RHD FAQ

A. In 1999 our Founder and CEO, Rachel Cutrer, began developing the concept and vision of what is now Ranch House Designs. Rachel has grown Ranch House from a one woman show to a diverse team of talented marketing experts. 

A. Start by filling out on online Request A Quote form. From there one of our representatives will reach out with information and pricing on the type of project you are interested in. We then like to schedule a quick (~20min) phone call to learn about your business, and talk through the different marketing service options and our process.

After the call we will email you a proposal and recap of what we talked about, and an outline of the next steps to get started.

A. The foundation of Ranch House was built working with clients in the agriculture and livestock industries. Today, about 80% of our clients are ag-related businesses, but also serve other industries like veterinarians, feed store, attorneys, home builders, hunting outfitters, non-profit organizations, and much more.

A. We work with clients nationwide! Actually the majority of our clients are located outside of the state of Texas. We even have some international clients in South America, Canada, and Australia too. Our system involves a high level of communication, so you'll never feel disconnected from our team, even if you're a thousand miles away.

A. A 50% deposit is required to start a web project. The remaining 50% and your 1 year contract ($800) or first quarterly payment ($225) is due at the time of design approval and before your website goes live. For all future quarterly or annual fees, an invoice is mailed and due in Net 30. 

A. We want you to stay with Ranch House because you love working with us, not because you're tied to a long contract. For websites we start with a one-year contract that is self-perpetuating every year unless you cancel. We have website clients who have been with us for over 15 years, and hope to have the same long-lasting relationship with you too!

A. We rarely offer discounts, but there are a couple of exceptions: If you book a logo + website combo, we offer a $100 discount off the logo price If a client wishes to pre-pay for their website setup fee in full with a check or e-check they receive a 5% discount off the website setup price Website clients on our $800 Annual / $225 Quarterly Web Maintenance Plan receive a 10% discount on any print projects.

A. We use Quickbooks as our billing system. You will receive invoices via email from Quickbooks. Within the email invoice there is a Pay Now button which will lead you to a payment page. You can pay online with credit card, debit card, or with an e-check.

Clients also have the option to mail in a check to 1730 North Richmond, Wharton, TX 77488. Or call our office at 979-532-9141 to pay with credit card over the phone. Prefer to receive bills in the mail? Just let us know!

A. Clients in the state of Texas must pay taxes for all creative services including site development, graphic design, hosting, etc. Tax-exempt clients must provide a tax exemption form showing the basis of the exemption, generally because of 501c3 status or being a government entity. Ag exemptions do not apply to marketing services.

A. 6 to 8 weeks is the minimum timeframe from start to finish. However, it can take longer. The speed of project completion relies a lot on how quickly you approve your design, and send in the written text and photos for your website. A website is a big investment for your business, so we never want you to feel rushed.

Take your time, we want to make sure your website is perfect before launching it! If you have a specific launch date deadline in mind, please let your sales representative or project manager know ahead of time so we can plan accordingly. We will do our best to meet that goal, but cannot guarantee launch dates.

A. Our clients work directly with their dedicated Project Manager. The Project Manager is the liaison between the client and the Designer, Programmer, and Content Specialist working on the website. All of our work is done in-house, and we never outsource or use freelancers.

A. This depends on a a few different factors. If we acquired your domain for you, then usually the launch process takes around 24 to 48 hours, before the site is visible online to the public. However if you have your own domain outside of RHD, the process can take a bit longer - usually 3 to 5 days additional.

A. Our websites are built in WordPress, which is mobile responsive and performs great on phones and tablets, and also ranks well in search engines. Around 30% of all websites on the internet use WordPress, making it one of the top platforms worldwide.

We love working in WordPress because it has allows us to create beautiful custom designed websites, that are reliable and flexible. It is a great long-term website solution for your business, and is easy to expand pages and features on WordPress websites as your business grows over time. WordPress is an excellent choice for businesses of all sizes. But some fun "famous" WordPress users include Katy Perry, Michigan State University, The New York Times, and CNN.

A. WordPress started as a blogging system, but quickly developed into a full website content management system, used by millions of businesses worldwide. The original WordPress blog platform is now part of the whole WordPress package. So if you want to have a seamlessly integrated blog within your website, WordPress can do that!

A. No. We only support websites that we have built.

A. Websites start at $1450 for a basic 5 page website, and go up from there. Your first year is what we call your "investment year". You pay your one-time website fee for design, development, and launch (this is the $1450+).

Then when it is time to launch the website we bill for the ongoing Website Maintenance fee, which is $800 annually or $225 per quarter. The Website Maintenance fee covers domain registration, hosting and unlimited website updates to text, photos, videos, documents, etc. Updates are guaranteed in 3 business days or less, by generally completed in 1 day or less. All you have to do to make an update is email updates@ranchhousedesigns.com, and our team will take care of the rest. Updates are NEVER outsourced, and are completed by our team here in Wharton, TX. All of our updates team have a background in agriculture as well.

So to recap... Website Cost = Initial Setup Fee (starting at $1450) + $800 Annual Website Maintenance Fee

A. Absolutely! We have several website packages available that include our team doing all the writing for your website. The process begins by doing a phone call with you to learn about your business and what messaging you want to convey on your site. Our team will then create a first draft of the content, and work with you to incorporate any edits and revisions to the text, and then once it is approved we will add it to the website.

A. We do not offer photography services at this time. Many of our clients take their own photos using a personal camera or cell phone. If you're taking photos on a cell phone, avoid using the zoom feature, because it produces a low quality image.

A. We can add eCommerce on to any website we built. Pricing for this starts at $1500.

A. You can easily change any of the content on the website. This includes text, photos, embedded videos, PDF documents, sale catalog virtual flip-books, and links to other websites. All you have to do to make an update is email updates@ranchhousedesigns.com, and our team will take care of the rest. Updates are NEVER outsourced, and are completed by our team here in Wharton, TX. All of our updates team have a background in agriculture as well.

A. Web hosting is your "real estate" on the internet. This is the online space we pay for in order for your website to be visible to the public. Your website hosting fee is bundled in with the $800 annual / $225 per quarter website maintenance fee. 
Our websites are hosted with a specialized WordPress hosting service that ensures our websites are fast, secure, and optimized. 

A. Acquiring a domain name for your website is bundled in with your website startup fee. Just tell us the domain you want, and we will get it for you if it is available. If it is not available we will suggest some alternatives for you. Have a domain already? No worries! We can easily transfer that domain over to our system with a $200 one time transfer fee.

A. We can install Google Analytics on the website for you. You will need to set up a Google Analytics account, and then send us the .JS Tracking Code so we can embed it on your website.

We also provide Website Analytics Reporting if you don't have time to check your website analytics each month.  Learn more about our web analytics service here. 

A. You bet! We offer both virtual and in-person website training options. Pricing for this starts at $299. Ask your web Project Manger for more info!

A. Sure thing! Custom email addresses are a great way to enhance your brand presence and get more eyes on your domain - hopefully driving more traffic to your website as a result. Our custom emails have up to 25GB of storage and are hosted through Rackspace. This is the same provider we use here at Ranch House and we are very happy with their service. Emails can be accessed through a web-based login, and also be set up on iPhones, Androids, tablets, and desktop mail clients (Outlook and Mac Mail). We will provide instructions for setting up email account on other devices.

A. If you have a custom email with us already and want to set it up on your device, you can find those instructions here.

A. Logo pricing starts at $599 for a simple starter logo with simple artwork, such as using your livestock brand, or a text-based wordmark design. We also have some higher packages as well if you're looking for a logo design with custom hand-drawn artwork, or want a wider range of concepts to choose from.

A. Building a strong logo takes time - usually at least 1 month from start to finish.

A. Original artwork and logo design is automatically copyrighted. Legally the copyright belongs to the design firm until they choose to transfer it to the client. Based on our service agreement terms we are legally bound to transfer the rights and ownership to you when we send you the final files upon completion, approval, and final payment of project.

Copyright and trademarking are two different things. Trademarking your logo is a lengthy and often costly procedure handled by trademark attorneys. If you need the logo to be trademarked please seek legal advice.

A. At the end of the logo process, you’ll receive the files in JPG, PNG (transparent background), Vector, and PDF format. These are enough to get you started with online marketing, like for your social media outlets and website, as well as for printing use.

A. We can! With RHD Social Media Services, we can incorporate post and page boosts to target your exact audience and help meet your business goals.

A. The RHD Social Media Services will be fit to the specific goals and objectives of your business. However, with any business, the goal of social media presence is to increase your brand awareness, boost website traffic, generate leads and sales, and build relationships with your audience.

A. One of our social media strategist will be dedicated to your account and learning your business goals. Once we know your goals, we will target posts to that goal to increase traffic. We also offer post and page boosts that we highly recommend to our clients. This allows the strategist to create targeted ads to increase your social media traffic.

A. Depending on your account and the service you sign up for, anywhere from 1 to 10+ posts per week. We will base the number of posts you have on your service and the followers you have on your account to get optimized results based on social media algorithms.

A. Print ads, sale catalogs, flyers, brochures, banners, billboards, Facebook graphics - you name it, we can design it!

A. Nope, we welcome all new inquiries!

A. If you are a new print ad client, the fee is $275. This includes the initial design proof, plus one more complimentary proof to make any changes. Additional proofs are billed at $150/hr. Future/additional ads are only $175.

A. Use our request a quote form or email callie@ranchhousedesigns.com.

A. We currently have a little over 20,000 active subscribers on our mailing list. We do maintenance twice a week to remove bad addresses/spam.

A. Yes! Once we receive all information we will design the blast and send you a “test blast” so you can make sure all information is correct. Once you approve the blast, we will schedule it

A. Email blasts are $225 for the first send. If you would like to send an additional blast using the exact design, the fee is $100.

A. Use our Request A Quote form or email callie@ranchhousedesigns.com.