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How much do you charge?
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| Since we only build custom sites, all of our pricing is based on
the scope of your project. We are more than happy to provide you with a free
initial consultation and estimate of your project. |
What if I decide to cancel a project after it's
been started?
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| If you decide that you do not require our services after
starting a job then we will refund any remaining funds after we have deducted
our fees for the time spent on your project. |
What methods of payment do you accept?
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You can make payments by check, money order, cashier's check, or
wire transfer. Credit card payment can be arranged as well. Payments can be
made in United States funds.
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Can you handle expedited projects or narrow
deadlines?
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| We
thrive on expedited projects. We pride ourselves on the fact that no one else
can produce high-quality work as fast as we can. We meet all agreed deadlines.
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How will I receive
my work?
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It all depends on the type of work. For our non-web creative work
we will either FTP, E-Mail, or overnight a CD. Web projects will be uploaded to
a specified server and backed up on CD and shipped to you for your
safe-keeping. Additionally, all print work we do can be produced by us and
drop-shipped if you would like to reduce turnaround.
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| How can I see my designs before they go to
press?
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| We can proof design work either electronically via rich PDF's or
via Kodak TrueColor prints sent via overnight courier.
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| How do I ensure that I will get the work I pay
for without going over budget?
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| Following your approval of a proposal, you will receive a
service agreement to review. When satisfied with the agreement you can fax or
mail us a signed copy along with your deposit. We will outline a set of
deliverables along with their corresponding deadlines. Also, your Account
Representative will work with our Project Managers to ensure you receive all of
the agreed upon items. Change orders or additions will be handled by your
Account Representative. |
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| Why can't you just put together a website for me
from a template?
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| We just don't believe in cookie-cutter websites. It's like
buying a used pair of shoes - two sizes too small. A website has to be custom
tailored to whatever your goals are. You don't build a box and then fit the
contents to it, obviously. We are constantly hearing from customers that they
were apprehensive at first because custom sites just plain sound expensive.
That's just not true.
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| What is CSS?
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CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets - which are instructions that tell the
browser how to present the content to the user. Style sheets can include
typographical information on how the page should appear (such as fonts, font
size, colors, and spacing). This makes typographical style consistent
throughout your site and easy to change - by changing one document (the CSS
page), it will change all content that has that CSS applied to it.
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What is a domain name? And how do I get one?
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| A domain name is a unique name that identifies your
Internet site (ex. www.avenue-creations.com). We register your name for you at
a cost of $20/name. |
| I heard that Flash takes too long to download
and some people can't view it on their computers?
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| Three years ago, this was true. In today's day, Flash is
extremely efficient and over 98% of web users already have Flash players
installed in their browsers. We do not hesitate using Flash on our site and you
shouldn't hesitate to use it on yours. It can be extremely effective in
capturing attention and retaining site traffic.
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| What software and equipment do you use to make
your websites? |
| We use just about every type of system available to design our
sites. Some of our designers work off the PC platform, mostly Dell
workstations, a few of our designers work from the Macintosh OSX platform, our
programmers work off of the Linux/UNIX platform, and we even have a Silicon
Graphics machine for high-end animation and video. For software, we swear by
the Adobe and Macromedia suites. We utilize Adobe's PhotoShop, PageMaker,
Acrobat Professional, Illustrator, and Streamline. We use Flash, Shockwave,
Freehand, Dreamweaver, and Fireworks by Macromedia. For video editing, we use
Apple's Final Cut Pro and Shake Effects Suite. Alltogether, we have over
$125,000 in creative software and equipment. |
| Some other company told me they can build my
whole website for less than $500? How?
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| They are most likely creating you a site from a pre-designed
template. If you send us their proposal, we will beat their price and we will
give you your own custom look. Guaranteed.
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| What kind of servers do you use?
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AVENUE only uses top-of-the-line Intel Pentium IV and AMD Athlon-based servers,
custom-built and extensively tested to exceed our demanding standards. Our
hardware is chosen specifically for its reliability and interoperability with
Red Hat Linux, our preferred high-performance, open-source Unix operating
system.
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| Do you offer any pre-installed features on your
servers?
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All of our servers have pre-installed powerful on-line forum phpBB, phpNuke,
and other open source programs which can be installed on your account at no
additional charge.
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| How many e-mail accounts can I have?
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| You can have as many as you would like.
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| Who owns the copyright on the images you create?
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| Once we've received final payment and released the finished
product you then obtain full rights to the final design. However, we retain
rights to use the design for self-promotion and to display in our portfolio or
design contests -- but not to exploit for commercial gain.
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| Are the files you provide ready to be sent to
the printers? |
| If you are not having your printing done by AVENUE, yes, you are
provided with files that can be given directly to a printer by e-mail or on
CD-ROM. Also, we can have the files delivered directly to your printer. |
| What is a vector graphic? |
| An image created digitally that is stored and displayed in terms
of vectors rather than points. This allows for easier scaling and storage as
well as future ability to animate any creative material. |
| What is CMYK or "process" color? |
| Process color is a method used to create thousands of colors
using four or more standard inks. The colors used in four-color process are
(C=cyan, M=magenta Y=yellow and K=black) - together these colors can be trapped
and manipulated to create thousands of other colors.
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| I'm not too sure what web site promotion and
search engine optimization is? |
| This is such a crucial element of owning and operating a
website. Over 92% of all web site traffic is generated from people searching
using keywords on search engines. Only sites that are on the first few pages of
the search engine results get the traffic. If you plan on utilizing the market
that the Internet provides then it is absolutely imperative to optimize your
web pages so you will rank well in the major search engines. Also, pay per
click advertising is one of the most efficient ways to generate traffic and
convert it into sales.
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| Do I really need to pay a professional to do
site optimization? |
Sure, you can do it yourself, there are lots of places that you
can submit your site to be considered for inclusion with the major search
engines. But will using only these methods get you anywhere? Only by thorough
research of your target market, appropriate keywords and search engine ranking
algorithm can you have any hope of ranking well in search engines and
directories. We have mastered the art of SEO.
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| I thought search engines found my site
automatically, and I just had to put my web site on the net?
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| There are search engines that are constantly crawling the net
looking for new content. Unless you know what criteria the search engines are
looking for when they rank web sites in their database you really don't have a
very good chance of ranking well. If you don't rank well in a search engine not
many people will be able find your site. You might have the best and most
informative web site on the Internet but without the proper advertising no one
will be able to find you. We can cure this problem with ease.
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