Designs by CM
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Questions Our Customers Ask

We try to update the questions list as much as possible. Read through the questions below and see if your question has already been answered. If you have a question and the answer is not listed below, then visit our contact page and ask us your question.

Frequently Asked Questions

Got a Question? Read below to find answers to some of the most common questions our customers ask:

Why am I required to pay a retainer or down payment to get started on my project? A retainer fee (down payment) is due before the project begins; no exceptions will be made. The usual amount of the initial down payment is 50% of the total project cost. A retainer is required because website design and development is purely service work and our time cannot be recovered. A retainer fee ensures that we'll be paid for the time we spend on any project. Installments are available for projects $3,000 or more, to be agreed upon by both parties prior to the project's start, usually via written contract. Milestone payments will be required when the total cost of a project is $3,000 or more.
Can I furnish you with graphics to use on my website? Through many trials and errors, we have learned that your furnishing graphics to us, which were created by a graphic artist who does not understand web graphics, is much more trouble than it's worth. We prefer to create all graphics ourselves. However, if you are confident that your designer can furnish to us web-ready graphics in layered Adobe Photoshop files (.psd format), then we will accept the graphics. However, this will not institute a price reduction in the cost of your project as past experience has shown, we will spend just as much time formatting these graphics for your project. We will not accept flat, un-layered graphics for your design project. All graphics must be layered so that true transparency can be achieved, if necessary, for your design.
How are your graphics made or created? We generally create all graphics from scratch using the latest version of Adobe Photoshop. Some projects will require that we obtain ready-made, generic photos for displaying on the site. We purchase these types of photos, on your behalf. We will not accept photos from you that are not royalty free to use on your project, nor do we steal graphics from other websites.
Can I manage my email accounts and database and such myself through your hosting? If you choose us to provide your website with hosting you will not be able to manage any aspect of your hosting. We manage it for you. You will be provided with FTP access, if desired, so that you can upload and/or change your site's files on your own. Othewise, we maintain any databases or email accounts you may be using for your site. Why host with us? If you host on your own, with a hosting company, and something goes wrong with your website ... like, you get hacked ... you will be paying that company a hefty fee to get your website up and running again, if it can be done at all. If you host with us, we handle any problem that may arise during the use of your website and you are not charged any extra fees ... and we make sure that your site is backed up in case it should ever need to be recovered.
What forms of payment do you accept? We accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover cards, PayPal, Personal Checks, Business Checks, Money Orders and Cashier's Checks. Personal checks will be required to clear our bank before any work begins on your project. We also accept wire transfers via Western Union.
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Designs by CM Main Location:
Near Brookings, South Dakota, USA ... home of South Dakota State University
Other Locations:
Florida, Texas, Minnesota in the USA; London in the United Kingdom

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Responsive Web Design, Database Development, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Graphic Design

Designs by CM is an affordable web design company operating out of Elkton, South Dakota, USA. We build custom responsive websites, we build and develop custom databases, we provide search engine optimization services, and we are graphic designers. We not only provide custom web development services to customers in the USA, but we have a strong presence in the United Kingdom and Australia as well. We have also worked in many other countries such as Sweden, New Zealand, Uganda, China, Canada, Mexico and Ireland.

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Designs by CM is a subsidiary of Purr-fect Creations | Website Extension: Script Store