Little Bit of Crazy is a web design studio located in Michigan, offering affordable and creative web design and website development solutions. We cater to small businesses and charitable organizations, especially to companies who operate outside of the mainstream business world by providing affordable web design solutions to make your site one of a kind. We specialize in working with businesses in the Pagan, Gay/Lesbian/Transgender, and Artistic (artist portfolios, authors etc) communities. We understand that your business has unique needs and requirements and we work to ensure that you get a website solution that is custom made to your needs - not just one more cookie-cutter site out of a box.
If you need a web presence or already have one, we can help. Little Bit of Crazy is a run by an experienced designer whose services include web design and development, print and logo design, e-commerce web design, brochure style and interactive web sites, blog design, advertising banners, and more! You can find and hire any designer on the web, but hiring one with experience and knowledge of your needs and customer base is the smart step to take. We have the knowledge, experience and resources to design and develop your site on almost any platform. Visit our Portfolio to see some of our most recent projects.
Beginning a web design project is a great adventure for both the customer and the designer. Each website project has its own needs based on your requirements, as such the typical time from ordering to completion varies client to client however it averages 3 to 6 weeks depending on the size of the site. Depending on our current project load we may be able to take rush orders so if you need something quickly, please ask and we can advise you of the absolute quickest that we can produce something for you.
Timing and Communication
Please try to calculate plenty of time into your personal estimates and deadlines, as we prefer to take the time to ensure that what you are getting is exactly what you want and need. As we work on your site you will be given a link to see the site as we work on it. If you see anything that doesn't look quite like you thought it would - let us know right away. During the design process, especially at the beginning, we will need to be in close contact as you look over various graphical and layout options and choose what you like best. Good and frequent communication is key to both your happiness and ours!
Pricing and Payment
Pricing for any design work is done one of two ways - either as a flat rate charge for the entire site or hourly. Our hourly rate average $35 an hour and the average website takes about 20 billable hours to complete. Generally speaking that works out to about $100 a page. Charitable organizations are billed at a discount rate. Flat rate billing is also an option, and is what we prefer to use for smaller and more basic sites. The prices listed here are all just averages as the actual price will vary depending on your exact needs. Please contact us to go over your requirements and we can give you a more exact price.
The First Steps
Once we have discussed your requirements I will send you an official proposal and design contract. Read that over and then sign and return it to us and we will begin work on your site immediately. You can click here to see our design contract. We do require a non-refundable 10% down payment, payable via check or paypal. Payment plans can also be arranged.
Building Your Site
The first thing that I will do is to build some mock-ups for you to view and approve or make changes to until you settle on the design you like best. During this time I will need clear direction from you, I can't read your mind and I will need you to be very specific in what you want. I am aware that most design clients have little knowledge of web design so if there are any elements that you want that may cause your page to load slowly, be troublesome for your users, or may cause technical glitches on your servers I will advise you this at this time and offer you other options. The final choice however is always yours, it is your site and it is important to me that you be completely satisfied with what you get. Once you have selected the layout you like you will be billed for another 15%. Once that payment has been received I will begin coding your site.
All code will be tested on a variety of browsers and system to ensure maximum accessibility for your customers. Please be aware that every browser, and indeed even every different version of every browser, may handle code slightly differently. Because of this not all coding will be compatible for all versions of all browsers, especially if you need JavaScript, PHP, or Flash on your site - older browsers may not render it correctly. If you have concerns about specific browser types and compatibility issues please let me know. By default I ensure the code works with all recent versions of the most popular browsers.
Once all the coding is done you will be able to view the site on our servers and test it to your satisfaction. Once you have approved the site I will bill you for the remaining 75% of your bill. Once payment has been received I will upload the site to your server and ensure it works properly there, unless you prefer to install the site yourself. Either way you will be mailed a cd that contains all the files for your site so that you have a backup. I also keep a backup of your site for a limited time on my own servers in case you ever need a copy of the original files. If you have any technical questions I will answer them to the best of my abilities and will walk you through your site to ensure you are comfortable and completely happy with your site.
What's Expected From You?
It is your responsibility to provide the content for your site. This includes any specific graphics you want included in the design (such as product images, images of staff, specific mascots or logos you wants used etc). For the general pictures for the site we have a very large collection of graphics and generally we have little trouble finding something that matches your needs.
Please be as precise as possible in what you want your site to look like and what you want it to do. Don't be afraid to send me several pages of description, sketches, whatever it takes. The more I know about what you are aiming for the quicker the process will go. If nothing else send me links to other websites of similar businesses that you especially like.
Please be available and keep me updated if you will be out of contact for a time. If I can't reach you to get approval or clarification of your project during the process, it will delay the completion of your project. If I do not hear from you for over two weeks your project will be canceled.
Print Design and Other Design Services.
The process for print design or other services is essentially the same as outline above for web design.