• Adapting audios for touchscreen app
• Our website management agreement
• Revamp costs for current website
• Renewal timescale for new website
The cost in adapting audios from schools
To replace the AI generated audios with the voices of the children from the school, more specifically, downloading and trimming the ends of each audio, leveling their volume to match that of the other children's/teacher's, removing any large silent gaps, combining them into one audio clip, uploading them to the app, and checking/testing them, takes around 15 to 20 minutes per section. There are 5 of these sections per page.
We have 12 pages of the 165 completed with the children's voices from Braehead Primary School. The cost per page if we use my assistant to do this work would be £12.50 per page. £1,912.50 being the approximate total. The value of the £ to the Mexican Peso could change this total, hence the approximation. To keep this figure to a minimum, this is quoted at cost and I would not get anything from it in financial terms.
We have 12 pages of the 165 completed with the children's voices from Braehead Primary School. The cost per page if we use my assistant to do this work would be £12.50 per page. £1,912.50 being the approximate total. The value of the £ to the Mexican Peso could change this total, hence the approximation. To keep this figure to a minimum, this is quoted at cost and I would not get anything from it in financial terms.
A request to update our current financial arrangement
In 2017, when Websalve and BCL came together to build the current website, we agreed on a care package which would allow for regular updates to be made to the site. The agreed cost of this package was £20/month for 2 hours work including adding any necessary updates, image galleries, news articles, and the regular updating of the donations barometer.
Since that time, a number of factors affecting my costs have gradually changed, and while these cost have been absorbed by Websalve over the years, it is necessary to re-evaluate them in the current economic climate.
The affecting factors are:
• My hourly rate has increased from £20/hour to £50/hour (BCL receives a 50% 'Friends and Family' discount, making it £10/hour and £25/hour respectively).
• The workload from BCL has increased.
• The value of the £ v $.
• General increases in the cost of doing business/software/hardware.
My proposal is to change the rate to £20/month for 1 hour of work billed annually as before, and to invoice any work required over and above that at my discounted rate of £25/hour.
The basic level of 1 hour/month will cover:
• One Events Gallery addition, including download, image optimization, upload to website, copy check and link creation (if required).
• One Facebook post (of the Events Gallery addition), with copy, hashtag research & implementation, and tactical shares across Ayr/Ayrshire Facebook groups.
(see graphic below for details of the reach we have with these posts)
• Updating and publishing the animated funding barometer to the website.
Since that time, a number of factors affecting my costs have gradually changed, and while these cost have been absorbed by Websalve over the years, it is necessary to re-evaluate them in the current economic climate.
The affecting factors are:
• My hourly rate has increased from £20/hour to £50/hour (BCL receives a 50% 'Friends and Family' discount, making it £10/hour and £25/hour respectively).
• The workload from BCL has increased.
• The value of the £ v $.
• General increases in the cost of doing business/software/hardware.
My proposal is to change the rate to £20/month for 1 hour of work billed annually as before, and to invoice any work required over and above that at my discounted rate of £25/hour.
The basic level of 1 hour/month will cover:
• One Events Gallery addition, including download, image optimization, upload to website, copy check and link creation (if required).
• One Facebook post (of the Events Gallery addition), with copy, hashtag research & implementation, and tactical shares across Ayr/Ayrshire Facebook groups.
(see graphic below for details of the reach we have with these posts)
• Updating and publishing the animated funding barometer to the website.
A suggested extra 1 hour per month could allow for:
• Monthly animated funding barometer updates to Facebook, an example of which was posted to celebrate reaching the £40,000 funding target last week.
• Creation of Google My Business (GMB) posts. These are fairly new from Google...those businesses that adopt their use will set themselves apart and benefit from better SEO.
• Review responses on GMB (we have 130 reviews, many with no response). Again, extremely beneficial to SEO ranking.
• Implementation of a plan to utilise the GMB question and answers feature. Another fairly new thing from Google, and one which can be used tactically to improve SEO.
• Monthly animated funding barometer updates to Facebook, an example of which was posted to celebrate reaching the £40,000 funding target last week.
• Creation of Google My Business (GMB) posts. These are fairly new from Google...those businesses that adopt their use will set themselves apart and benefit from better SEO.
• Review responses on GMB (we have 130 reviews, many with no response). Again, extremely beneficial to SEO ranking.
• Implementation of a plan to utilise the GMB question and answers feature. Another fairly new thing from Google, and one which can be used tactically to improve SEO.
There are several other areas of the conservatory's online presence, and SEO ranking factors that could be beneficial to manage more closely as well. Namely:
• The Tripadvisor profile
• The Visit Scotland profile
• The page on the South Ayrshire Council website, which is title "Belleisle House and Estate", but does not mention the conservatory.
• Google Analytics + Google Ads
• The Tripadvisor profile
• The Visit Scotland profile
• The page on the South Ayrshire Council website, which is title "Belleisle House and Estate", but does not mention the conservatory.
• Google Analytics + Google Ads
Revamping the current website
.The website was created in 2017 and has not received any stylistic updates since then. As a result, it lacks many of the modern styling features found on more recent websites, such as element animation, hover effects, and drop shadows. Additionally, the images used on the website were taken at a time when there were fewer plants and less development both inside and outside the conservatory. One image even still shows "in construction" barriers. To make the website look up to date again and ensure its longevity for the next few years, I recommend refreshing the photography and the general styling. Including aerial drone images as well as images taken both inside and outside the conservatory would enhance the website's visual appeal and provide a more comprehensive representation of the conservatory's current state.
The optimizing and uploading of the new photographs and restyling the site would cost:
47 Pages x 0.5 to 1 hour per page @ £25/hour = £587.50 - £1,175 depending on the scope of changes.
The exercise would also provide BCL the opportunity to refine the website whilst the revamp happens.
The optimizing and uploading of the new photographs and restyling the site would cost:
47 Pages x 0.5 to 1 hour per page @ £25/hour = £587.50 - £1,175 depending on the scope of changes.
The exercise would also provide BCL the opportunity to refine the website whilst the revamp happens.
Renewing the website in the future
As we continue to build and grow the conservatory's online presence, I wanted to discuss the possibility of updating and improving your website in the coming years. The site we have, and the technology it is built on is great for simple, straightforward websites, but as the conservatory, technology, and the people who use both evolves, the website needs will become more complex and require a more advanced solution.
To create a distinctly unique, interactive, automated, profile driven, & database oriented website that can adapt and grow in to the future, I would suggest planning on a complete change to the site in 2 to 3 years.
To create a distinctly unique, interactive, automated, profile driven, & database oriented website that can adapt and grow in to the future, I would suggest planning on a complete change to the site in 2 to 3 years.