need to pass to another designer.

But for as long as you choose to remain with us you benefit from all our provisions for the continued running of your site.


Our Prices and Terms


What additional costs are there on top of the £120 you quote for a web site?

The only costs we charge are all mentioned on the "Our Prices" page. If it ain't there, we don't charge it. Note the small print at the bottom covering rare or unlikely cases, but it's all there. Extra prices on top would only arise if you ask us, and we agree, to do something special or bespoke for your site, in which case a price will be agreed beforehand.

Is there a renewal fee?

Yes. The annual fee covers:
  • renewal of your domain name(s)
  • annual renewal of your web hosting
  • continued availability of our service for making changes to your site
  • further submission of your site to search engines
We quote the renewal fee current when you create the site, but it is subject to moderate increase to allow for (a) inflation and (b) any increase applied by the hosting company to it's hosting and domain name prices.

Will you place advertisements on our site?

No, we don't. The only extra we add on is a small credit and link to our service. This is common practice with web site designers, and it appears in small print at the foot of each page. If you would rather not have it, we will remove it (at the start or at any time in the future) for a small one-time fee of just £10.

Are there any types of site you don't do?

We will not provide sites for certain excluded purposes or industries, including:- adult or porn, armaments, gambling, tobacco, or political or religious organisations. If in doubt, contact us first to OK your proposed site before proceeding.


If you have further questions not covered here, please feel free to contact us.


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