paraboxdigital.com :: /faq :: plain text

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  # Pricing
  What it costs, and what you commit to

  [01] How much does a website cost?
       It depends on the split between design and build, and on how many pages need to be truly
       different from each other. A five page site on a settled brand is a different job from a
       storefront with a custom checkout.

       Four things move the number most: how many different page layouts you need, whether we
       design the brand or work inside one you have, whether the site sells directly, and how
       much content has to be written or moved over. Tell us what the site has to do and we will
       put a figure against it before anyone commits. Every build and plan price is listed on
       the pricing page.

       Projects start at $750 for the build of a one page site. That is the build price with a
       monthly plan running alongside it, and it is billed when your site goes live. The pricing
       page also lists each build's price on its own. Each plan states the onboarding you pay at
       signing and the monthly price that follows.

  [02] What does the monthly plan cost, and what does it cover?
       The three marketing plans start at $179 a month and run to $1,299. Every one covers the
       same foundations: hosting, backups, uptime monitoring, security updates, a live test
       through your contact form every week, and a report on a schedule you can count on.
       Foundation sits under them at $99 a month. That is the site care on its own, without the
       listing or the marketing work.

       What separates the three is how much attention your marketing gets on top of that. The
       cheapest keeps your site and your Google listing accurate. The middle one works on being
       found when somebody searches for what you do instead of your name. The top one manages
       your advertising as well. The three are set out side by side on the pricing page, with
       what each adds to the one below it.

  [03] Is there a minimum term on a plan?
       On Momentum and Growth, three paid months where the plan runs alongside a build we did,
       beginning in month two, after the free month. After that it continues month to month, and
       either of us can end it with 30 days' notice. Storefront and Foundation are month to
       month from the start, as is any plan bought on its own for a site we did not build.

       Why three months? The build price assumes it. The pricing page states each build at two
       prices: with a plan, and on its own. The lower one holds because the plan runs alongside
       it.

       If the plan stops early, we bill the difference between those two published figures,
       scaled to the months you did pay. Your proposal states that figure in writing before you
       sign, so it is never a surprise.

       Three months is also when the work starts showing up in the numbers. Local search and a
       Google profile take roughly a quarter to move, so the term ends right where you can judge
       the results.

  [04] What is not included in the plan?
       New pages, redesigns, and content production are project work rather than edits. They are
       quoted separately so each gets proper time, unless your plan includes a new page or build
       project. Ad spend is yours: it goes on your own card, in your own account, never through
       us.

       Beyond that, some jobs come up for some businesses and not others: managing ads, writing
       articles, claiming your listings on Apple Maps and Bing, setting up a review system,
       rebuilding a menu. Those are priced one by one on the add-ons page, and each says which
       plans it is for and which plan already covers it.

  [05] Can we pay for a year up front?
       Yes, and it is worth doing. Pay ten months up front and you get twelve. Any plan, at
       signup or at renewal.

       Prepaid amounts are not refunded. But if the plan ends after its minimum term, what is
       left carries across to other work with us instead of disappearing.

  [06] What happens to everything if we leave?
       You take all of it, at no cost. Your domain, the site files, a database export, your
       Google Business Profile, your analytics, and your ad accounts. The accounts are in your
       name, and we work inside them as a manager. Any domain we hold for you is transferred on
       request.

       Once the account is paid in full, the handover takes about 15 business days.

  # How a project runs
  Schedule, decisions, and what we build on

  [07] How long does a project take?
       The build is rarely the long part. Schedules stretch on content and on decisions. So the
       projects that move quickly are the ones where somebody on your side can say yes without
       calling a meeting.

       A focused marketing site takes weeks. A storefront or anything with custom features runs
       longer, and a brand piece in front of it adds to that. We give you a schedule with the
       decision points marked, so you can see where your input keeps things moving.

  [08] What do you need from us to start?
       A sense of what the site has to achieve, and one person who can make decisions. Those two
       are worth more than a finished brief.

       Content is the usual bottleneck. If you have copy, product information and photography,
       the schedule holds. If you do not, we would rather know at the start and plan for it than
       discover it in week four.

  [09] Can you redesign a site we already have?
       Often the better option. An existing site comes with analytics. Those tell you which
       pages earn their place, where people leave, and what they searched to find you. That is a
       much stronger start than a blank page.

       We begin by reading what your current site is already telling you. Then we rebuild around
       what is working, instead of starting the argument again from nothing.

  [10] What do you build on?
       Whatever suits the job and the people who have to run it afterwards. Shopify where the
       site sells. A content management system where the team publishes often. Hand-built static
       pages where speed matters more than either.

       The deciding question is who updates the site in a year. If your team cannot use the
       platform, it stops being updated.

  [11] Do you do SEO?
       The technical half is part of every build: clean markup, fast pages, correct canonical
       tags, a sitemap, and structured data. You do not pay extra for it.

       The ongoing half is search strategy, content, and local visibility. That work sits inside
       Momentum and Growth, which are the two plans that look after your Google listing and your
       local search every month.

       If you are not on a plan, the same work runs as a standalone Digital Marketing
       engagement. Anyone promising rankings by a date is guessing.

  # The studio
  Where we are, and what you own

  [12] Do we own the site when it is finished?
       Yes. You own the site, the domain and the accounts it runs on, and the design files are
       yours to keep.

       We set up hosting and analytics in your name, not ours. If you would rather not deal with
       a registrar, we hold the domain for you. It is still yours, and it is transferred on
       request, at no cost.

  [13] Do you work with businesses outside Sacramento?
       Yes. The studio is in Sacramento, California, and we work remotely by default, wherever
       the client is. Where you are does not decide whether we take the work.

       Local work has one real advantage: being able to meet. If that matters to you, say so and
       we will build it into how the project runs.

  [14] What happens after launch?
       Launch is where the useful data starts. Content ages, the software behind the site needs
       updates, and speed drifts as pages get added.

       Website Management covers the ongoing side: updates, monitoring, backups and a monthly
       report in plain language.

       Every build has two prices. The lower one holds while a monthly plan runs alongside it.
       On its own the same build costs the higher published figure, starting at $950 for a one
       page site. The plan is optional at that price. Both figures are listed for every build on
       the pricing page.

  [15] How do we start?
       Send a message through the contact form with a sense of what you are trying to do. You do
       not need a brief or a budget worked out.

       We reply with questions, and if the fit looks right we put a proposal together with
       scope, schedule and a figure. Nothing is committed until you have all three in front of
       you.