| We have
tried to cover some commonly asked questions in the
simplest way possible.
We hope you find this helpful.
If you feel we have failed to adequately answer a
question please feel free to contact
us.
What is a Domain Name?
Does BizDesignz handle domain
registration?
Can I transfer an existing domain to BizDesignz?
How long does it take before
my domain name is active?
What is the interNIC (Network Solutions)?
What is The World Wide Web?
Do you offer dial-up internet access?
What are browsers?
What is a shopping cart?
How much does it cost to have a site on the Internet?
What is the process of getting a web site?
What are some reasons
to be on the web?
Why do I need a web site?
What are the right reasons to get on the Web?
How much information can
I have online?
Do Web sites have a size limit?
Can I start small and
then expand my web site later?
How is a site kept up
to date?
Can we do the updates in house?
Why do some web sites look funny on AOL?
What types of graphic files do you accept?
What is a secure server?
How do I know if I'm on a secure page?
What are search engines?
What are search engine robots?
How do search engine robots
list a site?
What do search engines
do with the information?
Will my site be in any search engines, if so, which
ones, and how long does it take?
Why is hand submitting to search engines best?
Can't I just resubmit my web site every month to ensure
good search engine rankings?
What
is a Domain Name?
A domain Name is a unique identity
registered for use on the internet.
Anyone on the internet can establish this identity
by registering the name of their choice. The danger
in waiting to do this is that the name you wish to
register may be already taken. However you can make
creative modifications to produce an effective domain
name.
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Does
BizDesignz handle domain registration?
Yes. We will contact the InterNIC
once your account is activated to request either a
new domain name or a transfer. You do NOT need to
submit a registration or modification template to
the InterNIC as this will only delay our request.
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Can
I transfer existing domain name to BizDesignz?
Yes. Whether you place an order by
telephone or online with us be sure to specify that
you are requesting a transfer and NOT a new domain.
You should keep the service at the present site while
waiting for Internic to complete the transfer. This
can sometimes take up to 72 hours
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How
long does it take before my domain name is active?
Once the InterNIC announces that your
domain name has been registered (or transferred, if
applicable), it usually takes about 72-hours before
it is active. All internet providers must update their
records (DNS tables) to reflect new site locations.
This is called propagation.
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What
is the interNIC (Network Solutions)?
Network Solutions, also called internNIC
is the agency in charge of domain registrations, domain
transfer etc. They are much like your local courthouse
where you register business names etc. You have to
be registered with Network Solutions if you want to
have your own domain name (www.your-name.com). We
can handle this process for you. Once you register
your domain name you own that name.
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What
is The World Wide Web?
Basically THE WEB is the pretty part
of THE INTERNET.
However, though many people use the
terms interchangeably, this is an error as, in actual
fact, the WEB is a way of viewing information transmitted
to you over the INTERNET.
Basically, the entire Internet is
a bunch of computer networks hooked together through
telephone lines. The computers store information in
a really boring way - as plain text - it's very basic
and not too attractive. Each document is given its
own "address", so you have to know exactly
where to go to and what to type in to look for things.
And we mean "exactly". The Internet is very
unforgiving when it comes to misspelled words, or
incorrectly written address - unlike your friendly
Postmaster.
The web was dreamed up as a way to
link documents together making it easier to reference
your information to other places, hence the name HYPERTEXT
LINK. The web also allows you to display pictures
and animation.
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Do
you offer dial-up internet access?
No, you will need local Internet access
and to retrieve email addressed to your site. We endorse
and recommend several dial-up ISP's for this service.
What
are browsers?
They are that "window thing"
you open up to view the Internet. The two most popular
browsers are Microsoft Internet Explorer, which has
the blue "e" icon, and Netscape Communicator
which has the "N" icon.
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What
is a shopping cart?
A shopping cart, or virtual shopping
cart, is means by which visitors to your web site
can purchase your products directly online. Shopping
carts can display the product, item number, quantity
desired, color, size, price etc., as well as shipping
and payment information. We can build you a shopping
cart customized to your specifications and can even
set it up so that you can update it yourself with
the minimum of technical knowledge required by you.
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How
much does it cost to have a site on the Internet?
This will vary depending on the size
of the site, how much technical work is required,
and if there are any special requirements. More information
is available on our Services
Page, but most sites we have built average
$200 per page - so a 5-page web site would cost appx.
$1000 usd. This being the one-time charge for the
initial set up of the site. Beyond that you would
pay us, or the company of your choice, a monthly fee
to keep the site up on the Internet. This called "Hosting".
If we are developing a new site for you we recommend
hosting with us as well. This way we can handle any
technical difficulty that might arise for you.
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What
is the process of getting a web site?
Contact us to make arrangements for
a free quote.
Tell us what your needs are and based on that we will
submit an estimate to you. We require a deposit to
begin work. You will be required to submit to us all
text, pictures, brochures and marketing materials
you would like incorporated into your web site's design.
We then work on the design and layout. We generally
upload work in progress to a private area of our web
site where you'll be able to see it take shape and
have us make any adjustments and refinements that
may be necessary.
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What
are some reasons to be on the web?
On the Internet, your company can
be as big as the largest company in your industry.
It's the great "equalizer" where you can
compete right alongside the big guys.
It's a great way to communicate to potential clients
or customers - 24/7!
To increase the visibility of your company, it's [products
and services.
To increase and improve customer services. Take advantage
of the interactivity of the Internet.
To support your traditional advertising by adding
to it -"For more, check out our web site at..."
To set your company apart from your competitors. Note:
As more and more companies get on the web, this will
cease to be a benefit so ACT NOW!
Web sites can be made far more attractive than Yellow
Page ads, and can be changed at a moments notice.
When was the last time you heard someone say: "Wow!
That's a really cool Yellow Page ad!"
People that are searching the Internet for your product
or service are already qualified as "interested"
- traditional promotion can't guarantee that?
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Why
do I need a web site?
The Internet is fast becoming the
new "Yellow Pages". More and more people
use it everyday and its growth shows no signs of stopping,
or even slowing. Shouldn't you be there?
There are currently 60 million Internet
users around the world! Almost forty million of these
are right here in the United States. That's a pretty
large amount of people. Even you figure it out conservatively,
how many of these people could conceivably be looking
for your product or service. If you're not on the
web they'll go to your competitor!
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What
are the right reasons to get on the Web?
Revenue Generation—While
there is a definitely a chance for increased sales
and revenue because your increased visibility, web
development is a long-term business development move,
so don't expect a windfall overnight. However, that
said, we get Testimonials regularly from customers
who maintain that having a web site has improved their
business volume.
Expense Reduction—You
can now sell you product directly from your site and
have the payment and shipping all handled from your
site - so it's like having an extra location at a
fraction of the cost. Plus, it's open 24 hours a day
and you don't have to worry about paying overtime!
Also, you can save a lot of time and money) by not
having your sales staff tied up answering questions
about your company, it's products and services - you
can provide most of that information on your site.
Enhanced Customer Relations—The
most successful business web sites put the customer
first. They do this by providing detailed and up-to-date
information about products and services. In a way,
you are creating "self-educated" buyers
and a self-educated buyer is a happier buyer.
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How
much information can I have online? Do Web sites have
a size limit?
Web sites can be as small as a single
page or as large as is needed. There are sites on
the Internet that have thousands of pages. Some hosting
companies have a limit, however, or they may charge
extra over a certain amount.
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Can
I start small and then expand my web site later?
Absolutely - and depending on the
circumstance and your particular needs we will sometimes
recommend this. A web site can be begin as an "Online
Brochure" or "e-presence", and gradually
expand.
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How
is a site kept up to date? Can we do the updates in
house?
We can update it for you for a fee
based on how often, and how complex the updates are.
The are called incident fees. Or for those that would
like to update the information on their site regularly
or often we can set up a maintenance plan that fits
your budget.
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Why
do some web sites look different on AOL?
The browser that AOL uses is lacking
in a number of areas and consequently you don't get
a true picture of the web.
We, and other professional web design
company's, I am sure), edit our images and graphics
to make them as small a file size as possible, so
that they won't slow down the opening up of the web
page. This is called "compression". Unfortunately,
AOL's browser compresses them, again! This causes
the images to look "fuzzy", or have "holes"
in them, and just generally look substandard. Also,
AOL's browser doesn't allow as many degrees of color
as the other browsers, so the web sites often don't
look as attractive and vibrant as they should.
If you are an AOL user, to get the
true picture, here's what we recommend: When you dial-up
with AOL, you can just minimize their browser once
you're online click the little hash mark in the upper
right-hand corner) and then open another browser,
like Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer. You'll
be pleasantly surprised at the vividness of how the
really Internet looks!
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What
types of graphic files do you accept?
We can accept any graphics file format
that is Windows compatible. Apple users should covert
files to a multi-platform format prior to sending
to ensure the best possible conversion. Our preferred
format would be the original file that was created
Photoshop Document, Portable Network Graphic, Tiff)
as those are editable, but JPEGs and GIFs are acceptable
as long as they are good quality . We can also work
with good quality photographs by scanning the images.
Occationally, this will be an additional cost because
of the time involved in transferring materials into
digital format through the use of a scanner or manual
input.
If you are local to us we can meet
with you and get everything we need. If you aren't,
no problem, we have clients in Mexico, New York, Maine,
Texas. If possible you can e-mail graphics files and
document or mail the information to us. Many times
clients will end up doing both because not all of
the infomation they would like us to include is in
digital format.
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What
is a secure server?
Though no method is completely foolproof,
there is a method of purchasing across the Internet
that is very safe. Order forms that are on a secure
server encrypt all data before sending it across the
Internet for processing. Encryption is a method of
jumbling the data so that only your computer and the
secure server can read it. This greatly reduces the
probability of your credit card information and precious
data being viewed by unwelcome eyes.
An insecure transaction is basically
an "open" transaction that can be seen by
anyone who knows how - which could mean your credit
card information could be captured and used. Always
make sure the web design company and host you use
makes order form pages secure. You should see a little
locked padlock in the bottom left-hand corner of your
browser, as well on the toolbar of your browser. If
the padlock is open, it means that page is not secure
and there is a risk of a third party accessing your
information.
How
do I know if I'm on a secure page?
While on a secure page, such as our
order form, the lock icon on the bottom of Web browsers
such as Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet
Explorer becomes locked, as opposed to unlocked, or
open, when you are just ‘surfing’.
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What
are search engines?
Basically, search engines are web
sites where you can type in words and phrases called
"key words" to help you find what you're
looking for on the Internet. It's important to be
indexed on as many search engines as possible. Although
we would advise getting it professionally done, rather
than attempting it yourself. Some search engines offer
this as a free service, but more and more of them
are now starting to charge fees.
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What
are search engine robots?
There are two ways a search engine
will look at a web site that has been submitted. Yahoo!
for example use human beings to actually view the
site to determine whether or not it matches their
criteria for listing. Google uses a "spider"
which is an automated means of "crawling"
all over the site looking for the necessary elements
it expects to find on a web page. The automated search
engines are generally referred to as "robotic",
since they are not viewed by human beings.
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How
do search engine robots list a site?
Think about a visit from the eyes
of a robot. He finds a site, usually from links on
other web pages, then records the text from the page
or saves the page.
He extracts just the text from the
page without the HTML coding, including the title.
He uses a mathematical equation to catalog all the
words on the site (this is called an algorithm). He
follows the links on your site and retrieves any information
he finds. All this information is then stored.
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Now he knows how many pages you have,
how significant your site is for a given keyword.
How many "outside" links your site has,
and can give your site a "score" based on
how it is set up. This is how your site ends up being
ranked high or low.
He then travels the links that leave
your web site, and visits new web sites.
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What
do search engines do with the information?
When someone searches for a phrase
or keyword, another search program takes over using
the information the robot found. A person types in
the keywords and the search program returns the thousands
of pages matching their keywords. They also consider
the following: How large is the web site? Was it properly
constructed? How many other web sites link to this
web sites?
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Will
my site be in any search engines, if so, which ones,
and how long does it take?
We have a Search Engine Maintenance
program available on a monthly basis. For complete
information visit our Search Engines page. We hand-submit
your site to all the major search engines. Each engine
is its own independent company so the time it takes
will vary. It can be anywhere from 1 week to 8 weeks.
LookSmart* and Yahoo! offer an Express Submit service
for a one-time fee about $299. This fee guarantees
that your web site will be viewed and considered for
listing within 48 hours. * The LookSmart Network currently
consists of LookSmart, Excite, AltaVista, CNN and
MSN - so when you're submitted to LookSmart you are
automatically listed in those other search engines)
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Can't
I just resubmit my web site every month to ensure
good search engine rankings?
Quite emphatically: "NO!"
Resubmitting over and over is no help at all and,
if it is "required", it could be a symptom
of a much deeper problem with your web site. The search
engines are designed to index web sites and then keep
them in their index. It can take 4-6 months to truly
move up the search engine rankings. The only way you
need to resubmit every month is if you are getting
kicked out of the search engines. If you are getting
kicked out of the search engines resubmitting the
same exact web site won't help you. Plus, if you are
getting kicked out of the search engines then you're
being told that there is something wrong with your
site that needs to be corrected before the engines
will accept it.
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Why
is hand submitting to search engines best?
By the way, search engine submission
programs are useless. Constant repeated submissions
over burden the search engines, and your requests
are eventually just ignored. If someone tries to sell
you search engine submission services ask them the
following questions:
Why do we have to keep resubmitting
my site?
How does this help me in the search engines?
Can you give me examples of clients that have been
"significantly" successful doing this?
Can my URL get banned from search engines for doing
this? See the answer to this directly below).
NOTE: Repeatedly resubmitting to the
search engines can get your URL banned from many of
the search engines.
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Common
Internet Terminology
ISP - (Internet Service Provider)
provides connectivity to the Internet, usually via
modem and dialup lines (we DO NOT provide ISP services).
IPP - (Internet Presence Provider) provides
presences on the Internet, usually provides web hosting
and e-mail services.
WWW - (World Wide Web) refers to the vast web
sites and such that span the Internet.
POP - (Post Office Protocol) physical e-mail
accounts you log into with a username.
and password to pick up any e-mail sent/forwarded
to that account
Email Alias - aliasing allows you to have multiple
e-mail addresses sent to a specific POP e-mail account
(ie. pick up webmaster@yourdomain.com, sales@yourdomain.com,
etc. from one POP account rather than from several
separate ones.
Email Forward - forwarding allows you to have
e-mail forwarded from a specific address or POP account
to another POP account (ie. have all e-mail sent to
webmaster@yourdomain.com
sent to your POP account provided by your ISP).
FTP - (File Transfer Protocol) this is how
you will upload and download your web pages.
etc. to and from your computer to and from your virtual
server
ASCII - used in FTP and the WWW, this is a
type of file, usually any kind of file.
that you can read (like a text file) falls under this
classification (HTML files should be ASCII files).
BINARY - used in FTP and the WWW, this is a
type of file, usually any kind of file that is unreadable
as text falls under this classification (graphic images,
sound files, etc. should be BINARY files).
HTML - (Hyper-Text Markup Language) the name
of the standard coding used to create web pages, most
web pages are written/coded in HTML.
Domain - this is the convention used to access
a web site (www.whatever.com , etc.) Domain names
must be registered with InterNIC to be valid and usable
on the internet.
Non-domain - this is usually a sub-site on
someone's domain (www.whatever.com/subsite). Non-domains
do not have to be registered with InterNIC.
InterNIC - (Network Solutions)the regulatory
agency that handles the assignment and database tracking
of active/inactive/available domain names. Each country
has their own NIC registry service for handling foreign
(or domestic) domain names.
Propagation - a period after a domain name
is registered or transferred when the domain name
is updated among all the nameservers found on the
Internet around the world. This period usually lasts
3-7 days and may result in visitors not being able
to visit the domain name until the period is over.
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