Joseph Thiebes

The stories I hear from my clients sometimes make me cringe. There are many companies out there advertising website design and hosting, but instead these companies simply resell you a website that was created automatically while charging ridiculously high prices for the website and the monthly hosting fees. With competition like this, my services advertise themselves as the word spreads and my clients tell their friends and colleagues.

Don’t pay a high price for poor service.

I have lost count of the number of people who have told me about being taken in by these companies and individuals. The story is always very similar:

1. Client pays hundreds of dollars for a website.
2. Company provides a website with pre-packaged design and little to no customization.
3. Client pays hundreds of dollars per month for “maintenance” or “management” of their site.
4. Company does little to no maintenance or management, but simply collects the money.
5. Any actual maintenance issues (even minor corrections to text) take weeks, even months to complete.
6. Client eventually hires a real website designer and saves hundreds of dollars – and headaches! — every month.

Get excellent service, reasonably priced.

Perhaps it is just me, but I think most business owners would want to go straight to that final step. Utilizing my services as a website designer, and taking advantage of the strategic partnerships I have developed with Information Technology professionals, will not only save you money but bring you peace of mind. When you hire me to design, build, and/or move your existing website, you will enjoy the following benefits:

• Local, personal service: Are you in Portland, Oregon? Call me on the phone and meet me for coffee to talk about your business and describe your vision for the website. You might even run into me at the grocery store, buying ingredients for my next quiche.
• Building your business identity from scratch? I’ll design your logo and find a color palette for your business according to the ideas and moods you want to convey, and I’ll make all your publicity and advertising materials match — online or in print.
• Even if you start with a simple and plain template, you’ll have my assistance in getting it to work the way you want. We can always add graphic design later.
• If you want to maintain your website yourself, I will be happy to sit down with you and show you how to make changes, post blog entries, and even install plugins if you want to explore.
• Monthly hosting fees are only $20 per month. If you need me to make changes to your site for you, I’ll give you a quote before starting work.

A distinction that makes a difference.

When you hire me to build your website, you can rest assured that the money is staying in the local economy, and that I will likewise spend it responsibly on bike parts and organic groceries. You’ll also have a website that you can be proud of, and which you didn’t pay an arm and a leg for!