Professional Website Design and Development
FAQ's
Lots of people have contacted us to ask about setting up a web site, modifying their existing website, or moving to a different web server or new domain name.
Some of the questions they ask are more frequent than others so we've put the most common ones here, along with the answers, in the hope that you might find them useful.If you have a question that is not answered here, or you want to talk to us about any aspect of setting up or changing your web site, please contact us.
Q: I don't have a web site at all. What do I need to get going, and how much will it cost me?
A: For a basic website you'll need a domain name, some web hosting, internet access (so you can send and receive email), and a web page editor or web designer.
We offer a very reasonable starter design package - click here.
Q: We already have a web site but it needs updating, can you help?
A: Yes. If you have FTP access to your current web host we can modify your existing files. If not, we can 'move' your domain to the dtop web server and modify your site there.
If you don't have FTP access and can't modify your domain records, we can set you up with a new domain and web site from scratch; either based on your existing site, or build you a whole new one from scratch!
Q: How much does it cost to set up an online shop?
A: This really depends on the scale of your shop, and your available budget.
If you only plan to sell a few items you can set up a single web page with 'buy' buttons for each item, and process the payments through a third-party such as Paypal.
To set up a fully-fledged online store, with categorised products, stock control, order processing, etc. takes a much larger investment. You'll need software, payment processing facilities, an Internet Merchant Account, etc. and a good deal of time to build and manage the shop.
Q: How do I move my web site to a new web host, can you do it for me?
A: Yes. No problem. To move (re-point) your domain, all you need to do is update the IP addresses of the Nameservers on your domain record.
You usually do this through your domain registration agent, such as Network Solutions, and we are more than happy to help you do this as part of our hosting service.
Q: How much will it cost to make changes to my site once it's finished?
A: If you do it yourself, nothing. If you would like us to make the changes, we charge you at our usual hourly rate.
Q: Can I modify the site after you've designed it?
A: Of course you can, it's your web site. We can provide you with the FTP details to access your web space, and if you don't already have one, we can advise on a suitable web page editing program.
Q: Why do I need my site optimised?
A: This can be answered with a question - Why go to the trouble and expense of having a web site built if ultimately, it cannot be seen?
Q: Do you offer web site promotion to search engines?
A: Not usually, no. We tend to stick with what we know best; web site design and hosting. We do have links with companies who can offer effective promotion and marketing for your web site, and we can advise on how to do-it-yourself if you have the time and inclination!
If any of your questions have not been answered here, or you want to talk to us about any aspect of setting up or changing your web site, please contact us
Q: Is Pay Per Click is better than site optimisation?
A: Well it depends - once a website has been optimised, the costs involved are relatively low. PPC advertising can be very costly when trying to generate new enquiries. 5000 monthly visits from a PPC campaign could easily cost £1500 upwards.
Q: I want my website to be Number One in Google, Can it be done?
A: We believe in being open and honest with you and would advise you to be very cautious about companies which 'guarantee you top rankings' in the Search Engines.
There are some good companies around, but, unfortunately, not all companies are as reliable. We will work with you and advise you on how to lay out your website to give you the best chance of being near the top of the listings - a lot depends on what terms you want to be found for.
There are a number of ways that a website should be developed to aid this. Not all website developers will take the time to do this (or are even aware of it) - we provide the advice free and build your website to enable the Search Engines as well as your human audience to read it.
Google can take several months to even list your site - so you need it to be written in such a way that Google can use it when it does list it!
Although we don't guarantee you any search engine positioning (we like to be honest) we will provide you with as much advice as we can - including the alternatives available.
Q: How do I know if people are looking at my website?
A: As part of our hosting packages, you are provided with access to an easy-to-use control panel which includes full visitor statistics for your website. We can talk you through how to use your website statistics to analyse the results of your marketing campaigns if required.
Q: How long does it take to register my website?
A: The actual process of registering your website only takes a few minutes - just check if your website name is available and follow the simple steps on screen to register it securely online using a credit or debit card.
Your website name will be visible to the whole world within 24 to 48 hours (usually much sooner). You can start using your chosen e-mail address, or addresses, at this point - even before your website is written!
Q: How can I access my email?
A: Your email accounts can be set up and accessed in two ways. Firstly they can be set up on you local machine via an application such as Microsoft Outlook or Thunderbird using a "POP3" connection, and secondly via a Webmail interface which allows you to check your mail from any browser anywhere in the world.
In order to set up and access your email accounts please follow the instructions below:
Setting up your account on your local machine
In order to do this you will need the following details:
POP3 server : You full domain, minus the "www." (for example, yourdomain.com ). Please note that our POP3 setting has no "mail." prefix.
SMTP server: You full domain, minus the "www." (for example, yourdomain.com )
In the case of the SMTP server, depending on the ISP that you connect to the internet with this can in some cases change. For example if you connect via Wanadoo / Freeserve then you must use the Wanadoo SMTP server which is smtp.wanadoo.co.uk.
Please note that our SMTP setting has no "mail." prefix.
Username: the FULL email address you are setting up (for example, info@yourdomain.com )
Password: The password assigned to you by our team when you requested the email account
You should activate the check box for "my outgoing server requires authentication" from the Properties / More Settings area of your new account
Accessing your email accounts via Webmail
Once an account has been created, you can also access it via your browser.
Emails that are sent to you are stored here first. If you also have the account set up on your local machine, when you "send and receive" all the emails in your Inbox will be removed from the Webmail account and delivered to your local machine.
Visit http://mail. yourdomain.com
Name: the FULL email address you wish to access (i.e. info@yourdomain.com)
Password: the password assigned to you by our team when you requested the email account.
Once logged in you should enter your personal details, and then the account is ready to use.
Useful Links
If you require further assistance when setting up your email accounts on your local machine, the following links will help:
Outlook Express:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/ie6/using/howto/oe/setup.mspx
Outlook:
http://products.secureserver.net/email/email_outlook.htm
Thunderbird:
http://products.secureserver.net/email/email_thunderbird.htm