Known unknowns

Sometimes you don’t know the right questions to ask a website developer, or perhaps you want some answers right now. Either way, these Frequently Asked Questions will help.

What if I already have programmers?

We are not here to replace your programmers. You may get slammed with projects and need some short-term programming help, or a particular project may call for using a web platform your team isn’t familiar with. Our Stellar team will take the load off your agency and get the job done on time.

Is your pricing project-based or time-based? How do I avoid issues with cost and time expectations?

All of our new web dev projects will be quoted on a project basis. We will cap your costs at that quote and will honor it unless there is a significant change in scope from either you or the end-client. For smaller maintenance jobs, we will review the work needed and provide an estimate with a range of hours and dollars for your review.

What materials or reference information do you need from me to get started?

If the project is a straightforward marketing-type website, then all we’ll need is the layered .psd files and the content from the end-client. For more complicated projects, i.e. ecommerce, we encourage you to get in touch with us during the proposal writing phase. We can assist you in covering all the bases and even suggest ways to better meet your client’s end goals for their business.

Cybersecurity is a huge concern. What sort of protocols do you recommend to allay the fears of my client?

At the very least, all website software needs to be updated as soon as a new release is available. This is probably the biggest cause of cybersecurity issues. Stellar Webdev offers a security service that will provide the following safeguards:

  • Traffic filtering (blocking malicious requests)
  • Virtual patching (automatically applies WordPress patches, updates to WordPress software are still required)
  • WAF (Web Application Firewall) – To prevent SQL injections, XSS, RFI, etc.
  • IDS/IPS (Intrusion Prevention System)
  • Extended access control (white listing of IPs allowed to go to the admin pages)
  • OSSEC HIDS (Full log analysis and traffic monitoring)
  • Improved speed performance and caching
  • Daily backups to a secure cloud-based environment
  • Weekly updating of WordPress software and plugins

This service is offered on a month-to-month basis, and you can cancel at any time. Twenty-five dollars per month will be charged to a credit card and processed on the first of each month.

You do not have to have the client’s website hosted with us to use this service. Clients who do host with us, however, get all of these protections automatically

Do you offer a guarantee that everything will work as promised?

Unfortunately in the world of the Internet, there is not much that can be guaranteed except change itself. Changes in technology, browsers, devices, etc. makes it difficult to offer guarantees. What we can promise is that if there is an issue with our coding, we will fix that issue quickly and if it’s our fault, at no cost. Issues relating to changes outside of our control can be addressed at an additional cost. We will quote our work for your review before we start.

At what point does the end-client get to try out the new website?

Ideally, you and your client will get involved as soon as possible. You and your client can expect the website to be developed on Stellar Webdev’s test web server. The new website will be available for you to provide feedback and acceptance of its features by using a special URL hidden to casual visitors and search engines. You will be able to review the coding of the templates and may share that with your client. Once the templates are designed, the coding of the web pages and functionality will begin. You and your client can then review the website’s progress and can take a look at the admin panel to familiarize yourselves with it. We only ask that you do not make any changes to the website since we may accidentally overwrite them when we update the website ourselves.

The software and plug-in licenses for my client’s website should be in their name. How do you deal with that situation?

It is ideal for the end-client to purchase and renew the various licenses needed to power their website. They would simply need to provide both of us with the logins to download the license keys and software directly. We realize that this is not always possible. In those situations, either you or Stellar Webdev can purchase the software and charge it to the client.

I’m not a creative agency. Can I still work with you?

Yes! But since we are strictly a web programming company, we will need to bring in outside talent to complete the project. We would be happy to introduce you to web designers, copywriters, video/photographers, search engine marketers, and anyone else who would be required. Use our Start a Project form and let’s start the conversation.

Still have a question? Contact us for answers…