These are some more common questions and answers (FAQ ­ Frequently Asked Questions) we have found are helpful for our customers. If you do not find your question below, please do not hesitate to contact us. We will do everything possible to answer your every question.

What is a Web Address (domain name)?

A Web Address is your Internet identity. Your customers will remember this name and use it to find your Web site, your products or your services. Since no two parties can ever hold the same exact Web Address, your Internet identity is totally unique. While computers use Internet Protocol (IP) numbers to locate each other on the Internet, people find them hard to remember. Therefore, Web Addresses were developed to permit the use of easily remembered words and phrases to identify Internet addresses. When you type yourcompanynamehere.com into a Web browser or send an e-mail to someone at yourcompanynamehere.com, the Domain Name System (DNS) translates the yourcompanynamehere.com address into the IP numbers used by the Internet and connects you to that site.

What is Web hosting?

In order to establish your internet identity with a Web site, you’ll need the name and number of at least two computers (known as hosts or name servers), so your customers can find you on the Internet.

What is a Web site “design”?

Web site designs are professional-quality templates that include features such as page layouts (versus basic headers and wallpapers), custom interactive buttons (versus hyperlink navigation), unique font and color schemes (versus basic HTML text styles), and the use of dynamic button rollovers. A web site design can be as simple or as complicated as you want.

What costs are involved in setting up a website?

There are really four major cost areas to be aware of:

• Domain name registrar charges - These are charges you pay to become the owner of a domain name ex. www.yourcompanynamehere.com. The current cost for domain registration is approximately $9-10/yr. You can also register it as a private registration for a little more money.
• Website Hosting - These are the monthly costs you will need to pay in order to give your website a server to be hosted from (in other words, an online location to call home).
• Website Design Costs - These costs will vary depending on the size and nature of your website.
• Marketing and Promotions - this can vary from $5/month to $5000/month.

Will I be able to see my site before it gets published to the Internet?

Yes. We will upload your Web pages on a temporary Site for you to view before it is published to your permanent web address so that you may see each page and make any changes if necessary. Normally, we design the home page first to get your approval. That way the theme for all the other pages can be established without spending too much time on an idea that wont work for you. Then, during the process of completing the remaining pages, we will upload that days work to this temporary web address which will allow you to follow along with our design process.

How long will it take to build my site?

After gathering all of your relevant data (logo, pictures, content, etc.), we can create your Web site design theme in one to two weeks and present it to you online. Once you review and give us your feedback, the remaining process is to complete the site and make it live online. This will vary depending on the complexity and functionality of your website. A typical website will take about a month or so. This allows enough time to ensure that the right amount of consideration has been given to each stage of the process. If it is going to take a little longer, we will come to you and update our initial time line.

What if I want to change my site content after it’s been published?

We typically design our sites to be flexible and grow with your business. You can always update your text and graphics.

How much will it cost to make changes to my Web site after it has gone live?

This will, of course, depend on how labor intensive the changes are. If it is something simple such as editing text which will only take a few minutes we will most likely do it for free. If the changes or additions appear to be more significant then we will give you an estimate before we work on the changes. Those types of changes will be charged at our going hourly rate.

What should I do to prepare for having a site developed?

You will have to think about the right things to say about your company or firm to help your site serve its purpose. You are ultimately the one that needs to write the core content. You will need to sit down and consider how to break down all of the information you would like to present and write it effectively. You don’t necessarily have to do it all, as we can help you with some of your content, but only you truly understand the real details specific to your business.

Can you maintain our website for us?

Yes we can either maintain your website on an hourly rate for rare or infrequent changes or can offer you a customized maintenance plan based on how often you’ll need changes/additions to the site. We can be very flexible to come up with a plan that will make sense for you.

We don’t have a company logo, can you design one?

Yes.  We have helped many companies of all sizes design and develop their on-line presence and consistent logo design.

How do I get started with a website design?

Email us and we’ll email you back a questionnaire to fill out and send back to us. After that, we’ll set up a time to discuss what you are looking for.

Do you have examples of websites you have built?

Check out our portfolio.

Does it matter that you are over there and I am over here?

Many of our clients are local and out of state. A strong line of communication ensures the smooth running on your project no matter where you are.

What website design and development services do you offer?

We can handle all aspects of planning and creating the entire website. This includes layout and design and programming.

How much does a website cost?

Websites vary greatly in cost. A small site with only a few pages and a simple design may only cost a few hundred dollars. Whereas, a large elaborate site may be in the thousands of dollars. The best way to get an idea of the cost for your site is to fill out our development form. We can then give you a more exact idea of the price you are looking at.

Can you handle getting our domain name and a web host?

Yes.

What makes a good web site?

• Easy to navigate and links clearly identified
• Clean and Uncluttered
• Focused message
• Quick loading
• Minimal scrolling
• Works (i.e., tested on many browsers including Netscape and Internet Explorer)

What makes a bad site?

• Too much Flash and other animations requiring plug-ins and lots of network bandwidth
• Pop ups that have nothing to do with the site
• Too many colors or graphics
• Mystery meat navigation - No description of a link
• Icons or logos that don’t directly relate to the business or message being portrayed
• Requires a detective to find valuable information inside
• Too much information (too wordy) in one place

What will my Web pages contain?

We will include anything you ask for. It all depends on the complexity of your Web Site. You make the decisions and we will include them into your Web pages. Mostly, items like text describing your products or services, corporate logos, main menu, tables, feedback, comments/suggestions or order forms, email links, navigational link bars, hyper-links, images, animation, short sound or video clips, search engines, Java or any thing else that you specify and fits your requirements and budgets.

Will my Web Site look the same in different browsers?

We test every page of your Web Site with the latest versions of Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, Firefox, Mozilla, Opera and a few other browsers to make sure they display pages consistently. If you require your page to be optimized for a specific browser please notify us before design begins so we can take that into consideration. Additionally, all pages are designed to the Internet standard screen size of at least 800 X 600 dpi. If you require your pages to be designed to a screen size greater than 800 X 600 please notify us. Please note that we do not recommend designing pages to screen resolutions lower than 800 X 600.

What is a spider?

A spider is a program that automatically finds Web pages. They are used to supply web pages to search engines. It works its way across the web using links to go from web page to web page.

What is a Meta tag?

These are the tags written in HTML which tell a search engine information about your web page. We will ask you for a list of words that directly correspond to your Web site or company when we are designing your site.

What is an ISP?

ISP stands for Internet Service Provider. This is a term used for a company that provides you access to the Internet. Normally you will pay a monthly fee to use their software package. You will be issued with an access telephone number, username and password. Using a modem you can then log on to the Internet and browse the World Wide Web. ISPs also serve large companies, connecting them direct to the Internet from their company network.

What is a browser?

A Web browser is a software application used to locate and display pages from the World Wide Web. Two examples of popular Web browsers would be Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Communicator.

What is a hyperlink?

This is a link that has been created in an electronic document that links to another place in the same document or to an entirely different document. Activated by a click with the mouse or pressing return on the link.

What is a web server?

This is a computer that gives out Web pages to the World Wide Web.