Got the Design? Now Get the Code

If you want your website to have an air of professionalism about it, you’re going to want some professionals to help you put it together.

A graphic artist can tell you which colors work best with one another and what sort of layout is most pleasing to the eye. A freelance writer (like myself) can put together some content that will jump out at the reader, captivating their interest and pulling them deeper into your site. A very critical component to the whole website creation process, though, is the coding. And this is where a service like that offered by XHTML/CSS (xhtmlslashcss.com) comes into play.

You Do the Design, We Do the Code

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again. There are tons of way for you to attract attention to your new company, whether it be an Adwords campaign or a blog contest, but what better way to get over 6000 targeted readers than to order a ReviewMe on John Chow dot Com. There’s great exposure to be had, as well as a few useful tidbits to help you improve. In this way, Johnny and Steve have taken a very smart first step with their custom coding website.

Their service is actually very simple. You provide them with a website design of some kind — whether it was created by you or a professional graphic artist is another issue — and then they’ll interpret that visual representation into something the Internet can understand, so to speak, guaranteeing that it will have 100% valid XHTML and 100% valid CSS (hence the name of their site). This can be an excellent service for anyone who either can’t be bothered to code something themselves or don’t know how to. (I fall into the latter category.)

And the best part? The whole process is completed in just three days.

How Much Does This Cost?

Given the speedy turnaround and the promise that the code will be clean and easy-to-use (and hence easy to update and edit in the future), the starting price of $150 for the first page is fair. Additional pages are less and integration into WordPress comes in at $250.

To some people, this might sound like a lot of money, but think about this way. Instead of using a WordPress template that everyone has access to — check out the proliferation of MistyLook, probably thanks to the root of all evil — you can get a blog with a completely unique look. This helps a lot in terms of branding and individuality, and without some custom XHTML and CSS coding on your side, this just wouldn’t be possible.

On a side note, they do require pre-payment and will not begin working on the code until your payment has been received. XHTML/CSS accepts a variety of credit cards and other payment methods, so getting the money their way shouldn’t be an issue. There will obviously be some concerns about their legitimacy, however, and some potential customers may be turned off by this approach.

But It’s So Plain Looking

That was my first impression. They’re supposed to be offering a professional service — “We love coding and we love clean code.” — yet the associated website looks so boring and basic. Where’s the flashy sales pitch?

Well, there isn’t one and that might be one of their best selling points. Johnny and Steve (giving last names would add some professionalism and legitimacy to the site) promise clean code with no frills. The custom code will be simple and to the point, just like their website. It even says on the About page: “What? No Images? That’s right; we do code not design.” Their punctuation and capitalization may need some work, but you get the idea.

Shop Around, You’ll Be Back

XHTML/CSS is so confident in their abilities and their pricing that they provide you with direct links to their competitors. They encourage you to check out the other guy, because they’re certain that you’ll come back. Is this confidence or cockiness? Either way, they’ve got guts.

Overall, it seems like XHTML/CSS is ready to tackle the custom code world. In fact, they’ve already been featured on CSS Mania, CSS Tux, and CSS Impress.

If you’re ready to give them a whirl, go ahead and get started by sending them your website design (they accept all sorts of file formats, including PNG, PSD, JPG, and AI). Let us know if all this clean code hullabaloo is for real.

Did you enjoy this post? Get John Chow Dot Com updates via email...

Stay up to date with all of John Chow’s tips for making money online and blog posts by subscribing via email. Your email will be kept private and never shared with anyone.