Frequently Asked Questions

We’re a St. Louis-based, full-service web development and digital marketing agency focusing on small businesses and startups. DecemberPress provides online advertising campaigns, web hosting, website maintenance plans, and content marketing strategies.

Of course, all websites are different, with their own features and integrations based on client needs and requests. A beautiful business blog with a home page, about page, products/services page, contact page will cost between $2,300 and $4,500, delivered with training and a comprehensive 90-day warranty.

Your business may be located around the corner in St. Louis, Missouri, or halfway around the world. But you’ll always deal with a real human. This is not a do-it-yourself web design program. And our marketing strategies are based on real conversations with our clients.

For most small businesses, there are no additional significant costs to developing a website. We discuss EVERY cost with you and you will never be surprised. If there are special functions that you need such as e-commerce or appointment scheduling, we’ll discuss options with you before we begin.

Digital marketing services help get your product or service in front of more customers. If you’re in a competitive industry, it can take a long time to rank in the top search results using organic content. We use Google Ads and Facebook Ads to promote your website. We can develop a digital marketing campaign that only costs you when a visitor clicks your ad.

Yes! There are lots of website building tools out there. For a very simple website, Wix, Squarespace, and the GoDaddy Website Builder might do the trick. However, you’ll quickly find that any customizations are very difficult without coding skills or hiring a developer. Why not get exactly what you want? After all, it’s your business and first impressions are important.

For our purposes, there are two types of hosting: Domain Hosting and Web Hosting.

Domain Hosting is where your website address, or domain name, is registered. Our domain is decemberpress.com. It’s hosted with GoDaddy. But that DOESN’T mean the website’s files must be hosted there, too. There’s really no performance difference between domain hosts.

Web Hosting is the more important decision for your business. Your website is really just a bunch of digital files. The “web host” is a place where those files are kept or “hosted.” Web hosts have computers (web servers) that “serve” up your web page whenever a visitor keys in your domain address or finds you on Google. There is cheap hosting and expensive hosting. There is reliable hosting and spotty hosting. There is secure hosting and there is vulnerable hosting. At DecemberPress, we work with Flywheel and WP Engine to deliver fast, reliable, and secure hosting with affordable pricing to match your traffic patterns. Here’s the important thing: hosting should be invisible. Usually, when you’re aware of it, there’s a problem. We take all the trouble out of hosting.

Web Hosting is a huge business with lots of providers. Hosts can be bare bones, offering only an empty space for you to configure on their computers (like renting an empty warehouse). They can also be full-service, providing complete security, speed optimization, software updates and 24/7 support (like renting a luxury doorman apartment). DecemberPress offers full-service hosting, including all software and security. We even provide development/design time with each of our three hosting and care plans. We’re more like the doorman apartment building.

Think of your website as another business location. But instead of floors to sweep, burglar alarms to arm, and lightbulbs to replace,  you’ve got software to update, hackers to discourage, and content to post. Don’t worry, DecemberPress offers monthly hosting and maintenance plans, all of which include development and design time. You won’t have to do anything. You don’t even need to remember a password. But, if you want to manage your own site, we can show you how to do it. It’s not terribly difficult. Most of our clients prefer one of our three full-service website Hosting and Care Plans.

Unfortunately, care plan design and development minutes will not roll over. But that’s not because we’re mean. The purpose of the Website Care Plan design/development minutes is to keep your site fresh and relevant. We want you to use our service every month. Google loves new content… and so do your visitors. Get in the habit of making those requests!

A domain name is the custom address identifying your website. For instance, our domain is “decemberpress.com.” Sometimes a domain will end in “.org,” “.edu,” “.biz” or something else. You have lots of choices. If you don’t already have a domain name registered, you’ll need one before the site can go live. Don’t worry, we can build your website without a domain name. As we get to know you, we can help secure the perfect domain name for you for about $25 per year. We can also advise you about how to select a good domain name for your website. If you already have a domain name, we can work with your current domain service. Domain names can be registered through services such as Godaddy, Namecheap, and Network Solutions.

Absolutely! Our graphic designers have lots of experience creating effective and inspiring graphics, including logos. What’s more, your website includes a simple, typographic logo (words only). We will provide you with a print-friendly version in color and black-and-white so you can have business cards, letterhead and checks printed. We offer all that, too… plus mugs, mousepads, t-shirts and anything you an imagine. Your website is just the beginning of your business’s visual identity.

Typographic logos are very popular. If a graphic logo design isn’t in your budget, a typographic logo can be very effective. It certainly hasn’t hurt IBM, Coca-Cola, or FedEx!

If you already have elements of your visual business identity – including logo, graphics, photography… – we’ll incorporate them into your site. We can also work with your graphic artist to build on your existing identity.