Articles. Frequently Asked Questions
The discussion of even the simplest website with the wrong agency may obscure your thoughts and complicate proceedings with technical jargon or various buzz words. That is why dentonscreative understand that by having the common questions or myths explained first, you can be sure what you are entering into with us.
The Questions
- Why do I need hosting, and how much does it cost?
- What is a domain name?
- Can I update the website myself?
- Will I appear on Google?
- How much will a website cost me?
- How long does it take to build my site?
- Can I monitor how busy my website is?
- I've designed my own site, can you build it for me?
- Can I get email through my website?
The Answers
1. Why do I need hosting, and how much does it cost?
However you produce your website, whether through dentonscreative, another agency or yourself, your website needs to be hosted in order to be accessed by the internet, via your domain name. Hosting involves uploading your site (it's pages and resources) to a web server. dentonscreative have our own web servers and can therefore offer a complete package.
2. What is a domain name?
Once you have made the decision to create a website, the next step is to register at least one domain name, an alphanumeric unique name that identifies individual web sites on the internet.
Read more in our It's all in the name article.
3. Can I update the website myself?
Yes. Generally speaking, every client should have the right to update their own website. The means to do so however varies widely depending on the level of control you would like to have over your site and it's contents. If you would like full access but have no HTML experience, the best solution (though usually the most costly) would be to implement a tailored content management system. Alternatively, if you only need to update specific areas of text on certain pages, such as a price list or special offer, this is easily achievable and can be done in various ways. For more information, please call us to discuss your requirments.
4. Will I appear on Google?
These days, just having a domain name and a website does not automatically mean you will appear on Google - or any other search engines for that matter. The global nature of the Internet means that competition is fierce for most generic subject areas and getting a top listing will be almost impossible without a lot of time, money and effort. This problem has seen an increase in paid for listings, such as Google's AdWords.
Every major Search Engine has a different way of ranking websites that are submitted for inclusion in their listings. These range from the META tags in your web pages to how many external links (links from other websites) your site has or how much traffic your site is generating etc. This means that Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is not an exact science as results vary and cannot be guaranteed.
dentonscreative specialise in creating accessible websites which is just the start of a having successful website on any search engine. Once your site has been created, we can advise on the best methods to promote your new website using both traditional and technical methods.
5. How much will a website cost me?
Every client is unique, therefore every website is tailored to individual needs and priced accordingly. We base our proposals and quotes primarily on how much time we envisage designing to create the desired look rather than on a price-per-page basis.
We find that this method is not only more cost efficient to our clients, but you also know that we spend a specific amount of time designing and developing at least one website visual for your approval. We also spend adequate time hand coding our websites using standard compliant technology so they are more accessible to search engines, easier to maintain and develop in the future and much quicker to load.
Email us with your requirements, or fill in our project planner and we'll send you a proposal within 72 hours.
6. How long does it take to build my site?
This depends on the size and complexity of the project. If your content is fully prepaired before dentonscreative commence work, we can normally complete within 4 weeks for "static" web sites, and within 8 weeks for our eCommerce product.
7. Can I monitor how busy my website is?
Absolutely. Every website includes free web statistics. This will tell you everything from how many hits and visitors you receive each week to the pages that are most frequently viewed. It even shows you where your visitors are based and even what broswer they are using.
8. I've designed my own site, can you build it for me?
Yes. dentonscreative offer a "slice and dice" service which means we take a layout and build a fully functional, standard compliant website. We accept layouts in any graphical format (even Word). Contact us with your full requirements or for more information.
9. Can I get email through my website?
Yes, either by forwarding to an existing email address or by creating a new account (POP3) on your machine to receive your new emails.
What's the difference?
Forwarding does this: something@yourdomain.co.uk redirects to yourname@hotmail.com.
Or, a new POP3 account means we set up an email address which is then directly received by your computer. We will help you configure your computer to receive your emails if required.
