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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: Where is your site hosted?
A: I recently changed hosting companies since my previous one went out of business. The site is hosted through moonrisehosting.com, which was referred to me by a friend. I have had a good experience with them so far. There is a link in the footer navigation below.


Q: How much do you pay per month for your web space?
A: I pay $9.95 a month, which is adequate space for my needs. You may need more, depending on your type of site.


Q: How did you get your domain?
A: I use verio.com, but I have had my site since 2002. So there may be better/other ones out there. I am satisfied with verio, they send me an email every year when I should renew. They also automatically attempt to take the money from my account, which I like because I always forget to do things like that.


Q: Will you set up my domain and hosting?
A: No, I only create the website, and ensure its functionality. You must setup server-related things on your own. Please refer to the links below for hosting and domain websites, that I use.


Q: I do not have all of my stuff together yet, can you start with what I have?
A: I will only create a site for you once you have all of your information, text, and images ready. Not having the content ready makes the deadline or finish date unpredictable, and I do not like having to chase people down for content. You must give me a burned cd with your content, or email me a zipped folder, before I will begin to do any work.


Q: How much do you charge for a website?
A: I work relatively fast, especially if you give me all the content right away, we have good email communications, and the content is organized well. I normally give 3 demos, which give you a chance to proof the site and make two adjustments. The last demo will be the final proof of the site. A rate can be quoted to you by inquiring via the contact form. Please provide details of the project for an accurate estimate.

 

HOW TO GET STARTED

If you are looking for a new website, but don't know the steps you should take I'm here to help! Before you begin anything you will need to identify which of the following two categories you belong to.

  1. You have a website, but it is out of date.
  2. You have a company/business/non-profit organization/etc. that you want to be available via the internet, but you do not know where to start or how to begin.

If you are part of the first group, here are the things you need to do before getting a designer to make you a new site.

  1. Review your content and make sure all information is correct and up to date.
  2. Gather any and all images you would like to appear on your website, separate them into folders by the pages you want them to appear on.
    1. All images should be in a folder titled (IMAGES)
    2. If images 1.jpg, 2.jpg & 3.jpg should be on the home page, create a new folder in the images folder titled (HOME).
    3. Continue these steps for all pages.
  3. In a text document (like Microsoft Word or Open Office) arrange all of your text that you want to be placed on each page. Separate the text by putting a header of the page name above.
    1. HOME
      enter all text that will be on the home page here, etc, etc.
      CONTACT
      enter all contact information text here, etc.
  4. Next make sure that you have all of the necessary FTP information for you site, so that the designer can make everything live for you when you are ready. If you do not know this information you may have to review your confirmation emails from your site hosting provider or contact them.
  5. Burn all of the images, text and even include the current site files to a CD. Make the information as organized as possible, to ensure that the site turns out the way you would like.
  6. The last step should be contacting the designer and setting up a meeting where you explain the current site and changes you would like to be made for the new design. If you both agree to the job and contracts are signed present the designer with the disk.

If you are part of the second group, here are the things you need to do before getting a designer to create your website for you.

  1. Gather information for all of the pages you would like your site to have.
  2. Gather any and all images you would like to appear on your website, separate them into folders by the pages you want them to appear on.
    1. All images should be in a folder titled (IMAGES)
    2. If images 1.jpg, 2.jpg & 3.jpg should be on the home page, create a folder in the images folder titled (HOME)
    3. Continue these steps for all pages.
  3. In a text document (like Microsoft Word or Open Office) arrange all of your text that you want to be placed on each page. Separate the text by putting a header of the page name above.
    1. HOME
      enter all text that will be on the home page here, etc.
      CONTACT
      enter all contact information text here, etc.
  4. Next you will need to buy a domain and site hosting. I use http://www.moonrisehosting.com/ and http://www.verio.com/. You can use a number of other sources, but make sure to save the FTP information they give you in a safe place. You will need to provide your designer with this information for them to upload your website when it is ready to go live. Most site hosting is billed each month, and domain hosting is billed each year. *this information can vary by company.
  5. Burn all of the images, and text to a CD. Make the information as organized as possible, this ensures that you site will turn out the way you would like it to.
  6. The last step should be to contact the designer and set up a meeting where you explain your vision for your site. If the job is agreed upon and contracts are signed, present the designer with the disk.

WEBSITE TIPS

There are many fascinating websites out there on the internet, but remember that you can't have everything smashed into one site. Try to avoid things looking too cramped and cluttered. The average internet surfer has an attention span of 5 seconds. If they can't find what they are looking for in the first five seconds, they are likely to leave your page and go elsewhere.


As fun as flash websites are, remember the best way for your site to show up on search engines, like Google & Yahoo, text is the biggest thing they read. With flash sites, there is no text for the search engine to pick up on. So if you want flash integrated into your website, keep this in mind.


The standard computer resolution is 1024x768. So keep this in mind with planning out your website. Make sure there is enough text, but not too much. The average space you want the viewer to scroll is from 2-3 pages. This ensures vital information is not lost with a lot of unnecessary text.


If you have considered all these things, and have taken all these steps feel free to get in contact with me via the CONTACT page. These steps ensure that you website is done as quickly and efficiently as possible.

 


If you have any other questions, please refer to the contact page's email form.