In other words, if they need a special program written or a website add-on to do a specific function on a website or even assistance with JavaScript programming, we make them look good by providing those services for them.

And - no, we aren't going to list which designers we work with. That would defeat the whole concept.

The idea that someone (like HirMon & Associates) would supply such services surprises a lot of people, although it is very commonplace in other creative areas (see sidebar).

We understand that not everyone might like the way we put websites together and - that's fine.

It is our ultimate goal, however, to help people create the best quality website to suit their needs.

If you are a website designer in a similar situation, please use our Contact Page or use the Quick Mail form at the bottom of this page and let's see if we can work together.

A lot of our clients came to us because they "lost their web person." In some cases, when we were done, the clients discovered that they could update their site by themselves! (It can happen, depending on circumstances...)

Here is how we do fixes:

• You need to jot down some notes about what you know to be wrong or not working properly with your site. This helps us both stay on track. The "laundry list" you supply might be a few wording changes up to a complete website makeover. Whatever you need.
• We will take that list and do an independent review to make sure nothing is missed.
• Once that is done, we combine both sets of notes into a proposal detailing what needs to be done for your review and approval.

We prefer doing website fixes this way, since it is more cost-effective alternative to quote a "project" (even if that project is to fix a few broken links).

Not every set of repairs (like fixing a reference to a missing image) qualifies as a "project," of course, so spot repairs are done at the rate or $100/hour (1 hour minimum). Obviously, if we are going to have to "get into a website" to do some work, it is in your best interest to make certain everything that needs to be addressed is addressed.

Yes, some services will charge less, but we guarantee our work. If something covered in a proposal is not done or is still "broken" - we fix it - no charge.

They have yet to disappoint our clients - or us!

To put it another way - a vendor that disappoints HirMon is history.
No, ifs, ands, or buts.

Our web hosting subscription service is $215 per year (about $18.00 per month) and full technical details are located on this page (new window).

Admittedly, $18.00 a month is slightly than $7.95 a month package services, but - there is a "gotcha" in getting the "cheapest price:"

What most website owners don't realize is that for $7.95 a month - they get to do all the website maintenance and setup functions - all by themselves!

That means becoming an expert in something that is only indirectly related to their business. And in our experience, most of our clients would just rather we take care of those details for them.

That's the reason our web hosting service fee also includes:

• 1 year web hosting service, renewable annually with 99.999+% up time.
• Semi-annual review to insure illegal activities are not taking place (e.g. the site has not been compromised to send SPAM or "phishing" email*)
• Email account setup and forwarding (virtually unlimited and as many as you want/need)
• All liaison work required for the year.
• All server-related maintenance work that might be required during the course of the subscription. Includes (but not limited to)
  • File cleanups
  • Database maintenance and backups
  • Restructuring programs due to operating system changes
  • Multiple email mailbox setup and maintenance
  • Changes to server setups that affect any HirMon & Associates supplied website programming **
  • (Optional) Assistance with domain name management (or we can do it in-house, if you prefer)
  • And anything else that comes up during the course of a year that relates to the web hosting service (with very, very few exceptions; there hasn't been one in 5 years...)

Sorry, Microsoft IIS website hosting is currently unavailable.

* "Phishing" is a term that means an email contrived to "look like" it came from a legitimate organization and is an attempt to entice the recipient into divulging personal information.

** Ask any of our clients how important this was 3 years ago when all servers underwent a major overhaul... It cost them nothing to have their sites reconfigured to work on the new hosting software.

• Ongoing Maintenance - Our "OM Program" to give you some piece of mind. This is recommended for active websites where changes are required frequently, but the site owner simply does not have the time to deal with them personally. This is a monthly charge based on discussions with the site owner regarding what is required. It can be as little as $150 a month, but always tailored to the amount of work (on average) needed to keep a site up to date.
   
• Spot updates - These are recommended for those sites whose contents change infrequently (like every 6 months or longer). The charge for this services is $100/hour, with a 1 hour minimum and billed by the quarter hour after the first hour.
  
  For complete details about Ongoing Maintenance and Spot updates - see this page.
   
• Do-it-yourself - We offer any number of website programs that allow website owners to update key portions of their own website - with no third-party assistance required - as part of all new websites we create! (Where feasible)

As noted on the "Price Sheet," the websites created by HirMon & Associates on average run between $850 and $1,500 (sometimes higher; it depends on client requirements).

Web charges do not included web hosting or domain name registration (which is $215 per year [about $18.00/month] - see the topic on this page: Do web hosting for details - an if we register a domain name on your behalf, the cost is $35/2 years for .COM and $35/year for .ORG names). The reason is that some people already have a decent quality web host and, when we can, we will use that pre-existing service. (It cuts your costs.)

Like a new puppy dog, the final cost is determined by your needs and goals for the website.

The "puppy dog" analogy is appropriate. You have a lot of options where to get a new puppy and the same applies with websites. When you are considering your website options, think about this as well:

Like a puppy, you are going to have to live with your website for several years, and it is up to you to make the best decisions possible regarding what that site will do for you.

All HirMon & Associate websites are custom creations and we always include the following minimum features (complete details are on this page):

• High-end graphic design - Custom created to your needs and preferences. We don't work from templates.
  

• Interactive Contact form - Two versions in one program! (Standard and Reservation request) - at no additional charge. (More...)
   

• Pay Online - Often overlooked and vital in today's business world! Allow your visitors to pay invoices, make deposits or even donations with "plastic." Even (and especially) if you don't sell products! (More...)
  

• Search engine setup and registration - See also the topic: Search Engine Optimization on this page. We will register a site with (minimum) Google, Answers.com and Yahoo.com.
  

• Attention to the fact that it's your site - We will work with you from start to finish and you have the final say over what that site looks like and how it works.

We can also install these features into most existing websites for a nominal fee.

A complete listing of available website add-ons is available on this page.

We are not a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) agency.

As part of our website designs, we include the most commonly required elements for search engines like Google™ (and others) to access.

Frankly, HirMon & Associates has never seen any verifiable third-party proof that SEO's can do what they claim. Quite the contrary (new as of 5/15/2009):

One of our clients elected to go through a third-party SEO to improve the visibility of their site (name and site withheld for fairly obvious reasons). The result?

The overall site activity (traffic) went DOWN 30% in one month's time and has yet to recover. (They are not happy people...)

Consider:

• A search is limited by the talents of the person using any search engine. Even the best optimization possible will go unnoticed by an inept person doing a search.
• The "rules" search engines use to position a website in a listing change almost monthly. What might be an improved positioning today - might be worthless tomorrow.
• No site on the Internet is unique. For any given topic, there are at least 800-1000 and often more sites with the same topic. Example: "Elephant Training" (New window.)
• Theoretically, what would happen if you paid and SEO to improve your listing, then 500 other similar businesses do the same thing 10 minutes after your company finished? Yeah, right...

Your best marketing strategy is to market your website just like your products and services.

Example: How often on your nightly new broadcast do you hear the phrase:

For more information just go to our website and -

That is the best marketing approach. It always has been, always will be...

The charge is $100/hour, minimum 1 hour.

Work is performed only after client review of a proposal we supply.

All JavaScript Programming is done as a custom work order with proposal, based on each client's individual needs.

• Linux - the operating system
• Apache - web hosting software
• MySQL - a widely used database system
• PHP - a widely used programming system

Almost all HirMon & Associates website add-ons started out life as custom creations in PHP/MySQL. As a cost-saving factor for new and existing clients, these are available for installation by us to upgrade websites beyond the usual "also ran."

The base rate for this work is $100/hour, minimum 1 hour, but when proposals are used, a substantial cost savings is often possible.

A description of all available programming work is available on this page.

Consider any website where a shopping cart is used (for example). An average website designer will install the software as a "secondary" section of the site or even as a third-party service, with little regards to the cosmetic appearance of the cart and how it affects the website itself.

We take a different approach: We integrate the software directly into the web page so that it always looks like it is part of the site and not an "afterthought."

Here are just two examples (both open new windows; close them to return here):

• Putting a contact form inside a web page - on this site click here
• For something really high-end, try this page. It is one of many shopping carts setups we have installed for our clients.

Even most third-party service provided software can be done the same way. If it can't we will let you know before you pay a dime.

A complete description of all available programming work is available on this page.

We use two primary software packages:

• "Someday" PayPal Shopping Cart - A HirMon & Associates production for clients that have (generally) around 20 - 100 items for sale (can be less or more). Has features the freebies haven't thought about. More...
  
• Zen Cart - A widely respected high-end shopping cart system that we integrate into a website's design (see the topic on this page titled: Integrate Software "Elegantly" into Web Pages for a description and examples).

We are also constantly "on the hunt" for new products and if we feel that they will be useful to our clients, we will offer them as well.

For more information about either shopping cart package, please see the links associated with each product.

More information about available programming work is available on this page.

Any software provided through HirMon & Associates is only available if we install it. 

No exceptions.

Experience is a hard teacher. Over the years what we have found is that some individuals fancying themselves as website guru's - were not.

In more than one case, we discovered that a few individuals could barely spell the word "PC;" much less install even a low-end software package from another vendor.

That presents us with a problem: Hard feelings (for any reason) simply do not help our business or our clients.

Simply stated, we can install our software into a website far more efficiently than anyone else, regardless of experience.