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|
 Why
do I need a web site? |
 Every
company can benefit from owning a web site, without it ever
needing to sell a single product. As we all become more online
conscious & increasingly use the web to find company &
product information, there will be an increasing need to have
a presence there. A small site, done well, can still provide
you with a useful means for displaying your company or product
information worldwide, at a relatively low cost. |
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| How
much does a site cost to run? |
| The
day-to-day costs of a web site are the hosting fees, domain
renewal fees, site updates/maintenance, site promotion/marketing,
and support. A busy site will need more support, mainly for
your visitors questions and problems, plus there will be a stronger
case for adding new content to keep people coming back. When
high traffic volumes are less of a priority then the level of
promotional work required will reduce. |
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| Are
web sites cost effective? |
| Apart
from the initial start-up period for a site, before it has any
visibility and therefore reduced traffic, sites are often able
to pay their own way. We encourage trickle feed investment into
a site in order to get the best return and to develop the site
in a way appropriate to it's use. It can be hard to measure
effectiveness when no product is for sale, but large scale distribution
of information has never been cheaper. |
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| Why
aren't we getting enquiries from our current site? |
| The
single most common answer to this question is that many sites
have suffered from a lack of promotion work & hence have
a poor visibility on the search engines. |
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| What's
a Webmaster? |
| Think
of a Webmaster as your online: shop manager, sales person, technical
support engineer, customer relations person, marketing specialist
and project manager. A Webmaster link shows your visitors that
you support your site, & is an easy contact if they're having
problems in any way. A good Webmaster service can be the difference
between a sale or not. Webmaster
site support.. |
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| Which
browser should I use? |
| There's
no definitive answer to this one, as each browser has it's own
unique features that may or may not suit you. The thing to remember
though is that there are often significant differences in the
way each will display the same page. Remember also that if your
browser version is older than current, then you will be missing
out on some, and perhaps all, of the show on some sites. Check
that your computer can handle a later browser version before
you upgrade. Recent releases of some browsers have been problematic,
so it doesn't always pay to rush for the latest version. |
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| Why
do sites display so differently on different computers? |
| This
can be both a challenge and a headache for a web designer. With
the Internet being such a young environment different computer
platforms, screen resolutions, browser types and browser versions
will all effect the way the final page is displayed. If you
find out what browser and platform visitors to your site are
using then you can design accordingly, without overlooking the
minority audience. More on Browsers. |
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Why
do some web sites display quicker than others? |
| The
two main factors that will influence this are the speed with
which a server can send your browser the pages to display, and
the size of the files required to produce the display. The type
of connection you have to the Internet (eg. dial-up modem or
ISDN connection) and the current loading on the server(s) in
question will effect the available speed at which you can receive
files. The content of the site you are visiting will determine
file size; Text information produces small files, animation's,
audio and some pictures produce larger files. The importance
is to try and match your content
to your visitor. |
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| What
is a database driven web site? |
| The
page you're viewing to read this is a "static" page,
in that the file is displayed in exactly the same way as it
was designed. It's possible though to design a similar page
to this but with some parts of the content only added before
they are sent to your browser for display. The server processes
the page and fills the gaps by extracting the relevant data
from a database held on the same server. This is ideal for online
catalogues, search engines and many larger sites, as it allows
the working data to be more easily managed and updated. |
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| What
is web site promotion? |
| Promotion
covers a range of activities, all of which are aimed towards
raising the visibility of a site (or group of sites) to help
increase the number of visitors and raise the brand/company
profile. Activities may include keyword analysis and testing,
reciprocal link programs with other sites, search engine submissions
and banner advertising campaigns. More about site
promotion |
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| Why
is site promotion so important? |
| It's
one thing to produce and publish a web site, but no-one will
know it's there until it gets visibility, particularly on the
search engines. This is a specialised activity, which to be
effective needs online promotional skills. Visibility improves
over time, not overnight, so mistakes can delay your site's
contribution quite seriously. More about site
promotion |
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| Will
you support our site? |
| Site
visitor support, to help with day to day problems and questions,
can be provided directly by us using a Webmaster
link on your site. We'll also take care of any hosting issues
that arise, plus manage your domain name(s) for any updates,
renewals or transfers. We charge for these services on an as-required
hourly basis. Very busy sites tend to need the commitment of
a support contract of a few hours per month. |
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| Can
you tell me how my site's performing? |
| When
available from a hosting company, we always seek to work with
the activity log files for your site. These are logs of every
page and file that has been requested from your site and, with
interpretation, provide information on performance. This information
can include demographics, browser types, pages visited, time
spent on site, where the visitor came from, which search engine
(if any) was used and the keywords used to find your link. We
use this information to manage and steer your site development,
but can also produce reports and explain trends to you for your
interest. |
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| How
do we develop our site? |
| SplashWeb
would not only like to support your site, but to be able to
work with you and develop your site on an ongoing basis. In
some cases it may be suitable for the client to perform some
aspects of this, but generally we would produce a site-plan
for you, based on your knowledge of your business and your customers
and upon our experience of transferring this to the Web. Site
updates and support |
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| Should
I have my own domain name? |
| Your
domain name is your unique online brand/company identity, and
the ownership of a suitable domain should be secured as soon
as possible. A domain name is a valuable asset for your company,
if not for today, and the cost of ownership is small. Securing
additional domains, particularly hyphenated versions of the
same name, is recommended to protect your company's brand and
reputation. |
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| Which
type of domain should I use? |
| The
first widely available domains were a few top level domains
such as ".com" and numerous top level county domains
such as ".co.uk". Use of the ".com" domain
tends to imply that you are a world organisation, either in
location or in your client base. Many people also perceive this
domain as making you an American company, as America adopted
the ".com" domain over their own country domain, which
has only recently been made available to them. Ideally all types
of your chosen domain name should be secured, but the minimum
is to secure both the ".com" and your country domain
versions when available. The ".co.uk" country domain
is much more familiar to people than a few years ago, and tells
people straightway where your business is based. Read more on
domain names
and check availability. |
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| What
makes for a good domain name? |
| There
are obvious factors such as the need to reflect your company
name or product, and ensuring it's not too long. Less obvious
is the need to be unambiguous in spelling and pronunciation.
If there are common alternative spellings, or even misspellings,
these should be secured too. Before deciding, try telling a
few people your proposed address and see if it's easy to get
across; once you have a site you'll need to be doing this every
chance you get! Read more on domain
names and check availability. |
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| Do
I need web space for my site? |
| Yes,
every site has to be hosted on a server that is permanently
connected to the Internet. This is a specialised service, offering
different types of space, depending upon the features required
for your site. We will advise you of your requirements and if
necessary set you up with a suitable Hosting
account. |
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| Is
a hosting company the same as an ISP? |
| No.
Essentially a hosting company provides server space to host
your web site and make it available to the Internet, whereas
an ISP will provide you with a connection to the Internet, such
as a dial-up modem account through your phone line. Some of
these companies now provide both services and eventually there
will probably be no distinction between them. |
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