What are the basic requirements for a website development in Baton Rouge?

Affordable Website Development is our primary service, our specialty! Website design and development can be very complicated and there is a considerable learning curve as you begin to discover the web from the webmaster's side. We're here to help you with consultation and guidance every step of the way, and to take the burden off wherever we can while empowering you with as much control over your website as you would like to have. To be sure, one of the wonderful advantages of working with The Designsmith in Baton Rouge is our propensity to provide consultation and guidance at no extra cost! Our website design package prices are all focused on the real work of designing and building your website.

Our web development centers on the structuring of a website that fits your company and branding, fits your marketing goals, and fits your budget while addressing your target audience in terms they can quickly understand and digest to make an honest appraisal of you and connect to further your communication and create a business engagement, ie $$$.

to have a website you need AT LEAST THESE 5 THINGS:

A Domain Name. This is the address of your website that appears in the address bar of the browser. Ours is TheDesignsmith.com as you can see in the address bar above. In effect, you rent the name from a Domain Registrar like Network Solutions or GoDaddy. There are many registrars and there is no considerable difference between them as far as acquiring a name, but their costs vary widely. GoDaddy charges roughly $20 for a .com name per year while Network Solutions charges around $45 for the same thing. We tend to use GoDaddy more often.
A Hosting System. This is essentially the computer where the files of your website are stored. This special computer must be able to read and execute your programmed files, and it should be solidly connected to a main artery of the internet. The system farm should have backups and redundencies as well as other creative protection to make sure that your website is always available to web surfers. Naturally, we offer a wonderful hosting system equipped to handle all your website needs.
Hyper-Text Markup files. These files describe the look and content of your website to the browser which downloads and displays it to the surfers. HTM files can be built without programming, mixed with programming, or created by programming; but in the end it is the html that your visitors see drawn into their browser. Creating these files is what we do best by integrating beautiful graphics, cascading sytles and smart programming!
A Database. The days when you could manage a website without a database are gone. Today the website draws pages by pulling information from the database and combining it with the HTML markup so that the visitor sees the pages exactly how you want them to.
Security Certificate. At a minimum you will want to do any communication over secure socket layers (SSL) which encrypt the data during transmission. Today the whole website is delivered over https ( secure ) paths as a rule. Websites are subject to assault in many cases, and often for no apparent reason. So we recommend a few additions to your website outlay to include a firewall, monitoring, and backup whenever your budget can afford it.

In order for us to build your website we need to know what it is going to say and do. We've found the easiest way for you to tell us is by creating a flowchart or outline that names each page and describes the content. We're good at presuming the details, so a general description is good enough for us to give you a reasonable estimate. We also realize that this task is a show-stopper for many, so we offer services to work with you to put it together - contact us or look here to find out more.

Primary Elements of a Website:

The Template. We build websites for ease of updating and expansion by using templates that are broken up and inserted into each page of the site to assure consistency across the project. The template gives you the 'look and feel' of your website, the navigation, the head and foot, and much more that is a necessary part of each page. We often design these templates ourselves but to save money for some clients we can also pick from the many pre-designed templates available around the web and integrate our programming and content into one of them.
The Public Area. When someone types your website name into their browser address bar they see your homepage of your public area. The public area is simply not the private area and includes any part of the site that the public can reach through navigation from another public page or by clicking through from the results of a search engine like Google or Bing.
The Content Management System. Most websites are programmed to interact with a database and to administer the page content a site owner uses an interface. This interface is a set of pages referred to as the content management system (CMS) and it is not connected to the public area. For example, if your website has a shopping cart with lists of items the public can browse, the CMS would be used to keep those items updated with the correct image, price, etc.

See Also these Website Design & Development Pages:

Website Cost Estimate?

Contact us today with your website ideas and we'll get you a free estimate! If you have an outline or flowchart you can send us that to get the conversation going. Or if you would like us to visit and discuss what might be a good outline for your site we'll be happy to set up a meeting. Or a phone call - whatever works for you.

I want to thank Paul @ the Designsmith for taking my website out of the stone age. He did an amazing job!! The site is easy to navigate for which we have already had complements on. I would recommend Paul to any of my friends looking to revamp or do minor updates to their sites. Very professional to detail. Myself being someone that has never done any of this type of work before, Paul took the baby steps with me until I caught on. Again thanks to The Designsmith for such an amazing site I have now.

Danita DiMartino, - Carnival Mart, Inc

We hired Paul Miller to do an overhaul on our website. We are very pleased with the finished product--it's attractive, easy to navigate and the cost was well within budget. I enjoyed working with Paul - he's pleasant, patient and professional. I was especially impressed with how responsive he was and how quickly he took care of whatever I needed. Overall it was a great experience! I would use him again and I would recommend him to others.

Kelly Johannessen, Director of Communications - United Methodist Foundation of LA

Paul Miller helped us take our web site from average to extraordinary! He took the time to understand my business and profession to customize our site for greatest impact. He arranged for awesome photography and crafted everything together to create a wonderful website. He has been there for us helping us every step of the way. I could not be more pleased. I would highly recommend Paul Miller and The Designsmith to anyone needing help with website design and advertising.

Richard Appleton, DDS, MS, Prosthodontist - Appleton Prosthodontics

Paul Miller, The Designsmith, is an outstanding web site designer who has built two excellent sites that have been very good for my business. Lapolitics.com, launched in 2002, has stood the test of time by continuing to look and work very well. Howtogetelected.com, in 2011, achieves the very professional look that befits the national audience it aims to attract.. Paul works quickly to offer and modify design ideas, collaborating with me at every step. He has a strong sense not only of what looks good but what sells. He is also very patient with his more technically challenged clients like myself. In all, Paul Miller is a consummate professional and creative talent. I would recommend The Designsmith for any web design project.

John Maginnis, Publisher - LaPolitics Weekly / How to Get Elected

As a start up company in 2001, PetroSafe contacted The Designsmith to help us with the original design of our website. Not knowing where to start, Paul shared some great ideas with us, and after only a few days ... we were up and running. Paul was extremely easy to work with and he managed to keep our startup costs within our budget. After we were in business for few years, we again contacted the Designsmith to help with the design of our on-line student registration and credit card payment system. Once again ... Paul came through for us with an excellent system that will even allow us to enter and update our upcoming training events with an easy to use administration page that is linked to our website. From our experience, forget about the web based, do-it-yourself designs that are available. You will waste a lot of time trying to learn how to design your site and in the end you will not be pleased with the product. We receive a lot of positive comments on our website design and we strongly recommend that you let the experts at The Designsmith design you website. The end product is an affordable and cost effective investment that will share your vision, properly market your business and bring the dividends that you deserve.

Carl Anderson, CFPS, President - PetroSafe Technologies

It quickly became apparent why Paul came so highly recommended. Not only does he bring his vast experience and expertise to your project, but he is a pleasure to work with, very helpful and extremely patient as he guides you through the website development process. In the end, we were left with a great website and one unanswered question - 'Why didn't we go to him sooner?'

Jimmy McGee, Owner - NOVA Consulting, LTD

We are so grateful for your experience, expertise, and patience and are so proud to call this work of art and science our own!!! Thank you for every word of encouragement and advice we have seen for ourselves why those four references I called in the beginning wouldn't let me off the phone and kept singing your praises about how good and how fast you are. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We agree that you really are the best in town.

Ruth Vincent, partner - American Integrity Insurance

Paul gets design concepts quickly and gets them done. He is very responsive to the needs of the customer, and he listens to what WE want. He also has maintained our site with great care and attention, suggesting reasonable and necessary upgrades and protections that are critical in today's online environment. Paul is friendly and genuinely cares about how our site looks and functions, and he is always there to help.

Rusty Jabour, Past President - Greater Baton Rouge Community Tennis Association

As the author of the book "Smell The Popcorn: 12 Life-changing Secrets to Pop to the Top," I wanted an updated logo that would really 'POP!' Not only did Paul create a logo for my speaking business but also designed a brand for 'Pop to the Top' concept. I keep getting lots of praise for the new look logos. Paul understood what my business needed more than I did myself. Thanks Paul.

Jerry LePre, Principal - Inspirational Speaker

We were ready to add some new features to our website and Paul once again came through. He has helped us create a website that we are proud of and one that will grow with our business. Thanks Paul!

George Clark, President - Taylor Clark Gallery

We needed to redesign our website and had a very difficult time dealing with our previous web designer. After our first meeting with Paul, we knew he was the perfect guy for us! He was very easy to work with and he made the whole process a much more enjoyable experience! We love the design he came up with and look forward to working with him again on more projects! Thanks Paul!

Bobbie & Danny Baker, Owner - Delta Bravo Properties, LLC

When it came time for a new website, I came to Paul with the goal of creating a website that would reflect the experience of visiting our gallery in person. The end result is even better than I anticipated. Equally as important, Paul was a pleasure to work with in the design phase and really took the time to understand our business and the message we wanted to send. The end result is a website that we are proud to have our name on. Thanks Paul!

George Clark, President - Taylor Clark Gallery

Paul was given pieces and parts of information and photographs over several months and he masterfully melded it all into the website that we had envisioned. I appreciated his patience, suggestions, light humor and guidance throughout the entire process. He mastered the project flow wonderfully, hit all of the deadlines and gave soft reminders of what would or should be addressed for upcoming milestones. Staying on time and on budget were very important factors. A pleasure to work with and superbly knowledgeable in his field, I would recommend Paul for your marketing, website and other IT projects.

Angel McGee, Marketing - Red Stick Armature

My name is Scott Lang - owner of Advanced Hurricane Solutions in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. I had imagined a concept for our logo and thought it was fairly intricate and wasn't sure if it was right for our business, but was passionate about it. I had approached other logo designers and each mentioned it may be too intricate and were forcing us to go with a more simple concept. I had lost focus on the logo over time and had become discouraged and resorted to a more simple logo design and was about a day or 2 away from implementing it into our company until I discovered Paul & The DesignSmith. Paul asked me to send him what I imagined for our more intricate version of the logo and he came back with a great price and said his team could get it done. A few days later, he sent some rough pencil drafts of different versions, we chose one and through a couple of minor changes arrived at an incredible logo that exceeded our expectations. Paul, you were great to work with, very patient and precise in nailing our concept of our logo. The detail is amazing and I can't say enough how happy we are. Thanks for renewing my passion for this logo and now I know it is right for our company. This definitely gives me a new outlook on our business and am excited to start branding our company with it.

Scott Lang, Owner - Advanced Hurricane Solutions

Paul Miller is very responsive, very organized, and when you have a concern regarding the web page you get him and not any intermediary. He usually corrects any areas of concerns or new additions with in days if not hours. Obviously, the complexity may make revision take a bit longer but I want to emphasize his efficiency. We have looked to other vendors for comparable services and Paul has always been the one to rise to the surface. His pricing is extremely competitive and in this area, he has always come out on top as the most cost effective (for web page design, maintenance, and web page hosting costs) of any vendor we have interviewed. The Baton Rouge Clinic's relationship with him has gone back many years and I have personally worked with him for over 4 years now. The most important part of any web page is who owns the web page itself (not just the content) at the end of the day. Paul's firm does the work, but the purchaser would own the web page. For most design firms, the web page is licensed to the purchaser and its presence on the web is contingent upon an ongoing contract with that web design firm. As you can imagine, owning your own page offers much greater flexibility thus this is a very valuable asset. (Plus it speaks to the firm's level of confidence that he does not try to anchor you to him by a licensing arrangement, it is his service, value, and creative product that will keep you with the firm. Paul's pricing has always been fair for both programming as well as hosting the web page for us. You are welcome to visit our site. While we keep it straight forward (in part due to the older patient population we serve), it works well for all of our patients.

Harold D. Brandt, MD, FACP, Medical Director - The Baton Rouge Clinic, AMC

To you folks that have avoided developing a web page for varioius reasons (lack of knowledge, expense, concearns regarding "what do I need", and other awkward questions), Mr. Paul Miller of The Designsmith will alleviate all trepidations. Lack of comfort with other web developers delayed us in launching Premier Constructors website for two years. However, after our initial meeting, Paul was prepared inside three weeks to launch our site. Don't you lose multiple years deciding!! Paul's ability to design, create, recommend, alter, and remain flexible with your ideas - and his quick response time - made this adventure painless. It never ceases to amaze me how working with the right person makes a perceived complication a breeze.

Joe O'Banion, President - Premier Constructors, Inc.

I contacted The DesignSmith on a whim because I needed a custom sign designed quickly and had no clue as to a design layout. Paul immediately got back with me from my email request, asked a few questions, and delivered an outstanding product in 48 hours. Highly recommend The DesignSmith for any kind of digital design services and I'll certainly be back for future projects!

Mark Howard, Owner - H2Bravo Construction and Program Management, LLC

Paul Miller is a master craftsman, a skilled artisan in the field of web design. My professional colleagues/competitors have very nice websites, but they all look as though they were designed from the same template. My website, thanks to Paul, is totally different and unique. Paul's creativity made my website far more impressive and eye-catching than others in my field thus drawing more curiosity and interest of clients. Paul is innovative and imaginative. He is responsive to your needs, gets the work done timely at a competitive price. I recommend Paul without reservation.

Frank Panepinto, CFDE, CFE, CPP, SCLA - Forgery & Fraud Forensic Research Center

This experience has been over the top. Your communication and patience with this process was impressive. Plus, your programing skills combined with your eye for design and background in writing, makes your one man show an incredible value. Thank you for your dedication to getting it right and all of the extras you have thrown in. Would do it again tomorrow. If anyone wants to call me about my experience, I will be happy to talk with them.

Richard Akin, MD, DDS - Oral Surgery

The Designsmith's innovative and fresh designs have propelled our company to greater success with an extremely unified look across different platforms including; Website design, promotional print and corporate identity materials. Paul Miller's knowledge and skills coupled with his easy to work with manner has made my job easier. Paul has the ability to complete projects quickly with great attention to detail. It is truly a rewarding experience to work with Paul and his company.

Dennis Garrett, General Manager - Home360 Inc.