Is your question not on the list?
You can send me an email via the contact section, call me at (208) 371-9234 or use the search bar on the top right of every page.
For any questions involving printing, video, audio and DVD design please call or use the contact form and ask me specifically. There are simply too many variables to cover in this section alone.
I cannot view this web site correctly! Is there something wrong with me?
First off, you did nothing wrong. You shouldn’t feel bad about this. Most likely you have some settings incorrect on your computer. You may need to upgrade your computer’s software or simply change your resolution (screen size) to a higher setting. Optimal for this web site is 1024×768 or larger
How long does it take to build a website?
That all depends. I like to talk about exactly what you would want done, then from there give you an estimate. If you want just a simple information page, then I can get that done in a matter of a couple days, but if you want a web site with an integrated shopping cart, forum, chat, drafting, transferring domain registrations and media hosting then that would take anywhere from two to ten weeks for DNS population, design, SQL programming and coding. It all varies.
As an example, this website took me about 32 hours over five days.
I don’t understand all these big terms, can you speak in English?
In this help section, I describe everything that will directly effect you. Everything else would be a moot point to explain as you will never have to deal with it. If you have to know a definition for a term, then I suggest using Wikipedia.org to find out all the technical information about it.
What is your availability?
I’m always available for a consultation or estimate. I respond to emails within 24 hours (holidays excluded) and am available via email from the contact section and telephone at (208) 371-9234. If you need a project completed expediently, then just let me know and I will give you a realistic estimation of completion.
What do you need from me?
Content, content, content!!!!!!!!!! The more pictures, video, audio and general information you give to me, the more I have to work with and the better the outcome of the project. If you have an idea of how you want your site to look, sketch a picture, make an image in Photoshop, or if you know rudimentary HTML, then send me an example. This greatly speeds up the process for both of us.
And the fee for your project would be a nice bonus.
What do you define “content” as?
Any words, videos, audio, or pictures that define or are a part of your web site.
What are all these fees for?
Generally, I charge $20 per hour for graphics, web, audio and video design. The yearly fee for owning the domain name (“yourwebsite.com”) is only $10. Unfortunately, with the name you need to have a server (a computer that has the files for the web site and makes it “on the internet”) to host it. Servers charge for holding the files and the bandwidth (see question below for explanation) to host them. I also charge a fee of $40 (that is included in the normal, yearly fee) for holding a comprehensive backup of your web site just in case the apocalypse comes to attack your web site That is where the flat yearly fee comes from.
What is bandwidth?
Say an average picture on the internet is 40 kb (kilobytes). For every person that downloads that picture off your web site (all images and files you see on the internet are downloaded), you use up that much bandwidth. So if 10 different people view your web site, you have used 400 kb. Your allotment of bandwidth is determined ahead of time with me so hopefully no overages are accrued.
What if I go over my bandwidth?
This is highly unlikely, as we will determine ahead of time what kind of traffic will be hitting your site and what kind of media (pictures, video, database, audio, etc.) will be on it. However, if you do “break your bandwidth,” then you will be charged overage fees, as this will effect my server and your web site adversely. Fees for bandwidth overages are discussed ahead of time as well.
What is integrated vs. non-integrated?
Certain features run off of specific engines (programming files that makes it function properly) that require a considerable amount of configuration. Integration makes these different engines look like they’re built into the web site (e.g. no change in appearance when you click on the “Store” or “Forum” or any other feature’s link). If you do not want it integrated, then I have significantly less to program, design, and code, but it will look slightly different than the information that is on your other web site pages.
What’s the benefit of integration?
It makes the web site look and run much smoother and more put-together. Overall professional look and feeling.
What is Flash?
Flash was originally developed by Macromedia to display video on web sites. Now it is owned by Adobe and significantly more powerful; controlling web site’s navigation, advertisement, and video.
Why don’t you make sites exclusively in Flash?
Loading times, viewability and SEO. Flash is a nice tool that I use for pieces of web sites, but having all the navigation and links controlled through Flash makes load times significantly higher. Also, flash is still not integrated into all major search engines, so you may have the coolest Flash web site, but you can’t find it on Google or Yahoo.
Another reason is mobile devices. With technological advents such as the iPhone, Blackberry, Trio, and other various smart phones, the mobile browser is becoming an integral part of the internet world. Unfortunately for the users of these phones, they do not always have Flash capabilities, so your content won’t display. My number one goal is to have everybody in your demographic view your web site every day. Being exclusively Flash makes this virtually impossible (pun fully intended).
What is Adobe PDF?
You’ve probably heard of Acrobat Viewer, right? Well that is a free program offered through Adobe as a universal document viewing protocol. Basically, it makes your document (from Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and any other office document) look the same regardless the computer’s configuration.
PDF’s are ideal for printing because of their cross-system compatibly. If you have any forms or documentation that you want to be printable by the end user, the PDF is the way to go.
What is content drafting?
Writing your content for you. By content I mean something like the “About Our Company” page. You give me the specifics, then I give them to an English major to write up your “About Our Company” page. After writing it is proofread by other English degree holding scholars, then read by you. We make any modifications, but be careful as this can get spendy. It’s always preferred that you write your own content. If you need help for what to write about, then I will be happy to give you some ideas.
What is Advertising Implementation?
If you join an ad exchange program that requires you to put an advertisement on your web site in order to get your advertisement on a different site (hence drawing more hits to yours) then I have to go through and configure the advertisement code so it will not interfere with the basic functions of the web site
Advertising can be a great tool to get people to your web site or to make some revenue from your site, but has a tendency to look tacky.
What does SEO stand for?
Search Engine Optimization. This is a bigger task than it sounds. Keywords are programmed into your web site so they will appear in search engines. All of my sites come with a modicum of SEO.
Why is SEO important?
It simply gets people to view your web site If you have no visitors, then what is the point of having a web site, right? What makes it tricky is the ever-expanding internet. Keeping a web site optimized for search engines is practically a daily task.
When you search Google for something, how many pages of results to you look at? Maybe three? Proper SEO ensures that you make it as close to the top of the first page as possible without paying extra fees to search engine companies.
What is a shopping cart?
Online ordering. If you want to sell products on your web site, then you will have to have a shopping cart. If you plan on taking credit cards for your orders, then you will need a secure server.
How does a shopping cart work?
You supply the products you want to be made available for purchase. The visitor to your web site sees your product, can’t live without it and gives you money for it. Well, you get an email saying that they’re willing to pay your price for it. If you’re collecting credit cards, then you receive their billing information to a secured Google mail account set up through your sever. You process the credit cards then confirm the order. Processing orders is not my job and will be solely your responsibility.
Another option for credit card payment acceptance is PayPal, which is relatively painless to set up and manage and you will not need a secure server. Keep in mind, PayPal is not integrated to your website layout.
What is a secure server?
If you plan on taking credit cards with your shopping cart, or gathering personal information like social security numbers, then you must have a secure server.
What they do is scramble the information put in by the end user then send it directly to it’s destination: you. So no possibilities of internet or identity fraud.
You can still have a shopping cart on your web site and not have a secure server, but you should only accept mail-in payments such as cashiers checks, money orders, and personal checks. I can set up your site to gather the credit card information without a secure server, but be cautious as you may be held liable (varies by state and business type) for any fraud that is incurred from sensitive information stolen from your web site. Bad people are out there. Be careful.
What is a forum?
An online bulletin or message board. It’s meant for open discussion between various users and parties.
How does a forum work?
Users log in and post a topic like “The new Nicholas Cage movie rules!” and write a little bit about it. Then another person comes along and writes their piece about it and so on and so forth. You are the administrator (depending on your package) so how far you let your users go is your prerogative.
What is a newsletter?
Just an announcement you send out about to subscribers’ email accounts. People can register for your newsletter right on your web site
What is a discussion list?
The hybrid of forum and newsletter. You send out a discussion letter to people’s email address (like a newsletter) then when they reply, it is sent to all the subscribers, creating conversation or discussion (like a forum) via email.
What is a blog?
Blogs are easily the most common form of web site on the internet today. It’s just your thoughts, feelings, videos, music, and virtually anything that you can think of. You post them yourself in an editor with an interface very similar to Microsoft Word.
Users can register themselves (if you so choose) and comment on what you post.
What is the difference between online magazine and a blog?
It’s a fairly thin line, but the extra charge for magazine is primarily for media and design. Magazines have constantly rotating content, so making everything work properly and look great is a bit more of a task and most magazines on the internet now feature video and audio, increasing bandwidth and file size.
What is member access?
All or just some content can only be accessed by entering a username and password. This is an unnecessary feature for the forum, shopping cart or blog as they already handle users.
If you have pages that have confidential information on them and don’t want just anybody viewing it, then you will need member access.
How does member access work?
That is handled through myself and the server. I create a guest account so if somebody needs access immediately in the middle of the night, then you have a generic username and password to allow access. Adding a user is very simple. Just send me the email address, username and password of the new user and they will be added within 24 hours. In the meantime you can let them use the guest login and access the information.
What is video streaming?
I’m sure that you’ve been to YouTube. That is video streaming. The video is stored on your web site server, and only pieces at a time are taken off. Instead of having to wait for the entire video to download before viewing it, you watch it as it’s being downloaded.
Once my web site is done, what is my responsibility?
Tell everybody! As far as duties that you must perform, that depends on your package. Please review the packages in the “Web sites” section.
How do I check my email?
Simply type in “mail.yourdomain.com” into your address bar (replacing “yourdomain.com” with your web site address) then enter your username and password. All email is handled through Google so it has the Gmail interface.
I forgot all of my password! What ever shall I do?
That’s a bad thing. Not just because you forgot your password, but because it creates a LOAD of work for me. I have to modify databases, reset .htaccess, and a myriad of other not-very-fun tasks. Also, it can wipe out all the information in your account or web site But it can be done and you will be charged thusly, so please, please, please write down your password and keep it in your wallet.
Programs like the blog, shopping cart and forum have password retrieval utilities so having me run through the entire process will hopefully be unnecessary.
What if I don’t use all of my updates with my “Regularly Scheduled Maintenance” plan?
You have 12 updates a year. At the end of the year, if you’ve only used 10 updates, you forfeit the remaining two. The year is based from when your web site is launched.
I can’t pay my yearly renewal fee. I’m sorry.
I understand financial crunches, trust me. So I give you a 60 day grace period until your web site gets shut down. For every day that a payment is late, a $1 (one dollar) service fee is assessed. If the balance is paid after the 60 days, then a $50 backup recovery atop of the $60 of accrued interest will be assessed. Any outstanding balance older than 120 days will have their files and database deleted and no backups will be kept. Basically your site is erased if you’re indebted for longer than 120 days and will need to be re-designed. After that, you will be sent to collections.
If it’s even a possibility that you are going to miss a payment, then please get a hold of me and let me know the situation. I am a fairly easy person to work with.
How do you handle server outages?
Sometimes the weather or human error will cause your web site to go down. This is not a normal occurrence but just in case, I’ve got you covered. I will prorate for any outage lasting longer than 8 (eight) hours. The amount of prorating you receive varies depending on your yearly hosting plan.
Also, I keep comprehensive backups of your web site (weekly or monthly), so if the server completely craps out on you, then we’ll be able to get your web site back ASAP.
This is something you really should not worry about. Since I’ve worked with my server four years ago, I have only had one issue of an outage and it lasted only a couple minutes and no data was lost. The outage was caused because my server company physically moved to a bigger location and had to disconnect the computer. This is not a regularly occurring thing.
I will not pay for any “lost business” as it is all speculatory and cannot be properly calculated.
What if YOU screw up, Mr. Jones?
This is also highly unlikely, but I am human and computers are just a mess of plastic and metal. But if your site becomes unusable due to something that I did, then your issue will be fixed immediately an you will be pro-rated just like a server outage.