Do you have a different question about our web design services? E-mail
our web master at bgmay@computersindesign.com
and we will try to answer your question.
You can find additional information in our Web Glossary.
Why I need a web site?
There is no one answer to this question, but making basic business
contact and service information available on the web is becoming as
essential as having a listing in your local Yellow Pages directory.
Potential clients expect the convenience of finding services online;
it's quick and free. The more interesting and relevant to their inquiry
the information you put online turns out to be, the more likely they
are to contact you directly.
Before you decide to invest in a web site, you need to think about
what goals you are trying to accomplish. Our Planning
Worksheet can start you thinking about some of these questions.
Is the Internet an effective
way to market my firm?
The Internet is an effective secondary way to market your firm. There's
a lot of competition for attention on the Internet. By publishing your
domain name on all your other printed advertising material, you can
make people aware of your site and of ways they can benefit from using
the site.
Your web site can serve as an inexpensive way to distribute information
about your firm.
How can people find my site?
There are over 22 million ".com" domains in existence, so
it's extremely hard to make your site stand out. You need to invest
time in finding relevant directories to list your site, and check your
standing on search engines frequently. Search engine placement experts
can help you position your site, but unless your product or company
is extremely unique, your site is unlikely to come up #1 in a general
search.
What sort of portfolio /
presentation materials do I need to have for an effective online design
portfolio?
Your online portfolio should match your existing design esthetic. High
quality images are best. Presentation boards and print portfolios can
be scanned or photographed.
If you are creating your own digital images, avoid using entry level
digital cameras and compressed image formats. We prefer to work with
slides or transparencies, or, if your artwork is digital, with original
TIF or EPS files.
How frequently do I need
to update my web site?
This is a question of judgement but we advise reviewing and refreshing
content at least every six months. You may need to update more often,
depending on your target audience and how frequently they visit your
site.
Computers In Design Inc. offers maintenance plans to all our web design
customers.
Can I update my site by myself?
No matter who hosts your web site, you should make sure you have a
user name and password that gives you FTP
access to upload and download files. To update most web sites, you will
need to be able to edit the HTML files that make up the site. This files
can be edited with any ordinary text editor such as the Notepad application
which comes with Windows, or you can use a visual design program such
as Macromedia Dreamweaver to edit the files.
Sometimes a web site can be designed and programmed so that you can
update portions of the site without knowing any HTML. For example, the
Computers In Design Inc. web site is designed
so that any authorized person in the office can add to the portfolio
sections or class listings through their web browser without knowing
HTML.
Where can I learn about web
design?
There are many, many resources online to learn more about web design
and web programming. You can see a list of
resources we have used here.
You can also take a class. Computers In Design
Inc. offers classes
in web design.
What's included in
my initial web design package?
That question is answered here.
What are the benefits
of having a database enabled web site?
One of the main advantages of having a database enable web site is
that such a site might be easier to update. Imagine trying to update
book listings on Amazon by hand?! If the information and graphics displayed
are your web site are stored in a database, whenever information is
changed in the database, the web site is updated.
Databases are essential to e-commerce sites and to sites that rely
on visitor personalization of any kind.
How will I know the progress
on the design of my web site?
Computers In Design Inc. will give you password protected access to
a special area of our web site, where we will post designs for you to
review and where you can watch the progress of your web site. When you
approve the final web site, we will upload it to the web server where
it will be hosted.
