Western Sky Communications FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

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1. What do you offer?
2. How long have you been in business?
3. What are the benefits of doing business with you?
4. What happens when a site uses Web Standards?
5. What kind of clients do you have?
6. What equipment do I need to work with you?
7. What kind of business relationship will we have?
8. How much do you charge for your services?
9. Where are you located, and what are your hours?
10. What if I have a question that isn't answered here?

1. What do you offer?

Western Sky Communications (WSC) works in design, consulting, and publishing. The primary focus is Web and graphic design.

WSC offers these Web and Internet Services:

• Website development. Creation of new sites and makeovers of existing sites.
• Analysis of existing websites. Written copy, layout, graphics, download speed, navigation, call to action, comparison to competitors' sites.
• E-commerce. Shopping cart setup, product database creation, preparation of product images.
• Blogs. Setup using major blog hosting services like Typepad, Blogspot, and Blogger, or on your own website.
• Multimedia. Web-enabled audio, video, slideshows, other animations.
• Domain name registration
• E-mail newsletter design and distribution

WSC offers these Print Design Services:

• Advertisements
• Books
• Brochures
• Direct mail pieces
• Flyers
• Forms
• Logos
• Newsletters
• Posters
• Stationery (business cards, letterheads, envelopes)

Western Sky Communications handles projects through "virtual teams" of independent professionals with in-depth expertise in Web and print design, Web Standards, programming, copywriting, photography, audio and video production, e-commerce, and marketing strategy. Team members are located all over the United States.

In addition to their specific expertise, team members are selected on the basis of their understanding of real-world business issues. This means that your project will be handled by people who are grounded in reality, not Internet hype.

In addition to design, WSC offers marketing consulting services for small and medium-sized businesses.

2. How long have you been in business?

Western Sky Communications started (under a different name) in 1995.

Which means that we've been through the Dotcom era and all the silliness that went along with it. We've seen much-ballyhooed trends and technologies disappear without a trace, while the tried and true just keep chugging along.

In short, we're realists. We'll help you separate the few kernels of wheat from the mountains of chaff.

3. What are the benefits of doing business with you?

Four things set Western Sky Communications apart from the competition:

1. No hype. No pressure. While many of our competitors rely on marketing hype and high-pressure selling, we prefer to use a "straight talk" approach that emphasizes long-term relationships.
2. We don't believe in selling people services they don't need. In other words, if we don't feel that you could benefit from our services, we'll say so.
3. We specialize in design that isn't just there to look good, although that's important. It's intended to help you sell more products and services.
4. If you become our client, we'll offer you the best service that we can. And we won't sugarcoat the truth about achieving success. We like to tell people that it only requires two four-letter words: hard work.

We also believe in practicing what we preach. For example, we advocate – and use – Web Standards. Simply put, a website that meets Web Standards is one that conforms to the Internet's internationally accepted "rules of the road."

4. What happens when a site uses Web Standards?

1. It becomes available to a wider variety of devices, such as Internet-enabled cell phones and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs). It also becomes available to the millions of computer users who aren't using the "Microsoft Internet Explorer on a Windows PC" setup for their web browsing.
2. The pages download and display faster, which means that visitors will be more willing to stick around and see what the site has to offer. And studies show that using Web Standards will reduce the "weight" of a site by 25-50%.
3. Web Standards-based sites have a low "code to content" ratio. This makes it easier for search engines to read and understand the site's content without having to plow through thickets of HTML code. In some cases, a low "code to content" ratio can boost a website's search engine rankings.
4. The site becomes accessible to blind and low-vision users.
5. The site uses less bandwidth. Since hosting companies charge based on the amount of bandwidth used, the less you use, the less you pay.
6. It's easier and faster to maintain a Web Standards-based site. That's because these sites are built so that structure and presentation are separated. Which means that if you want to change how your site's headlines look, all you need to do is change one file, and the headlines are automatically updated to your new style.
7. Ever printed a page, only to have it come out with some of the text missing? With a Web Standards-based site, every page can be a printer-friendly page. No more hunting for that little "printer-friendly" icon!

5. What kind of clients do you have?

Our clientele includes, but is not limited to:

• Engineering firms
• Manufacturing companies. Our specialties are chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturers.
• Municipal, state and federal government
• Professional practices, such as law, medicine and management consulting
• University programs in business, engineering, mathematics and the sciences
• Non-profit organizations

Note: Western Sky Communications will not work on projects that promote pornography, gambling, tobacco, illicit drugs, get-rich quick schemes, multilevel marketing programs, or any type of business venture that is operated in an unethical manner.

6. What equipment do I need to work with you?

You will need a telephone and a computer with Internet connection that allows you to send and receive e-mail and view websites.

7. What kind of business relationship will we have?

Western Sky Communications will serve your business as an independent contractor on an as-needed basis. This offers a sizable financial advantage over hiring additional staff because WSC pays its own operating expenses, including taxes, and does not require work space or equipment at your office.

8. How much do you charge for your services?

Because our work is customized to your business needs, we start by sending you our Web Design Client Workbook. Returning the completed Workbook earns you a $500 discount on your project fee. Your answers to the Workbook questions will serve as the basis for a customized project proposal.

If you agree to the proposal, we will begin work. In general, a 50% deposit is required for beginning a design project. We will send you a receipt acknowledging payment of the deposit along with an outline of the design production process that we'll be using to complete your work.

9. Where are you located, and what are your hours?

Address and Phone:

Western Sky Communications
Post Office Box 43161
Tucson, Arizona 85733 USA
Web: http://www.WesternSkyCommunications.com
Phone: 520-690-1888

The delivery address is available on request.

Business Hours:

The WSC studio is open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Mountain Standard Time, Monday through Friday. Since Arizona does not use Daylight Saving Time, we are in the same time zone as California between April and October. This means that we're 3 hours behind New York in the summer, and 2 hours behind during the winter.

10. What if I have a question that isn't answered here?

Ask it now!