Get Your Free
View Our 
Read Our 
Make An 
The following are
the questions we are
asked most
frequently. If you
have a question that
you don't see
answered here,
please feel free to
contact us
Is your company local, do you outsource?
Local is relative when you're dealing with the web, but if you mean are we located in the United States - then the answer is a definite yes. We are in Southern California, and every member of the One Lily staff lives right here in the US. We do outsource some of our projects to other independent contractors, but again - these are all folks living in the US as well. We do not outsource any work overseas, as we believe in keeping it local so it directly benefits our economy.
What is your hourly rate?
Our hourly design rate is $120. However, we rarely quote by the hour, and instead quote by the project, which typically means you get to engage us at a lower rate than our standard hourly rate. We have been doing this long enough that we have a pretty fail safe quoting system in place, and makes quoting a website very easy.
Do you have a real office that I could visit?
Yep, we have an office located in Carlsbad, CA. And if you're local to us, or ever find yourself any where near, we'd love to have you drop by and see us. We don't get too many visitors, so we love to have people stop by!
What is different about hiring you, then someone that says they can build the same site for $500?
In this industry, you get what you pay for. We would never say that a $500 website won't be beautiful, because we've seen many that are. But there is just so much more to a successful website than just it's looks. And unfortunately, those that can quote out a $500 website are usually not veterans in this industry, and there are just some things that a new designer can't/doesn't know about what it takes to create a truly successful website. With over a decade of experience, we've just about seen it all. We know what it takes to build a successful site for our clients, and it's certainly more than just looks. Our experience makes us a team player for your company, and offers attention and experience that you simply can't get with an inexperienced web designer.
What makes you special?
We have won over 30 awards for our work, including Webmaster of the Year in 2004, and a Silver Davey award in 2009. But not only have we been recognized for our designs, most importantly, our clients are successful because of the work we have done for them. We treat every project as if it is our own, and our clients reap the reward for this type of attitude. We have a true passion for seeing our clients have successful web presences, and we are there for every step of the process. We aren't done just because the site launches, we continue to remain involved with our clients projects for as long as they run their companies.
How long does it take to build a website?
Our typical turn around time is 6-8 weeks. We can move faster when the client has all the deliverables ready as we need them, but the majority of the time the client is also working on different aspects of their website, which we need in order to do our part. For instance, logo design, content writing, etc. We tell every client that the turn around time really depends on them - we can move faster or slower - depending on how quickly the client moves on their homework.
Who owns the website once it is complete?
The client owns the copyright to everything we're able to transfer copyright to (which most of the time means the entire website, possibly minus certain graphics or code). Obviously if we use a third party program for the clients' website, like stock imagery, calendars, shopping cart software, etc - we ourselves don't own the copyright to those and can therefore not give the client rights to those for ownership - but the client is able to use them without problem.
What type of payment options do you accept?
We accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover and Checks. We used to take payment in chocolate, but as you can imagine, that has created some weight problems around the office, so now that we are all dieting - chocolate is no longer a payment option!
What type of payment terms do you offer?
You have 3 options for payment. The industry standard is to bill in thirds. Meaning we require 1/3 of the project price to start, 1/3 of the project price at concept approval, and the final 1/3 of the project price is due prior to launching the website. Alternatively, you may pay the entire project up front - and receive a 5% discount off the total project price. For projects over $3,000 we also can extend monthly billing terms. For this, we require $2,000 up front, and then the balance is split over 6 equal monthly payments. (We charge no interest, no finance fees, nothing extra). The 6 monthly payments must be setup on automated billing (meaning you give us a credit card to put on file and automatically charge the payments on the 1st of the month). The first payment will begin on the first of the following month if you engage us between the 1st and 15th of the month, or we will defer the first month and begin the billing on the 1st of the the second month following engagement, if you engaged us any date after the 16th.
Do you require a contract?
We do require your signature on our web design contract. This is for protection for the both of us, and is also our believe that any reputable company out there will require a contract before engagement. Our contract is pretty straight forward, is written by an attorney, and in more than a decade of use, we have not had any problems with our contracts.
How long are your contracts valid?
Our contracts are written for 6 month periods. While we do everything on our part to finish your project before contract expiration, there are times when projects go beyond the 6 month term, most often due to the clients still working on their deliverables. Should a project need to continue beyond the 6 month term, a client may renew their contract for 20% of the project fee and the contract will be extended for 3 additional months. We only allow contracts to be extended two times, meaning that if your project is not complete within 12 months, the project is canceled, with no refund.
What if I want to cancel my contract?
Per our contract, if you cancel within the first month you are still responsible for 20% of the project fee. Should you cancel within the first 2 months, you are responsible for 50% of the project fee. Should you find it necessary to cancel up to 4 month after engagement, you are still responsible for 80% of the project fee. If you cancel 4-6 months into the project, you are still responsible for 90% of the project fee. If you hit the 6 month mark, and choose to not renew the contract, you are responsible for 100% of the project fee. If you go past the 6 months and decide to renew your project 1 or 2 times, and then cancel the project, you are still responsible for the entire project fee. Also - projects are not allowed to be "put on hold" in order to allow more time for completion.
Are your sites built off templates, or are they all custom work?
95% of our websites are 100% custom sites. We occasionally are hired to customize a clients' existing template, so those sites are of course not custom websites.
Do you have referrals for other companies I may need to work with during this process? (Copywriters, Newsletters, Audio/Video, ect)
We certainly do. You can visit our resources page for referrals to other companies that we have had first hand experience with. We don't refer to other companies unless we ourselves have had the opportunity to work with them directly, thus ensuring we recommend only reputable companies.
Do you offer a CMS (Content Management System)?
We do not offer a CMS with our websites, although we do have the resources to have a CMS created for you. This will typically add an additional $1,000 to $3,000 to the project cost, depending on the complexity of the system? Currently we host close to 200 websites, and not one utilizing a CMS system.
If you don't offer a CMS, how will I update my website?
For our clients, we update their websites for them on our maintenance plans. This allows the client to concentrate on running their business, and leave the web updates to us -- allowing everyone to do what they do best. Our plans can guarantee you turn around time of as little as 1 business day, and all plans include free website hosting. You still own your own website, we simply make the updates at your request. All requests for site maintenance are sent to our support account, and one of our staff members makes your updates in a timely manner, within the limits of your chosen plan.
Do you provide stock images for my site, or should I provide them to you?
We prefer that you allow us to purchase stock images for you - since we are designing the website we want to make sure the images chosen are within the aesthetic feel of the site design. However, if you have images already that you have already used for other purposes, and want them incorporated into your website, please feel free to send them to use for evaluation. PLEASE NOTE: It is a violation of copyright to take images off the web, off other websites, without the express permission of the image owner. If you are on a website and see an image you like, and you save that image for later use without asking direct permission for use, you could be fined and/or sued for violating their copyright. Therefore, we require some soft of proof that you have permission to use any and all images you provide to us (other than photos you have taken of yourself of course). Also according to our contract, you guarantee that you have permission and if you give us images that you falsely represented you have the right to use, One Lily is not responsible should you get into any type of trouble.
Who writes the content for my website.
Since nobody knows your business as well as you do - you are responsible for your content. If you are not a writer, or do not have the time or desire to write your own content, then we strongly recommend you work with a copywriter. As mentioned above regarding stock images, content is not a free for all on the web just as images aren't. You cannot copy content off anyone's website for your own use, your copy MUST BE YOUR OWN. There are programs in place now that make it very easy for site owners to tell if anyone is using their content (like www.copyscape.com), so if you are thinking about using someone else's content, think again. The fine for copyright infringement can range in the thousands, to tens of thousands or more. We have seen this first hand as clients try to pass off content as their own when it is not.
Once we start the project, are their any hidden charges?
The answer to that question is most often no, but there are a few times with it's a yes. For 99% of projects, what we quote is what you pay. In rare instances, there are sometimes additional fees. For instance, if we quoted you a site with no ecommerce and you change your mind and want to add a shopping cart, then yes - there is an additional fee. But unless the scope of the project changed, then there are never any additional fees (other than registration of your domain name, and of course the maintenance contract upon completion should you decide to have us maintain your website). You may have fees to third parties (newsletters system, audio software, etc), but nothing additional to us unless we discuss it with you first!