Custom Web Design

A custom website should provide a unique and professional online image for your business to capture viewers' attention, whether they have navigated to your site by design or by accident. The website should showcase your business, the services and products you provide, and the benefits available to your clients, customers and prospects. This may be accomplished by simply establishing an introductory web presence, providing basic information or creating a full-fledged e-commerce site but in all cases, the site must represent your unique style and brand. It must instantly attract internet users, satisfy their initial curiosity and then provide for a continuing pleasurable experience using attractive visuals along with easy, efficient, speedy and logical navigation.

webBHaven specializes in just that type of web design, custom-tailored to your needs! We promise personalized and responsive attention to your project; yet we encourage your input throughout the design process to ensure that the finished product satisfies your needs and exceeds your expectations.

Web Development

Web developers are often guilty of touting their technical expertise. They like to flaunt their knowledge of state-of-the-art software — HTML, PHP, SQL, JAVA, AJAX, Flash, amongst many others — almost as though there were magic in the proclamation of an onslaught of acronyms or that the use of impressive software would yield the panacea to all that ails web-design. In fact, the opposite may hold true since an excess of pop-and-flash and attention-grabbing glitz generally results in moving parts, disjointed navigation and confusing presentation which may ultimately decrease the speed and efficiency of the website it was designed to enhance.

At webBHaven we, too, have access to all of the same software but we use it only when appropriate, not just because we have it. Implementation and application must serve a purpose and provide a solution. While we will use up-to-the-minute technology, we pledge to also rely on experience, expertise and creativity. We will strive for elegance and practicality so that we may deliver a website of which you can be proud! (And one that users will enjoy.)

Dynamic/Database Driven Websites

Websites are continuously in flux – incorporating new information and adapting to user needs – but only some are truly "dynamic." A static website can be developed quickly and cheaply but then requires the skills and ongoing attention of a web developer to integrate changes and updates. A dynamic website, on the other hand, puts the power of change into the owner's hands by giving him the ability to add new content quickly and easily. News and events can be posted to the site through a simple browser interface. Content can readily be added or removed. Subscribers can be tracked and contacted with targeted marketing. A database can be used to transform the user experience based on stored information to which the owner has direct access. Dynamic features are limited only by the web owner's imagination; thus, his website becomes more functional, more pertinent and more attractive to users who will come back often in search of new and exciting content.

webBHaven has an extensive background in database design and development; just perfect for creating dynamic websites. As a result, features such as content management, e-commerce systems and dynamic publishing can be turned over to a site owner willing to exploit his own imagination while limiting ongoing web maintenance costs. Of course, if an owner prefers to delegate that responsibility, site changes will eagerly, easily and inexpensively be made by your developer—webBHaven.

Shopping Cart Solutions

Website Hosting

A web hosting service allows individuals and organizations to make their websites accessible via the World Wide Web. The web host provides server space and internet connectivity, along with a suite of software products designed to support web developers, manage databases and offer email services. webBHaven has chosen iPage as its hosting company.

Cost Expectations

The cost of building a website is quite variable and depends on the size and features chosen. You will want to take some time to think about what you wish to accomplish with your site; determine if you will need any special functionality or interactivity with your visitors; consider the type of design style which appeals to you; select a preferred domain name; and create content. webBHaven can offer as much guidance as you would like but, because a website should ultimately be an extension of you and your business, it is best that you provide input and remain involved throughout the development process. In that manner, webBHaven can create a product that is unique, aesthetically appealing and a professional reflection of who you are so that your website will successfully attract users, prospects and clients.

A modest web presence can be established for as little as $500; whereas, database-driven or e-commerce sites would cost significantly more. In fact, web development costs range across a spectrum from discounted fees for merely modifying existing sites to high-end rates based on a site's complexity and your choice from a gamut of available services. Charges range from $60 - $120/hour, depending on whether you require basic HTML modifications or high-end programming. webBHaven will provide a fee estimate tailored to your needs and will make every effort to work within your budgetary constraints.

Available Features

Website variability and versatility is amazing; with today's tools and technology, there is little that cannot be done. Whether designed to advertise services and products or disseminate information, a website has the power to reach millions (billions?) of viewers. And with continuous access to the worldwide web, a website has the ability to amass, exploit and compile the nearly infinite amounts of information migrating through cyberspace – users and owners, alike, benefit from a website that opens a window onto a world beyond.

In essence, all websites use, display, store and/or provide information. However, the features and complexities to do so are almost limitless. Therefore, don't think of the list of features to the right as all-inclusive; it is merely a list of some options available to you. It's a starting point.

Collaboration

Website design projects can be initiated via telephone or e-mail. webBHaven prides itself on its can-do spirit and customer-friendly service. Clients are encouraged to make suggestions and requests, challenging webBHaven to find an efficient solution to almost every problem.

Maintenance

Minor adjustments to a website are inevitable. During the development process and even after delivery, minor changes such as editorial corrections, adding or changing texts and incorporating photos are included at no charge. Requests for major revision will require additional discussion and possibly incur ancillary fees. webBHaven believes that a website is never "finished" since it should continue to evolve as your business grows, matures and even changes. Our goal is to foster long-term relationships. We expect to be there whenever you need us, to offer advice, make improvements, add additional features and accommodate changes.

Creative Navigation

Menuing is integral to any website, allowing users to intuitively navigate with ease. The image to the right is from a website that offers tax services and demonstrates a unique menu we call a pinwheel. It allows the user to see at a glance what he could expect to find within the site before he clicks on the "fans" or the "bulls-eye" of the pinwheel. As the cursor hovers over each fan blade, the text is highlighted for clarity; and a mere mouse-click activates navigation to the next web-page, much like a traditional menu. Unusual to be sure, webBHaven's pinwheel menu offers an eye-catching and functional focal point on the home page.

This client's website also uses a traditional button-menu for main topics, a subtle and less obtrusive header-menu for secondary topics, and a complete site-map menu at the bottom of each page. To augment the menus, words are hot-linked throughout the site guiding users to other pages. Lastly, a search function is offered at the top of every page giving users the ability to find anything on the site or its embedded documents by searching for just one word or random phrase. Seemingly duplicative, users are pleased to find that they can readily move about the site in a manner most personally comfortable; yet no one is bothered by (or even notices) the subtle built-in redundancy. Just as all roads lead to Rome, good site navigation should provide many alternate ways to get to the same place.

Eye-catching Custom Graphics

To make a website visually appealing and attract viewers, web developers often employ splashy graphics. While dazzling artwork and stunning animation successfully capture the attention that web owners crave, webBHaven seeks to bestow functionality to their designs in the hopes of killing the proverbial two birds with one stone: Making a site "pop" but also making a site useable.

The graphic to the right is from a company website that uses a unique process flow in its business model. Designed by webBHaven, the graphic not only demonstrates the process in a simple, easy-to-see manner but also cleverly mirrors the company's logo of orbiting electrons. To avoid detracting from the visual aesthetics yet provide site users with important information about the company's methodologies, we created a diagram with 15 hidden components. Users intuitively click on the oh-so shiny spheres to activate pop-up dialog boxes with narratives and explanations of each component in the process cycle.

Embrace Simplicity

The page to the right is excerpted from the website of a maritime artist and was designed to showcase his abundant portfolio. To display as many detailed images from the artist's ample inventory as possible, the speed with which pages could be loaded was critical – after all, site users often lose patience when encountering web pages that render slowly or impartially.

By keeping the page design simple, webBHaven ensured that viewers would focus on the art being shown and by posting large pre-loaded images which remained hidden until accessed with clickable thumbnails, the problem of page creep was successfully resolved. To everyone's surprise and delight, the artwork is almost instantly viewable.

Dynamic and Efficient

HTML is the language most commonly used for creating web pages. Once created, an HTML page remains essentially static and unchanged. While certain embedded scripts such as Java can be used to re-write an HTML page, the newly written page cannot on its own adapt to additional input. It is merely a page that resides on the server and is displayed when requested by a site user.

On the other hand, PHP is both a general-purpose programming and scripting language with the ability to generate HTML code at the server. When a client asks to view a page that has been written in PHP, the server quickly builds an HTML page on the fly and sends the finished page back to the client. Because PHP has the capability to use information available on the internet or stored in a database to render the HTML code, it can efficiently incorporate new data each time a request is made to view a page.

The web page to the right comes from a site that has hundreds of links and documents defined in a database. PHP is used to determine the name of the page, look up all the links and documents, and dynamically create a structured page as defined by the PHP programmer. While many developers have embraced the power and benefits of PHP programming, webBHaven has taken it a step further by giving the web owner access to the database and granting him the freedom to make changes and updates on his own; without the need for constant dependence upon the web developer. To make users instantly aware of these types of content changes, site links can be identified with New and Updated tags, labels that are generated depending on when the link was last changed.

Server-side Security

Many websites require login capabilities, allowing clients to gain access to certain parts of a website, make purchases, register for special offers, and more. While there are many methods to prompt for and check information, no client-side solution – offered directly on the website – is as secure as a server-side solution. Server-side verification forwards user-entered information from the user’s computer to the server – the computer where the website is hosted – where it can be checked, compared to a database of previously registered users, and protected by server-side programming.

Depending on client needs, webBHaven can create a database to store a minimal list of verified user names and passwords, install a full contact management system (CMS), or anything in between. The example to the right was tailored to a web owner who communicates with his clients by e-mail based on a variety of subscription options. Registration is secured using a server-side Captcha.

Contact

Please call, e-mail, or use the form to the right to request additional information.

We offer a free introductory consultation and will quote fees only after evaluating the work to be performed. Every design project is unique; every website is distinct. Since there is virtually no limit to what a website can do, fees will be based on the time dedicated to your project as well as the costs associated with each bell and whistle you may wish to add. We do not mass-produce turnkey websites forged from one-size fits all templates. Instead, our goal at webBHaven is to offer you a tailor-made solution that is as impressive as it is exceptional.