• What is a web presence / site?
• What does it involve?
• The Ikhaya Design Philosophy
• Design & Scripting Rates
• Affordable Web Space (Hosting)
• Email Accounts (£3 a month)
• Contact us to discuss your needs

Having a "Web Presence" (pages displayed on the www) means different things to diferent people. For some it is "personal" - photographs of the family, home, cat, dog, favourite pop-star, hero, poem, etc.

For others it is a means of advertising their business or services. And, frankly, pages range from the sublime to the eclectic to the esoteric. The only common thread, sometimes, the fact that they are all accessible, 24x7x365 - that is: 24 hours, 7 days, 365 days of the year.

To be able to display one's "pages" on the www, you use Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) tags to "encode" the display-text and graphics (bitmaps) so that it may display in a certain manner. Depending on how the pages are marked up, they may display in several "tables", or as a single sheet of text, with limited formatting. (Previous pages involved greater use of tables, to enable them to display with the bitmaps alongside the text. This page on the other hand, makes limited use of tables, as it basically consists of text.

Before we get to the stage where we can display our pages on the web, we have to design a theme; plan the layout, design the individual bitmaps that make up the pages, and then "mark them up" using HTML.

• A - ATTENTION
  Only one chance to make a "FIRST" impression! Graphics, especially first page, must load clean, quick, and then once the viewer decides they want to follow your trail, they may be a little more patient to wait for bitmaps to load. In order to accomplish this, I try to reduce KB size of bitmaps to below 5 KB for logos, under 1KB for icons, and seldom exceeding 20KB for mastheads. The more KB's the pretty picture, the longer the "viewer" has to sit and wait for it to load, the more chance of you coming across "stuttering", which definitely does not inspire confidence!

• I - INTEREST
  Once you've got their attention, you must give them a reason to want to "hang around" your site. (Not useless links to more rubbish, but something relevant and relative to your main service - in my case, on the design studio side, it is the FREE banners.)

• D - DESIRE
  By now they must surely start feeling comfortable in your company - and DESIRE for you to do the same for them! This is when they start looking at your service, and decide, that despite your being "very expensive", you are worth it. A request for a quotation results.

• A - ACTION
  Follow up, and keep the interest and desire on the boil! By the time they have finished reading your reply, they are ready to employ you (and your family sighs a sigh of relief!!!)

The above spells AIDA - the old sales/public speaking mnemonic! But equally relevant to "advertising/selling" one's services on the web, as far as I am concerned. (And, BTW I claim copyright to the above adaptation!)

In addition to the above, and relevant to INTEREST - I design my pages with both Netscape/Explorer in mind, as they are the browsers of choice of more than 90% of the total web user population. This means that I will not use Frames/Blinks/Scrolls/animations, etc, until both of these browser packages offer all such enhancements. (I get requests from people for Banners - then access their pages, while using Explorer and WHAM! page doesn't load! Or it is covered with Netscape sales drivel - obtain a "frames" capable ....!!! Needless to add, that they invariably wait until the next time I use Netscape to test something, and remember to also check their pages!)

The point I am trying to make here, is that if you want to be seen... Make sure that you are! By as many people as possible! (Do Not suggest that I go and "download" another browser, just to view YOUR pages. It is, from a marketing point of view, both arrogant and extremely "SHORT-SIGHTED"! Almost like telling a client in London, they have to travel to NY to come and look at your brochure!)

• Graphic Design & HTML mark up: £22-00 per hour
  Rates are always negotiable (part of the Ikhaya Philosophy).

• Scripting Services: £35-00 per hour
  (CGI routines, form-mailing, shopping carts, etc.)

  Compare this with £600/day various other "Scripting and WebPage make-up service providers" charge!!!???

Ikhaya.co.uk currently offers the following hosting and internet services:

• Email Account Only: £36-00 per annum (£3/mnth)
  
  (Must have existing Dial-up access.)

• Email Account + Dial-up: £72-00 pa (£6/mnth)
  Currently this would only be economical to subscribers resident in the London dialling code(s) area;

• Webpage hosting: £48-00 pa (£4/mnth) per MB
  (ie: storing your pages on our server): Your URL will be ikhaya.co.uk/your_name/

  For other options, Please email 

The preferred means of contact is via email: