FAQ

Web Site Design

These are some commonly-asked questions about the Internet and how it works.

What is the Internet and the World Wide Web?
What are "home pages and web sites"
Who uses the Internet?
What can the Internet do for my company?
Can't we create our own web site?
How will people find our web site?
Who assigns Internet addresses?

FAQ's

Q: There are a lot of companies that offer do-it-yourself web sites, and they're a lot cheaper to set up. Isn't that a good way to save money?

A: You're right, they are cheap, and the results you'll get will reflect that.

Most of them make it difficult, if not impossible, to do what needs to be done for the search engines. Without the search engines, you might as well not even bother.

Q: How long does it take to complete a web site project?

A: Of course, it varies depending on the size of the project and the amount of information being presented, but in general about one month is a reasonable amount of time to get it done.

Q: Will we be able to view our web site while you're working on it?

A: Absolutely! From the first draft of the design, through the entire process, you'll be able to access your web site via the Internet. Don't want anybody else to see it? No problem. We can set it up so that nobody can see your site without a password while we're working on it.

Q: We don't have a domain name. Can you get one for us?

A: Sure, and we recommend getting one as quickly as possible, because they're being snatched up very quickly.

Q: We already have a domain name. Can you use it?

A: Yes. It's a fairly simple process to transfer a domain name.

Q: Do you provide hosting services?

A: Yes, we do. plus we provide Web Site Management, because we do more than just host your web site. We are a hosting company as well. We host and manage site's that we create, so that we can focus our efforts on our valued clients.

Q: Do you provide Internet access?

A: No, not at the present time but are developing our own ISP. Our business is Web Site design, Web Hosting promotion and Management for now. If you need to get set up with an ISP for Internet access, we'll be glad to recommend some services to you.

Q: We want to have email addresses using our domain name. Can you do that?

A: Absolutely! You can have depending on your selected plan 10 up to 100 separate addresses at no extra charge. The max plan has unlimited email accounts.

Q: We have our own email server and email sent to our domain name comes to us. Is it still possible for you to host the web site?

A: Yes, it is possible. In fact, several of our clients do exactly that.

Q: How will will know who's coming to our site?

A: You will have access to statistics that tell you how many visitors you're getting, where they're coming from, how often pages are being accessed and much more. This information is updated once a day, and is very useful in evaluating your result.

Q: Do you provide the merchant account for processing credit card transactions?

A: No, but we can recommend some companies for you, if you need to get setup with a merchant account.

Q: How does the credit card processing work? Does the shopping cart do the credit card processing automatically, or do we have to do that manually?

A: Actually, the choice is yours. You can be set up to authorize and settle transactions automatically, authorize automatically and settle manually, or authorize and settle transactions manually. Whatever works best for you…

Q: I hear a lot about security, for instance credit card numbers getting stolen. Will that be a problem?

A: No. We do not store credit card information online. That information is stored on your local computer, or in your merchant account for processing credit card transactions.

Q: Promoting a web site is just submitting it to a bunch of search engines and directories, right?

A: Not exactly. While the search engines are very important, there are other aspects of promoting a website that are often neglected or underutilized by most web sites.

Q: How exactly do the search engines work?

A: Each search engine has a different way of looking at your web site, and puts a different emphasis on different elements of your site.

Q: Can you guarantee that we'll get top rankings?

A: We don't make any guarantees as to the results you'll get with the standard set up of your web site. But many of our clients have achieved high rankings with just the standard set up. Companies that offer guarantees are using some specific techniques to achieve rankings, and we do that as well. However, that service is time-consuming and expensive, and is not part of your standard web site package. We do offer these additional services, but we recommend waiting 90 days after the site has been submitted to the search engines, to evaluate where we are before spending any more time and money.

Q: What about the search engine submission services that help with the submission process?

A: There are some legitimate search engine submission services, but all they do is facilitate the submission process. They don't do the optimization of your website for you, and don't forget that you still have to pay fees directly to many of the search engines to get in.

Q: We already have a web site, but we're not doing very well. Why would that be?

A: There are plenty of reasons why this might be, but the most common is that your site is probably not properly set up for the search engines. Probably 80% of the sites we review are not properly set up, and without that you're really not getting the results you should.

Q: Can't we do the search engine stuff ourselves?

A: Sure, if you have the knowledge, experience and the time to research each search engine and how they work. You'll also need a working knowledge of HTML and JavaScript. And spend time each month working on this.

Q: I've heard that all you have to do is just repeat the important words and phrases to get good rankings. Is that right?

A: What you're referring to is called "keyword spamming," and is strictly forbidden on most search engines today. In the past, this was a trick that worked on some search engines, but they are wise to it now, and if they catch you doing you risk being removed and even banned from the search engines that catch you.

Q: Do we have to pay to be included in the search engines?

A: In most cases, we do have to pay fees to be included in the search engines. In the past, they would include sites for free, but they have been going to paid submissions in the last few years.

We now recommend budgeting $800 - $1200 for search engine fees.

This is over and above our fees, and is paid directly to the search engines.

Q: There's so much to know and do. How do we know what to do and what not to do?

A: As a Think-Web Design client, we will advise you and make recommendations for all your web site promotion activity.

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