Various frequently asked questions |
Don’t forget that the answers to many
commonly asked questions can be found in our resource documents.
Click here to go to the main Resources page
to see the list of documents that you can obtain. If there are any
other questions that you would like to have answered please
send us an email. |
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Questions (click on the links below to see answers to individual questions). |
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How can I keep my site up to date? |
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I want to update my own web site in-house. Is this feasible? |
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How much will a web site cost me? |
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How do I register a domain name? |
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I want to use the free web hosting offered by my ISP.
Is there any problem with this? |
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You say you use ColdFusion for web site development,
but what is it? |
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Why should I pay extra for ColdFusion hosting? |
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I want you to make me number one in the search engines.
Can you do this? |
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My mate says he can knock up a site for me for a couple
of hundred quid. Why should I use a professional web designer? |
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Answers |
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 How
can I keep my site up to date? |
There are three ways to keep a web site updated:
- DIY
- Let Novamedia do it
- Ask us to build a content management system
DIY -
If you want to do it yourself then you need to be sure that you
have the capability. See the next question for advice on this.
Let Novamedia do it -
We would, of course, be happy to manage your site for you as we
do with several of our clients.
Ask us to build a content management system -
This is something that we have done for several clients. The systems
we have built allow our clients to have access to a browser-based
administration module where they can type or paste in the information
that will appear in various sections of their site. This means that
they can update the site without having to have any knowledge of
web design technologies.
Examples of this sort of system can be seen on the BYMT, Red Hot Locations and East India Club web sites.
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| I
want to update my own web site in-house. Is this feasible? |
| Yes it is. However, it is vital to make sure that you
have the capability to do it and by that we don’t just mean
that you’ve got someone on your staff who took home a copy of
the FrontPage manual one weekend.
If you are going to update all aspects of your site in-house then
you will need people who understand web design and HTML. You will
need people who understand web graphics and what formats to use
for the web. We have also come across companies who have said that
they’ll use their in-house design unit because they are the
bees knees at producing the company’s printed literature so
they will easily be able to cope with a web site. It’s not
the case. Web production is a completely different discipline with
different rules.
Also, don’t forget the basics. Spelling and punctuation are
just as important on the web as in your literature. |
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| How
much will a web site cost me? |
| This is where the ‘piece of string’ theory
comes in very handy. It’s a bit like asking how much some company
literature will cost. Well, is it a one-sided black-and-white A5 flyer
or a 32 page four-colour glossy brochure?
The same applies to a web site. The simplest of sites involving
no more than a few pages will be very economical to produce. As you add more functionality,
more pages, more images and database interaction the cost will rise.
The easiest way to find out how much a site will cost is to discuss
your specification with us and we can then produce a quote with
no obligation.
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| How
do I register a domain name? |
Most ISPs will be able to register a domain name for
you. However, if we are producing and hosting a site and a new domain
name is required then we prefer to register it through our web hosts.
“That’s because you’re making a bit of money as
a reseller” we hear you say. You’re right but it’s
only a tiny amount and the reasons for preferring to obtain the domain
name through our hosts are:
- It doesn’t have to be transferred from another company
which, as we know from experience, can be an expensive hassle.
- It’s quick and convenient and we can set up the web space
and email at the same time.
- It’s not expensive anyway - £25 for .co.uk and £50
for .com, .net or .org.
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| I
want to use the web hosting offered by my ISP. Is there any problem
with this? |
It depends on who your ISP is. If they are a professional
ISP with robust hosting facilities then there should be no problem.
However, if you’re talking about the free space offered by a
consumer-oriented ISP then it’s best avoided. There are a number
of reasons for this:
- You will not be getting the same level of technical support
as offered by a professional host.
- The web servers are likely to be slower and less reliable.
- All web servers have a certain amount of downtime but with your
free ISP this downtime is likely to be longer. It will also take
them longer to get you back up and running.
If you’re serious about your web site then use a professional
host. It might appear to cost more than a free host but in the long
run it will cost you a lot less.
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| You
say you use ColdFusion for web site development, but what is it? |
| ColdFusion by Macromedia is a web application development
program. It allows us to add all the functionality that a web site
needs. HTML is all well and good but other than presenting a web
page and its associated graphics and links, it can’t actually
do anything. In fact it’s strange that HTML allows you to
build web-based forms but cannot do anything with the data from
those forms once it is submitted.
With ColdFusion we can…
So far we haven’t come across anything that can’t be
handled by ColdFusion.
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| Why
should I pay extra for ColdFusion hosting? |
| Unlike some other web application programs, ColdFusion
is not free or open source software. We won’t get into the argument
about whether paid for software is better than free software but suffice
to say that the hosting company will have to pay for the license to
use ColdFusion on its servers and this cost is then passed on to the
customer.
Bear in mind that we charge just £60 extra per year for hosting
a ColdFusion-based site (which most of ours are). This £60
gives each client the ability to expand the functionality of their
web site as wide as they like with features such as those listed
in the previous question. |
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| I
want you to make me number one in the search engines. Can you do this? |
| The simple answer is ‘Yes’. In fact the
simple answer is ‘you are already number one’. Take a
random phrase from your web site, type it in to Google and try it.
If it’s a unique phrase then the chances are that your site
will show up as the number one.
But of course that’s not what you want. You want to be number
one for a much more meaningful phrase. Once again, the answer could
be ‘Yes’ but it requires more work and this is something
that we can do.
Rather than repeating ourselves, why not take a look at the information
on our search engine optimisation
service and also download our
resource document ‘Getting seen by search engines’. |
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| My
mate says he can knock up a site for me for a couple of hundred quid.
Why should I use a professional web designer? |
| Ask your mate these questions:
- Is he a trained web designer?
- Does he know about optimising web graphics?
- Can he incorporate the necessary functionality that might be
required such as forms processing, database production etc?
- If so is he doing this himself or using pre-built templates
that pop adverts up all over your site in return for using their
system?
- Can he optimise your site for the major search engines?
- Is he going to use a professional host?
- Can he keep it up to date and make urgent changes when required?
If your mate can answer all these questions positively then use
him. If not, a professional web design company is your best bet. |
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