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Building Your Website

The costs for having a website up and running are made up by the development of the site, plus the ongoing costs for subscriptions, hosting and maintenance.

Hosting Plans That Suits All
Business Sizes

Pricing - Pay as You Grow

Don’t know what to choose?
Contact us to get help with your plan.

Please note: we maximise server security, and therefore  offer hosting only to our own web clients. All hosting is invoiced annually.

How we quote for building your website

Fixed Fee

We consider several factors to ensure accuracy and fairness for both parties when quoting.

  1. Firstly, thoroughly understanding your requirements and objectives is crucial. This includes the scope of work, desired features and functionality, design preferences, and any specific technical requirements.
  2. Secondly, assessing the complexity of the project and estimating the amount of time and resources needed to complete it accurately is vital. This involves breaking down the project into individual tasks and evaluating the level of effort required for each.
  3. Additionally, considering potential risks, such as changes in requirements or unexpected technical challenges, and incorporating contingency measures into the quote can help mitigate uncertainties and ensure realistic expectations.
  4. By carefully considering these factors before compiling a quotation, we both can ensure a fair and successful engagement.

A small business website can be developed for as little as $1,197.00. More complex and continously evolving websites will require more time and therefore cost more. Rest assured, though, we work very cost effectively and always give you the lowest cost option to reach your outcome.

Time Only

Or pay as you go

Many clients choose to be invoiced for hours spent on the job, rather than a fixed fee. That is perfectly fine with us.

We will agree with you on the scope and get started. We track our time diligently, and invoice in 15 min intervals. You will see our timesheets, and since all tasks are agreed with you prior, there won't be any surprises.

We are very effective, invoice only billable (effective) hours.

Our hourly rate ranges from $127.00 - $220.00, depending on the specialist coding skills required.

Rest assured, though, the standard rate for most business websites is $127.00 per hour.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to back up my site?

Yes! Backing up your site and your databse are the most important actions you need to undertake as a business to ensure you can recover your website independently.

As part of your very own business continuity plan, you should always have a recent copy of your website saved. Please refer to our terms, and the step by step guide below.

To put it simple, shit happens, and while we do whatever technology offers to provide an uninterrupted and first class service, you still have the sole responsibility for backing up your site.

How to back up my site using cPanel?

The one task that you should perform diligently is backing up your site and database at regular intervals.

Using cPanel's partial or full backup functionality is the easiest way to back up and restore your site.

Backing up a website with cPanel is a simple process that can be done in a few steps. Here is an overview of how to backup your website using cPanel:

  1. Log in to your cPanel account.
  2. Locate the "Backups" icon and click on it.
  3. Under "Full Backup," click on "Download a Full Website Backup."
  4. Select the website you want to backup and choose a destination for the backup file. The backup file will be downloaded as a .zip file.
  5. Once the download is complete, you can upload the backup file to a remote server, cloud storage service, or external hard drive for safekeeping.

Alternatively, you can use the "Backup Wizard" under the "Files" section. Here you can select the files and databases you want to backup and download them as a single compressed file.

It's important to regularly back up your website to ensure that you have a recent copy of your website files and databases in case something goes wrong. Additionally, it's also recommended to test your backups to ensure they can be adequately restored.

Partial backups

To back up your Joomla site and database, you only need to do partial backups in cPanel. Download a "Home Directory Backup" and the database associated with your site under "Download a MySQL Database Backup".

Your home directory will be zipped, and you should keep the zip file and the database together. Always keep a copy of your backups on a separate storage device.

Restoring a backup

Restoring files and databases is as easy as selecting the zip file and the database you like to restore through the interface provided.

As a second alternative, the Backup Wizard creates a simple and step-by-step method for you to create and restore backups of their website.

If you have any questions, please reach out to us.

How do I manage my site site/server environment using cPanel?

MC4-IT provides you with cPanel, a graphical web-based control panel that helps you quickly and easily manage your website and hosting account. cPanel gives you complete control over a variety of functions helping you to streamline your website administration. You can:

  • Create and manage databases
  • Manage website files through an easy graphical interface
  • Setting up email accounts & auto responders
  • Create FTP accounts
  • Backing up your site and database with a few clicks
  • Add additional security to your site
  • Use many more features for advanced users

cPanel has grown to become the most popular web hosting control panel, running millions of websites around the world. cPanel was created to give website owners control over their properties.

You find extensive and easy to understand information on cPanel's comprehensive website on https://cpanel.net/products/cpanel-whm-features/#cpanel.

Take the time and familiarise yourself with some of the basic features of cPanel.

Remember, cPanel manages your hosting environment, not your Joomla content management system. Joomla files are in the public_html directory on your server and the content in a MySQL database. When backing up your site, you need to back up all files plus the database.

What happens when my plan expires?

Your plan automatically renews every twelve months. You will receive an invoice from us and your service will continue smoothly.

Can I upgrade my subscription later?

Yes, you can change your plan any time. Please note that the personal plan is only for personal websites. The minimum plan for any business is the business plan.

What if I want to move to a different provider?

This is very easy. Backup your site and your database as described above, and your new host will assist you in setting up your account and restore your website on the new server.

After that, you will need to change the DNS records with your domain name registrar, and your site will be running on your new server.

Can I cancel my subscription at any time?

Yes, you can. Please refer to our terms for details.

Why do you prefer Joomla over WordPress?

We at MC4-IT exclusively work with Joomla because:

  1. Complexity and Customisation: Joomla is perfect for more complex websites that require customisation and flexibility. It offers a robust framework that allows developers to create highly customised solutions tailored to specific business requirements. While WordPress is also highly customizsable, Joomla's architecture is better suited for more intricate projects.

  2. Content Management Features: Joomla has powerful built-in content management features, making it suitable for websites with large amounts of content or complex content structures. Its content management system (CMS) is particularly well-suited for websites with multiple users contributing content or for sites that require advanced content management workflows.

  3. User Permissions and Access Control: Joomla offers more granular control over user permissions and access control compared to WordPress. This makes it an ideal choice for websites that need to manage multiple user roles with different levels of access to content and administrative functions.

  4. Multilingual Support: While WordPress has improved its multilingual capabilities over the years, Joomla has traditionally been preferred for multilingual websites. Joomla provides robust multilingual support out of the box, making it a popular choice for businesses targeting global audiences or operating in multilingual markets.

  5. Security: Joomla has a strong focus on security and regularly releases updates to address vulnerabilities and improve the platform's security features. While WordPress also prioritises security, some businesses may perceive Joomla as having a more robust security architecture, particularly for enterprise-level websites.

  6. Scalability: Joomla is more scalable than WordPress for larger and more complex websites. Its architecture is designed to handle a higher volume of content and traffic without sacrificing performance. Businesses with plans for growth or expansion prefer Joomla for its scalability.

What kind of Joomla support does MC4-IT provide?

We are Joomla experts and advise you on how you best build the content managment system around your business. We have experience in a wide range of Joomla extensions, and can customise each of those to suit your needs.

How long does it take you to build a website?

We are flashing fast. If you have your corporate identity ready, a good description of your goods or services, we can have your site up and running within a week. And if you have pictures from your business and people in action, your site will stand out.

If you need your branding and corporate identity done and the majority of the web-copy developed, three to four weeks are a good guide from the get-go to going live.

Didn’t find the answer to your question?
Contact us for more information.