FAQ’s
We have decided to include some frequenty asked questions in our web site to help you decide if portland Web Design is the right company to design your web site. If you have questions that have not been addressed here please contact us.
FAQs
1. Who is Portland Web Design?
We are a small web design company that is based in the South of England. We have been developing bespoke websites for local businesses, organisations and individuals for the last 6 years. Prior to this, our background was in computer network administration and security. Our aim is simple – to provide all of our customers with websites that they are truly happy with at an affordable price!
Practically every business today needs a website for credibility and as a possible e-commerce outlet. In business you need to be as competitive as possible with other companies in the same field. Here a website offers you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week service to promote your business. It is working while you sleep and can consolidate your overall advertising campaign. You can also advertise your new website on your business cards and stationary, so interested parties can easily contact you. We also provide individuals who simply wish to create their own family website or who have a business idea they wish to “get off the ground” attractive start-up packages.
3. Can you re-design my old site?
Yes we can. Many websites were quickly developed by well-meaning friends and associates during the 90’s “dot com boom”, and are now in desperate need of a more professional and up-to-date make over. For us to give your website a new and more progressive look and feel, you will need to provide us with the details of whom you registered the domain name with or who is hosting your present site. The details should include any usernames or passwords that you have for us to make the necessary upgrades.
4. Is there a minimum or maximum number of web pages I must have?
No. Its completely your up to you. We could provide you with a one page site if you that is what you require, and our largest site to date is around 600 pages (for a hospital)!
5. Why should I choose Portland Web Designs?
We are committed to providing you the best service that we possibly can. By designing your website we are also representing our company. We take great pride and care in our work and are not satisfied until you are! Our reputation for quality work and price has been established principally through word-of-mouth, and our goal is to maintain such standards. We have a proven track record and industry qualifications that prove we are able to provide what we promise. We do not claim to know every subject regarding computers and the internet (few if any can), but some of our individual skills have been recognised in the computer industry by the likes of Microsoft, Cisco and Prosoft (re Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, Cisco Certified Network Associate and various Certified Internet Webmaster qualifications).
6. How will people on the internet find my new site?
All they have to do once your website has been designed, built and uploaded to your web server, is to type in your URL in the address bar of your internet browser (such as www.yoursite.com) and they will be taken immediately to your site.
7. What is an URL?
This is the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) or address of a web page. The URL of the web page is shown on the address bar of your browser like http://www.portlandwebdesigns.co.uk/faq.html. An URL can be thought of as the " address " of a web page and is sometimes referred to informally as a "web address."
The domain name is a name given to your whole website so that people can find it. Our domain name is portlandwebdesign.co.uk. A domain name is a unique name that you have chosen for your website. We have registered portlandwebdesigns.com which is now unavailable since it cannot be registered twice, as will be the case with your domain name.
9. How do I get a domain name?
We can purchase a domain name on your behalf. Alternatively, there are numerous domain name registration sites on the net, a simple Google search will revel them. BEWARE – Do not be tempted to quickly jump in and buy this domain name from the numerous organizations on the Net that can sell you your desired name. Many people have rushed to such name selling sites and bought a domain name through them, only to find out that to host their website with this company is expensive, and to transfer the name over to another web hosting service has also been an expensive (and long-winded) undertaking. Equally, they may only offer you a limited service. For example, each extra database you require may cost you more money, or they may only allow you a limited bandwidth – which can severely limit traffic to your site!
At portland Web Designs we will offer you realistic prices in all aspects of web design. Even if you choose to host your site elsewhere, we only charge a minimal transfer fee.
10. What’s the first step towards developing my site?
The most important first step is to purchase your domain name (remembering the caveats of point 9 above!). A deposit is required before we can get the domain name on your behalf. Domain names are usually registered to an individual for either one or two years, thereafter, the name will have to be re-registered for a fee. If you choose to purchase the domain name and hosting yourself, please check with us to make sure that the hosting service offers all the features that your site requires. Once we establish that all the necessary components are in place to host the kind of site you want, we will work closely with you in gathering the relevant information and pictures you require. At this stage, we will also ascertain from you any additional functionality for your site; for example forums, picture galleries, contact forms, shops etc etc. Once we have these basic building blocks in place, then we will construct your site to your own personal specifications.
11. Why are your prices so good?
Our prices are so good because we continually monitor the internet for the best deals in hosting services and domain name registration. Price, reliability and facilities are the benchmarks by which we judge all. Once these criteria have been met to our satisfaction, we pass onto our customers the resultant financial benefits by keeping our prices low.
12. How will I supply my details and images to you?
When it is not convenient or feasible for us to visit you personally, images and text can be sent to us (preferably) by email, or via the Post Office. Please bear in mind, that all images for your web site must have an image resolution of 72 dpi (dots per inch). Images you wish to send us for a leaflet or business card you wish produced, must have an image resolution of at least 300 (dpi). We strongly discourage copying any images from websites that have not directly given permission for us use. Any images that we use on your site must belong to you. We cannot use images without permission from the owner of the image (UK & International copyright law).
13. Will you visit my company?
Wherever possible, we always try and visit you if you live within roughly a 20 mile radius of Portland. Seeing you in person is often the quickest way to ascertain your exact website requirements. Failing this, we can always discuss your site over the telephone or via email.
14. Why can’t I see the changes that I’ve asked for on my new site?
This usually depends on the “number and nature” of the changes you have requested, and “when” you notified us that you wanted such changes. If you have notified us by either email or phone that you require any changes, we strive to tell you as soon as possible when you can expect such changes to take place on your website.
If, after the time we have informed you that your changes will take effect, nothing seems to have changed, please check that it is not a problem with your browser’s “cache”. This is the browser’s memory which remains unchanged until you “refresh” it. Pressing F5 will refresh your browser page and provide you with the most current web page. If the problem persists, please contact us again so that we can help resolve this problem for you.
15. Who will own the domain name and the site once it’s complete?
You will. We encourage your to purchase the domain name to avoid transfer fees later on. This fee is a standard fee that is charged by ‘Nominet’ (registry for UK domains names). We can purchase the domain name on your behalf and transfer it later but you will have to pay the transfer fee. We advise you to purchase your domain name through http://www.1and1.co.uk as their prices are very good and simple for us to configure – with no extra charges.
16. What format do you require for the images?
Mainly jpeg, gif or psd. However, we are able to deal with most common picture formats that you may send us.
17. Do you limit the amount of images on a site?
No. There are no limits to the number of images you may have on your site. We believe that an image can tell a thousand words! We can even create professional picture galleries for you if you so wish.
18. I would like a Flash site (animation) will this make any difference with search engines?
Flash animations are great for advertising and giving your site that extra bit of panache. However, Flash is not fully search engine friendly in regards to their indexing (spidering) your site. Consequently, your site may experience problems in being highly ranked if you put a general search in for your site. This is because search engines (such as Google and Yahoo etc) trawl the net for websites using their “spiders”, and when they come to Flash sites they tend not to look at the site too deeply as your Flash code is hidden. Whereas standard HTML pages (such as this page) are easily examined by the spiders and thus more amenable to being indexed. Nevertheless, all is not lost and if you choose to make heavy use of Flash, there are several things we can do to help improve the rankings of your website which we can discuss when necessary.
19. Will you submit my site to search engines?
We will strive to make your website as search engine friendly as possible, and use a variety of methods and techniques to achieve this goal. Please bare-in-mind, there are a lot of companies out on the Net that falsely advertise that they can guarantee “free high ranking” with such search engine sites as Google. This is false. Google themselves state that “no one can be guaranteed free high rankings.” Climbing up the ranking ladder can often take months and is subject to many factors (see Flash point above and number of HTML links on your site). However, we do submit your site to various free directories which will improve your ranking position. Major search engines also offer a paid advertising services and this may be an avenue we could consider if you so choose.
20. Do you charge a monthly fee for maintenance?
Monthly charges are optional, but we believe they offer excellent value and a peace-of-mind that your site is well maintained. Prices are based on the nature of your website; for example, a one page site we would only cost £2.50 per month (payable annually) to maintain (re text or image changes etc). Whereas larger sites would cost more and be dependent on the number of pages and nature of the maintenance involved.
21. If I opt out of the monthly fee how much will you charge for an alteration?
If you decide you would prefer a more ad hoc maintenance scheme, our hourly rate for website maintenance is £20 (charged per 15mins).
22. Will you inform me when my domain name and hosting is due to expire?
Yes we will, in plenty of time so that you (or we on your behalf) can either renew your domain name or hosting package.
23. How do I transfer my details to you from another website design company?
Each company generally has a different mechanism for transferring domain name details. The most important is we need to have your domain name transferred to one of our “named servers”. Once this has occurred then we can offer you the benefits of our hosting package. If in doubt as to how you need to do this, please let us know who your current web hosting company is and we will liaise with them on your behalf.
24. How do I transfer my details from portland Web Designs to another website design company?
First we would be sorry to see you go, but we will help you as much as possible to ensure the smooth transition of either your website or domain name details. All that is required is that you tell us in writing and supply us with where you would like us to move your details to and we will do the rest for you. We will inform you when such changes have been completed.
25. Will my website be secure?
We will make every effort to ensure that your website is fully secured against such things as unwarranted intrusions and defacement. If you include any e-commerce elements within your site, all credit card transactions will be undertaken within the strictest of security settings. We never store any credit-card details on any of our sites and any such undertakings are done under SSL conditions with trusted third parties.
We hope that we have answers most of your questions – however if you need to contact us to discuss a matter further please use our contact form.