Website
Domain Names
How Do I Know If The Domain Name I Want Is Available?
Do I need my own domain name to have a Web-site?
When will my domain name be active?
Website
Design & Web Development
What costs are involved with establishing a website?
What is the difference between web design
and web development?
Who owns the final copyright on a completed website design?
Do you redesign existing websites?
Website
Content Management (Updates & Maintenance)
What access and control will I have to update and manage my Web-site?
What
is CMS?
Website
Business Preparation
What preparations does my business need to make to get online?
What is the process in creating my web site?
How long does it typically take to build a site?
How much input do I have?
Billing
What is a website going to cost me?
What methods of payment do you accept?
Additional
Services
Do you offer design or programming assistance?
Search
Engine Optimization (SEO)
What is the process of optimizing a web site
for search engines?
What is Pay Per Click and how is it different than Search Engine Rankings?
Do I need to link to other sites to get good
rankings?
How long before I achieve an improved position within search engines?
How long does search engine optimization last?
If I stop using your service after my initial campaign will I lose all
of my rankings?
How much does an SEO campaign cost?
How important are incoming links to a website's
search engine ranking?
Internet
Security
What is SSL?
What is HTTPS?
Non-Profit
Organizations
I have a nonprofit organization with a limited
budget. Can you help?
How Do I Know If The Domain Name I Want Is Available?
Use a Whois domain
name lookup form such as provided by Godaddy.com.
This Whois form will check for ".com," ".net," ".org", ".lnfo" ".biz" ".us" and ".ws" extensions.
This form can help you select a domain
name for your company by combining descriptive words that you enter and checking
the availability of these combinations.
Do I need my own domain name to have a Web-site?
Yes. Avtec Media can register
your domain name for as low as $7.95 per year. With your own domain name, it
will be your trademark on the web and will provide a much more professional appearance
for your web site.
When will my domain name be active?
Once your domain name has
been registered (or transferred, if applicable), it usually takes about 24 to
72 hours before it becomes visible to all users of the Internet. All Internet
providers must update their records (DNS tables) to reflect new site locations.
This process is called propagation.
What is the difference between web design and web
development?
Web design is a term reserved for the actual graphic/interface design
and branding of your website. Web development includes all other services involved
in producing a website (server maintenance, programming and scripting, database
integration, information architecture, navigation, content management, etc.)
Who owns the final copyright on a completed website design?
All final copyright on a completed website design lies solely with you the client.
At
times, we may use independent stock photos or graphics which others may share
additional rights of use.
Do you redesign existing websites?
Yes. In fact, website redesigns are one of our most common requests
from clients. We can assist you in creating a fresh new look and feel for your
website, which includes migrating all of your existing web pages and content
into the new design. As an option of a redesign project, we can also optimize
the website for search engines and implement a content management system so you
can easily manage and update the website yourself. If you choose a new host for
your website you may realize cost savings
as well as a variety of convenient account features such as tracking visitors
to your website, managing email accounts, monitoring your position in search
engines, and much more.
What costs are involved with establishing a website?
There are four cost elements involved with developing a website and putting
it on the Internet.
1. Purchase a domain name (website
address)
You must register and purchase a new domain name with a certified
registrar. We can assist you in this process and provide you with a new registered
website address for as little as $7.95 per year.
2. Establish a website hosting account.
You must pay a monthly fee to have your website hosted on a server
(high-powered computer) so it can be made available on the World Wide Web.
Think of it as how you pay for telephone service so your phone number can be
made available to other callers. We can assist you in this process ... please contact us about hosting.
3. Website Development, Design
and Start-Up Costs.
This refers
to paying a website design firm to create the website and register it with Internet
search engines. Included in this fee, at
no cost, is advice or help in marketing your website. Your website's final costs
vary and are proportional to the site's size and capabilities. Contact us for
a free price quote. (We recommend never building a website without a fixed cost
quote in hand.)
4.
Editing, Updates and Maintenance
The cost for this depends on whether you outsource the work to a development
agency such as Avtec Media or whether you do it yourself. We offer maintenance
contracts for a fixed price as well as per-project maintenance which is
charged by the hour at our standard rate. We can also offer you the ability to
take full control over your website without having to rely on outside sources
and fees to maintain it. Learn more about our Content
Management solution.
What access and control will I have to update and
manage my Web-site?
You have unlimited access via FTP and through the File Manager associated
with your website account 24-hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. You
can create and maintain your Web pages on your own computer and upload files
to your Web site at your leisure. If you choose our Content
Management solution you will be provided with easy-to-use software
that will allow you to take complete editorial control of your website, without
having to know any HTML or needing any programming skills whatsoever. Our Content
Management software is easier to use than Microsoft Word.
What
is CMS?
A CMS is a ContentManagementSystem. Today it most commonly means WebContentManagement,
sometimes called (WCM).
What preparations does my business need to make to
get online?
You will need a registered domain name (www.you.com) and a website hosting account.
We can assist you in registering your new domain name (for as little as $7.95
per year) and we can assist you in setting up your website hosting account (for
as little as $7.95 per month). Setting up both accounts may take up to 72 hours
time before your new website address will be live on the Internet.
For the design and content of your website, brochures, logos, photographs, business
cards, etc. are all great resources to provide your designer. In most cases,
you will be able to email these to us. For new businesses we can help
you get started from scratch. Need a logo? We provide logo
design services. You will have a dedicated person
to answer any questions during your website project. At Avtec Media, we work
together with you to help answer these questions.
What is the process in creating my web site?
Our first step is to sit down and determine your goals and needs for the web
site. We then agree on specifications and a project plan which are used to measure
the final product and delivery schedule. You provide as much of the content (logos,
images, photos, text, product descriptions, etc) as you can and we provide the
remainder. The plan supports interaction and agreement at each milestone of the
project.
How long does it typically take to build a site?
There are many factors that determine the time required to complete a website.
Size and the complexity of the design and functionality determine the average
time of development. On average it takes approximately 3 to 6 weeks (for a basic
site) or anywhere between 6 to 8 weeks (for a large complex site) from the date
we begin the process to your website being posted live on the Web.
How much input do I have?
We welcome your input! The more input we receive from you the better able we
will be to satisfy your needs and produce a site that will have the desired look
and impact that you want. It's your website, we want it to look the way
you want it. We guarantee it!
What is a website going to cost me?
The factors that we consider
when estimating the cost of a website are:
- The amount, nature and authorship
of the content
- Complexity and nature of design (standard graphics vs. multimedia)
- What functionality is required.
- Degree of Internet search engine competitiveness
desired.
- Project delivery schedule.
Due
to the uniqueness of each website when determining each of these factors, it
is very difficult to provide package based pricing. But in general, a brochure
web site designed to promote and create an initial presence on the web with
contact features and up to 10 pages of content and standard search engine
optimization would cost approximately $2,500.
What methods of payment do you accept?
Accepted methods of payment are: personal and business checks, money orders,
cashier's checks, cash, and wire transfers. Note: If you pay by check, money
order or wire transfer, payments must be in US currency and these accounts will
not be setup immediately. There will be a slight delay.
Do you offer design or programming assistance?
Yes, we design custom personal web sites, business web sites and we also specialize
in re-designs and make-overs of existing web sites. We can also provide custom
programming assistance for our customers, charged at a per project fee. Please
email us with your requirements and the scope of your business or project. We
will evaluate your request and provide a timely response. Avtec Media can also
design business web-sites that include a complete e-commerce solution.
What is the process of optimizing a web site for search
engines?
Our process begins with a complete analysis of your site including:
- Website architecture
- Search Engine robot accessibility
- Keyword research
- Keyword competitiveness
- Link popularity
- Current use of meta tags
- Presence of sitemap, robots.txt file
- Current use of alt image tags and body tags
- Analysis of competitor web sites
- Validation of XML Site Maps for Yahoo, Google and MSN
- We then design an effective plan of optimization, develop
and submit the site. The process is iterative until we gain the results we seek.
How long before I achieve an improved position within
search engines?
You will receive improved results within 90 days of submitting
your site to search engines.
Each search engine varies in the time it takes to index your website - some take
2 days, some take 2 months, therefore 90 days is the average time before realistic
results are witnessed.
What is Pay Per Click and how is it different than
Search Engine Rankings?
Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising is exactly what is implied by the name - you
pay for each visitor's "click" to your website. PPC is sponsored advertising
offered by various search engines. When you open a PPC account with a search
engine you select and purchase keywords that will appear in sponsor results on
the pages of the search engines funded with your your pay-per-click account.
These results will appear in highest to lowest bid order, limited by the top
6 - 8 results (search engine dependent). "Search
engine rankings" are accomplished by Search Engine Optimization. These
(organic listings) are results displayed by the search engine which have not
been purchased and are derived by optimizing your website to conform to the search
engine's algorithm for "ranking" sites. A site with a high ranking will achieve
a position at the top of the search engine's results page.
Do I need to link to other sites to get good rankings?
No, but you do need links from other sites to yours to achieve good ranking results. In
most cases, if a website links to your website, they will require that you return
the favor by linking your website to their website.
How long does search engine optimization last?
SEO campaign results are typically good for up to 90 days. As new websites
enter the search engines, results may constantly change. At times, search engines
can also change their algorytms without notice, which can cause your results
to suddenly change as well. As a result, SEO is an ongoing process. A monthly
maintenance program is essential to realizing the full potential of your SEO
investment and continuing to maintain or improving your rankings. We also strive
to find additional keyword potential when engaged on a maintenance program.
If I stop using your service after my initial campaign will I lose all of my
rankings?
Possibly. There are too many variables involved in SEO to answer with a simple
yes or no. However, it's a fact that search engines respond positively to sites
that are active and include fresh changes and continuous link building. Again,
a monthly maintenance campaign is essential to an effective internet marketing
campaign.
How much does an SEO campaign cost?
Our campaigns vary according to the work that needs to be done, the competitiveness
of the keywords and the number of pages that need optimization.
How important are incoming links to a website's search engine
ranking?
Top rankings on Google, Yahoo and other search engines are
only possible if you have optimized web page content and if you have good incoming
links. To get high search engine rankings, your web site must have both.
For example, Google sorts web pages based on their content. If more than one
web page has been optimized for a search term, the results are ranked based on
the number and the quality of the incoming links (Google has recently explained
that procedure in an official statement). Whenever search engines update their
search engine algorithms, they consistently try better ways to find web pages
with good content and many recommendations (incoming links). Incoming links establish
the reputation and popularity of a website, which according to Google, is extremely
important to the validity of a page ... and ulimately the page's position in
the search engines results pages.
What is SSL?
The SSL (secure socket layer) protocol is
the web standard for encrypting communications between users and web sites. Data
sent via an SSL connection is protected by encryption, a mechanism that prevents
eavesdropping and tampering with any transmitted data. SSL provides businesses
and consumers with the confidence that private data sent to a web site, such
as credit card numbers, are kept confidential. Web server certificates are required
to initialize an SSL session.
What is HTTPS?
The https: URI scheme is a URI scheme which is equivalent and
syntactically identical to the http: scheme normally used for accessing resources
using HTTP. Using an https: URL indicates that HTTP is to be used, but with additional
security measures applied to the transactions. This system was invented by Netscape
Communications Corporation to provide authentication and encrypted communication
and is widely used on the Web for security-sensitive communication, such as payment
transactions.
I have a nonprofit organization with a limited budget. Can you help?
Avtec Media extends special discounts to nonprofit organizations. We
will help you in each step of the process to minimize your expenses. For more
information, please contact
us.
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