Q. Is it true that unless you spend tons of money you will never see the first page of Google, Yahoo or MSN?

A. Not necessarily. It really depends on a few different factors. For instance, let’s say your target market is music. If you build your website and you use the keyword music you will probably be lost in cyberspace. But if you use more specific phrasing of your targeted keywords like 60’s and 70’s classic rock, that narrows down the competition and gives you the opportunity to move closer to that coveted first page position. Also the more useful your content the better because popularity plays a role in ranking. You also have to give consideration to the fact that some search engines have human editors, this means they will visit your site and determine how useful and informative it is and where it needs to rank. And don’t forget those wonderful relevance algorithms crawling around through your site. Be very careful to create a website that is very user friendly and informative.

Q. How important are incoming links and what kind of links should they be?

A. Incoming links are vital to your website because traffic is vital. Without traffic your website is useless. Again relevance comes into play as well. You should try to create link relationships with businesses who perform different aspects of your industry. Unrelated industry links do not carry much weight within the search engine world. Also someone visiting a music site looking for music is not likely to follow a fishing guide link. Now I know there is always an off chance, but quite frankly you might as well be playing the lottery. Your business relies on strategic planning not luck, so each page should be laid out with relevance in mind and the links to those pages should follow the same criteria. Remember your goal is to help your visitor as much as possible, not to get traffic. Focus your attention in that area and other webmasters will link to you and traffic will come.

Q. How many pages does my website need?

A. A website can be designed with only one page. However I recommend at least five. This will give you some room to categorize things a bit according to subject matter and make it easier for your visitors to navigate the information you are providing.

1) Introduction and overview of your business and products or services.

2) Detailed description of the products and services you provide.

3) Detailed description about your company it’s location and experience.

4) A Q & A page to answer potential customers questions and generally be helpful.

5) A contact or purchase page.

Q. Can I build my own website?

A. Yes indeed you can. However, the time it takes to learn a decent website design program and all the extras that go with it would be better spent in your field of expertise or profession. Because we understand that people like to have a little more control and save money we do have some options available to get you online and give you the control over your website you need.

Q. Can I administer my own site once it is complete?

A. Yes, if your website is one of our cms solutions you will have an administration area to logon to where you will have the ability to change content in your website depending on which solution you choose, and providing you are familiar with Microsoft Word™ style editors.

However, if you choose a non-cms design and you are not knowledgeable in html, JavaScript and so on, or you do not have the program used to compile the code, then you may do more harm than good. For instance, I had a client that hired me to build a website with no optimization, then proceeded to barter with someone else for optimization. After more than 2 months and $400.00 cash from my clients pocket the website was disabled at the server. I had to go in and correct their mistakes. Only qualified people should be allowed access to your server (The computer that houses your website).

Q. What should I look for when hiring a web design company?

A. Your web designer should have a good understanding of his or her program or if they hand code, they should be working to stay up to date with w3c consortium standards and guidelines as much as humanly possible. If they use a program to compile their website code they should also have at least a minimal knowledge of the basic languages used such as html, PHP, JavaScript, CSS styling, as this helps to understand the inner workings of a website and how it interacts with different browsers, servers and other issues.

Q. How should I expect to pay a web design company?

A. Because a website project can take anywhere from a week to a month, or even more depending on the project, a website company should receive 50% of the total cost as a deposit. Once your website is complete and you are satisfied, the balance should be paid.

Q. What kind of support should I expect from a web design company?

A. Web designers should always provide support the for the websites they build. However defining what that means will vary from company to company. Part of the support we provide is site changes up to 30 days after site completion at no charge, providing it is not major content or style overhauls. We also have long term support options available which vary in cost depending on the type of website you have and whether or not you host with us.

Q. Do I have to host with you if you build or manage my website?

A. No. However, we will recommend it at times if we believe we can save you money or offer you better hosting support. It is also more convenient for us to work in a single hosting environment rather than across multiple platforms, but the choice is always yours and you will not be penalized if you do not host with us.

I hope to be able to answer some of your questions on this page about web design in general, and concerning our services. If you have a question that is not on this page, please email or call and I will do my very best to answer it for you.

Questions & Answers