Common Web Design Questions

Choosing a company to design your website is one of the most important business decisions you'll make. It's understandable that you have a number of questions. Here are a some of the more common ones. We'll be happy to answer more specifically when you give us a call to discuss your project.

What constitutes a small website?
For purposes of pricing a site, we will be referring to a small site as a collection of eight or fewer pages. The main pages could consist of Home, Overview, Contact Us, and one premium content page. Supporting pages might be a copyright, privacy, terms of use, and form success pages. The small site would have an interactive navigation bar. The home page would be static with images.

How long is a page?
A page should scroll no more than two to three times the height of the browser window. Many visitors won't scroll down a page, and information "below the fold" or out of view when first loaded may never be seen. A page should also not be weighted down with content that is slow to load on a phone line connection. Some of your visitors may not have broadband access.

How do I find a place to put my website?
If your page is a hobby page or homepage you may consider using space that is possibly offered by your ISP (Internet Service Provider). Your service may also provide tools for you to maintain your own site. If your page is a business page you should consider utilizing a website developer such as Crossroads Publishing to create a business-like presentation. Not only can we create your website, we can expertly host your website as well.

I already have a website. Can't you just add to it?
There may be considerable differences between the pages you have and the site you desire. Generally, rewriting a poorly coded page takes more hours than creating a page from scratch. In addition, site navigation and information architecture will need to be developed for your new website's structure. The results you get from a professional web services team would best represent your business.

What is a domain name, and do I need one?
A domain name is a title or business name for a website that is assigned to a constant Internet address. A business domain name is often in the form of www.BusinessName.com. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) manages and coordinates the Domain Name System (DNS). They ensure that every address is valid and oversee the distribution of unique IP addresses and domain names. As long as you pay the reservation fees, you can retain your domain address even if you move to other web hosts.

I have a scanner and a digital camera. Can I just send you digital images?
In order to achieve clear images, appropriate color balance, and the smallest possible file sizes, our graphics department can edit your digital images. However, we are likely more experienced in providing high quality scanning. We will accept client-scanned images and digital photos. We do not teach scanning or image editing.

What is graphics compression?
To "compress" graphics is to reduce the number of colors and/or pixels per inch to reduce the file size of photographic and clip art. Typical graphics for the web utilize JPEG compression and GIF palette reduction. Read more about web images on our Graphic Design page.

I have a lot of trouble with SPAM. Can you help?
SPAM is a huge waste of time and effort for all users. We provide tools that can filter your email for commonly used SPAM words, phrases, techniques, and virus-like attachments. We also have a White List or "friends list" option that you can customize to further eliminate SPAM and help you to not miss the email you want. We do not maintain your friends list for you, but we can install and update the basic filters for you. The use of feedback forms and special coding can also reduce unwanted email. In addition, we offer a catch-all feature that will filter out all email that isn't properly addressed to you.

I want a shopping cart for selling my products on the Internet. How much does it cost?
Shopping cart programs vary from free to rather expensive. Some shopping cart providers are very reasonably priced and some act as the middleman, taking on the expenses, reserving charge-back funds based on your sales volume, and charging a flat percentage of your sales. This type of cart may minimize your start-up costs and reduce your risks. We have a variety of e-commerce solutions to suit our clients' needs.

What types of updates and maintenance might my website need?
Websites that never change don't get return traffic and don't get referred to your visitors' friends. Old pages also fall out of the search engines. If your site is product related, as your product line or inventory changes, so should your website. Sales, contests, coupons, and giveaways are all applicable to the web just as they attract customers in shopping malls. There are many things on your site that will require updating and improvement as time goes on.

What exactly are meta tags and do I need them? Which pages do I need them on?
Meta information (tags) are special codes provided for search engine spiders that scour the web for information to collect and index. Special tags are created to assist these spiders in properly indexing the content of your page. Not all search engines use meta tags; but frequently they are the key that makes your site stand out in the search engine ranks, assures a clear page description, and thereby brings you added traffic. Each of your pages that have unique content should contain meta tags to reflect it. Each page that is a potential entry point from the search engines should have meta tags. For additional information related to this topic, see Search Engine Optimization.

What does it mean to submit a site to a search engine? Don't they just find you?
The web supports millions of websites and each search engine has its own rules for how it collects data about your site. These rules change frequently. As sites are created and submitted to search engines, the search engines will either index the site immediately or it may take several months on a waiting list to get indexed. Your goal is to become part of the highest possible returns surfers are looking for every day. If you wait for the search engines to find you, that may not happen and you may miss the opportunity to provide the information needed to properly categorize your site. We can submit your site to the top search engines for you, at no additional cost beyond our package pricing.

Once my site is submitted to a search engine, will it have to be done again later?
The workings of each search engine are unique. Some have small databases for information storage and routinely remove older dated material and add newer material. If the server on which your site resides "goes down" or is unable to display your site for even a short time, a search engine spidering your site at that moment will find it is "Not Found." In such circumstances, the search engine will remove your site from its database. To the search engine, your site no longer exists. This is why it's important to have a reliable web host.

What if I have more questions?
We welcome your questions, comments and suggestions. If there is a specific question you cannot find an answer to, or if you wish to start your website, please contact us so we can give you a no-obligation estimate. Or, feel free to email or phone us.