Website design in Hammond, Indiana.
I opened every independent Hammond business website listed on OpenStreetMap, all 15 of them, on a phone-sized screen. Here's what I found, and what I charge to fix it.
Too many Hammond websites were down
Of the 14 Hammond websites I could check, three were down.
- One address no longer exists.
- One showed a parked, for-sale, private or placeholder page.
- One showed an error page.
I didn't decide that on one try. I opened each address on two evenings and in two browsers. I only call an address gone when two separate DNS services say it doesn't exist. Sites that blocked my browser aren't counted.
It's an easy problem to miss, because you rarely visit your own website. Your customers do, and when it's down, they go back to the search results.
Check yours in 30 seconds. Type your web address into your phone, using mobile data instead of the shop wifi. If you get an error, find your registrar login.
You can usually renew a lapsed domain at the normal price if you move fast. After that there's a restore fee, and once the name is released, anyone can register it. Here's how to check your renewal date.
What I found on Hammond websites
These are the problems I found on the 11 Hammond websites that were up. Most had more than one, so the numbers add up to more than 11.
| What was wrong | Sites in Hammond |
|---|---|
| No main heading | 6 |
| Over 4MB to download, not counting video | 5 |
| No HTTPS, so browsers say Not secure | 2 |
| Phone number isn't a link | 2 |
| No description for Google to show | 2 |
| Took over six seconds to load | 1 |
For three Hammond businesses, the map's website link goes to a page on another platform, usually Facebook. That works, but the business doesn't own the page. Whether it's enough depends on how people find you: Facebook page or website?
One site blocked my browser. That's a security setting, not a fault, so it's in neither count.
Of the 11 that were up, two were built on WordPress. The rest use something I don't recognize or were written by hand.
The full audit explains how I checked and has the numbers for every town. You can run the same checks on your own site with the free website checker.
What a website costs in Hammond
$499 or $899, paid once. There's no monthly fee and no retainer. Your domain and your site are in your name from day one, so if you ever leave, you take them with you.
If your old address has died, the first step is getting it back or choosing a new one. Most builds take two to ten days once I have your content.
The packages page shows what each price includes, and the scope and terms page lists what costs extra. To compare prices, see what websites cost in Northwest Indiana.
Sites that keep working
No website can protect you from a missed domain renewal, so I remind every client to renew, every year.
The sites I build have no plugins and no database, so there's nothing to update and nothing to break while you're busy. Why I build sites this way explains it, including what WordPress does better.
Working with Hammond businesses
I live in Porter County, between Valparaiso and Chesterton, one county east of Hammond. Meetings are on a video call, and the rest happens by email. If you'd rather meet in person once you've hired me, I'll come to your business at no extra cost.
Is your business in Hammond?
Send me your business name and I'll tell you what I found on your site, whether you hire me or not. You can also open the five example sites on my home page.