Tag: top ten FAQ

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Can you recommend a hosting company?

Fascination Design offers managed hosting plans as outlined on our hosting page. Please talk to us before making a purchase as there are some additional technical benefits to using Fascination Design for hosting that are not listed. We’re not pushy about this, we just want to make sure you make an informed decision and also that you get hosting that will work for your needs.

If you desperately want to manage your own hosting however (or if you are working on a project with another designer/developer), our typical recommendations for small businesses include:

  • Verve Hosting: BEST for shared hosting aka small sites. Verve Hosting is actually a reseller for softlayer. Softlayer only does large accounts but it means that this reseller has a good quality server. Email support is better than phone support with Verve but they WILL take good care of you (though they will NOT build your website for you):
    https://cms.vervehosting.com/aff.php?aff=077
  • Liquidweb: BEST for VPS and Reseller:


These first two I’ve worked with closely in the past and they offer stellar customer support, uptime and more.

Tools for researching:

Several more good shared hosting options (not researched for VPS):

Others worth mentioning:
• https://www.softlayer.com Really heavy duty managed servers
• http://www.site5.com not their shared hosting but their higher level plans
• http://www.rapidvps.com/Cpanel-Shared-Hosting be sure to get a unique IP address with this one since their main IP is listed with spamhaus.
• http://www.lunarpages.com/id/FascinationDesign [affiliate link] the research I did on this one they look decent. One recommendation from someone I know who liked them and one person said they didn’t (but wouldn’t go into detail which is why I’m still posting the affiliate link.)

These are affiliate links and Fascination Design will make a small amount of money if you order from them. They were chosen for their merit however. List last updated December 31 2013.

If you’re a 501c3 (and have the paperwork to prove it) we do also work with hosting companies that offer free quality hosting.  Talk to us and we’ll get you pointed in the right direction.

See also: Why I no longer recommend Hostgator.

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Can you tell me what your hourly rate is?

I have stopped mentioning my per hour rate and just use it to calculate my estimates. Telling someone my hourly rate doesn’t give them any idea how much something is going to cost. It doesn’t tell you how long it’s going to take me to complete your project or the final cost.

Let me give you an example: Paying someone $10/hr for them to do the same thing in 40 hours is still more expensive than one hour at $100/hr. Would you rather pay $400 or would you rather pay $100? $10 per hour is “cheaper” but it can cost you more.

I have also over the years come to understand that the people who are adamant that they know the price per hour are often focused on how cheaply they can do something instead of the design helping them achieve their business goals and objectives. Cheap design is not the focus of Fascination Design and we will not be a good fit for your business if that is your focus. If all you are looking for is simply cheap design, you’re in the wrong place. We offer quality design at a fair price. 

I do however have an hourly consulting rate for brainstorming sessions and planning meetings to develop more in depth projects and marketing plans. Since these meetings are usually scheduled for a set amount of time, you’ll be able to figure out my hourly rate for those meetings.

Don’t forget, all new potential clients get their initial consultation, up to an hour, on the house so that I can learn more about your business and goals and you can ask me any questions you might have.

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Can you give us a sample design so we can decide if we want to hire you?

Requesting creative services in advance of hiring is known as Speculative or “Spec Work.” Spec Work compromises the quality of work you are entitled to and also violates a long-standing ethical standard in the communication design profession worldwide.

The “American Institute of Graphic Arts”, as well as the “Graphic Artists Guild” and the “Graphic & Web Design Trade Customs” are in agreement and most graphic designers will not provide speculative designs as it places zero value on ones services.

Creating custom designs are not part of Fascination Design’s presale process. Design is a collaborative process with the client that is affected by a variety of factors and is not simply a flash of creative inspiration.

Speculative work takes time which creates lower profit margins. A business with less cash to invest back into the business means a worse product, worse service, and customers that don’t receive as many benefits as they could.

Here are some other ways to ease into the transition of working with us:

  • Ask for an estimate and try us out with a smaller project.
  • Or ask for us to break out the first step of a bigger project in an estimate.
  • Ask for references. We’ll check with some clients to make sure they aren’t too busy to talk and get you their contact info.
  • Review portfolio pieces of similar projects.
  • If we haven’t met with you already, we do offer an initial “getting to know you” meeting on the house. This can be a phone meeting if you don’t live nearby.

The AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts) on Spec work:
http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/position-spec-work

“AIGA, the professional association for design, believes that professional designers should be compensated fairly for the value of their work and should negotiate the ownership or use rights of their intellectual and creative property through an engagement with clients.”

“Clients and designers knowingly engaged in spec work share an equal responsibility to understand the potential risks and rewards:

Clients risk compromised quality as little time, energy and thought can go into speculative work, which precludes the most important element of most design projects—the research, thoughtful consideration of alternatives, and development and testing of prototype designs. Designers risk being taken advantage of as some clients may see this as a way to get free work; it also diminishes the true economic value of the contribution designers make toward client’s objectives.

There are legal risks for both parties should aspects of intellectual property, trademark and trade-dress infringements become a factor.”

More info for businesses on spec work:

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Why do you only present one initial concept design or mockup?

It’s my job to guide you through the design process, not create an indecision based on choice.

Long ago I thought I had to create more than one mockup because that’s what a lot of designers do. But what I quickly found was that too many small business owners end up liking all of my designs and have a hard time choosing. 5 week delays don’t help any of us.

It also saves time and money if we present only one design mockup and work from that. Occasionally we’ll present one design with several smaller variances in the design but that’s fairly rare.

If you hate the first design we can drill down to what you don’t like and either alter the design or scrap it and start over.

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Cost & Payment Options?

Checks are the most common form of payment we receive from clients but we also accept payments via paypal. We can also use a small card reader called “square” for the iphone for in-person payments should you want to make your payment at the end of a meeting.

Cost will be clearly outlined on your project sheets. See “Process” in the site menu for more details.

Payment plans:

  • Print: Unless you are an established client with a history of prompt payment, we require a down-payment at the beginning of the project and remaining payment to be made prior to going to print or before releasing the files to you. We can discuss payment terms for subsequent projects or issues of publications once a payment history is established.
  • Websites: If you (the client) are handling your own hosting then the same terms are applied from print. If however your site is hosted on Fascination Design’s servers we can arrange for a payment plan on the first project. Usually this will be your estimate broken down into monthly payments for 6 months with a down-payment of one month.
  • Hosting: Is automatically invoiced yearly. If you need to pay monthly we can auto-charge your credit card. Hosting is pre-paid for the upcoming year.
  • Domain names: are automatically invoiced based on number of year purchased and can not be changed. Typically this is annually though if you have purchased 4 years upfront you will be billed every 4 years. Domain names are pre-paid for the upcoming year(s).
  • Consulting & Everything else: Consulting, SEO, SEM, etc are payments made in advance of time spent.