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Frequently Asked Questions
How long will it take to design my website & put it on the web?
The length of time it takes to design your website depends on a number of factors, including your preferences, the complexity of design desired, number of pages desired, and amount of graphics work to be done. The typical website can be online in a month or less. Two or three weeks is about average.
If you are in a real hurry, it's possible to have a homepage on the internet in less than a week. Please ask me about the time frame for your particular site; I'm very flexible and can meet almost any time requirement.
What are the steps involved in getting a website?
Please see our info page, where this is explained fully.
How much does a website cost?
For a new or redesigned website almost any budget, whether $200, $1000, or somewhere in between, can be satisfied.
Generally speaking, new websites are about $500 for about a 7 page site. Maintenance is done at a pro-rated hourly rate; minor updates are done for free! Please visit my pricing menu for a full explanation of the costs of various sizes of websites. My prices are very competitive compared to others who offer similar services.
Just email me for a customized quote on your project.
I already have a website, but it needs an update.
Can you help?
Certainly! Whether your site is in need of some minor updates (add or edit text or photos, etc.), new pages to match the ones you already have, or a complete redesign, I'd be glad to work with you. Just drop me a line to tell me what your needs are, and I'll quote you a price.
Which websites have you designed?
I've designed a number of sites. You can find a partial list, and links to the sites, on my portfolio page. Several more are forthcoming.
What is involved in making a new website?
Please see our webdesign info page, where more details are this is explained fully. But, in a nutshell...
First, after I discuss your needs & preferences with you, one or more proposed designs are drawn up and presented to you. After your review & feedback, adjustments are made.
From that design, the homepage, and a template for additional webpages are made. The initial design stage includes determining the site owner's wishes, the site's mood, general page layout, site structure, determination of colors and fonts.
You supply text and/or photos to be included in the page. After receiving them I lay out the webpage, deciding where text and photos will go. The text must be formatted, inserting proper HTML / CSS to create paragraphs, bold, italics, line breaks, various font sizes, etc. The formatting of the page must be made to be consistent with other pages on the website.
After the page has been laid out & formatted, it will be uploaded to our website, where it will be tested. Necessary adjustments will again be made. When the page appears complete, we will run it through a validator to ensure that no small errors have been made. When builidng the page I must also design it so that it's readable as intended by the widest possible range of browsers & visitors. When complete it will be linked to the rest of the webpages, and uploaded to your website's server.
What should I put on my website?
A typical website includes a homepage, some information about you or your business, and a way to email you. Beyond that, the sky's the limit. Please see the links at the top of this page (musicians, artists, literary) for some suggestions as to what to put on your site.
Will I get an email address with my website?
Yes! When you register a domain name, and get a webhosting account, you will be able to receive mail using your domain name (for example, you@yourname.com). You can set up a number of email addresses. You will be able to access your mail either on a webpage, or by using an email application such as Outlook Express. It's simple to do, and I'll be glad to help you get it all set up.
Why should I pay for a website when I can use Geocities or MySpace for free?
A professionally-designed website avoids the many pitfalls of free sites and will give you much more credibility and convey a much more professional image.
Having a website created for you that will meet your needs will save you headaches and free you to concentrate on what you do best - being creative and / or running your business. Learn about both types of sites.
Technical Questions
What about Flash sites?
I don't design with Flash, for a couple of reasons. It can be very creative. But it's usually counterproductive, for 2 reasons.
The first is that it's not very friendly to the search engines, which, of course, is how most people are going to find your site. Search engines can only read / index text. They can't deal with Flash.
The second is reason is that web usability studies show that people tend to get frustrated waiting for Flash to load. Even if there's a 'skip intro' link, as often as not they just hit the 'back' button to leave the site, never to enter and learn about everything you have to offer.
Since the goal of your site is to get people to enter it and make a purchase, it should be designed to be as visitor and search engine friendly as possible so as to maximize the possibility of making a sale.
If you really want Flash I could contract with a Flash designer who can design something that can be integrated into the site. However, this will add significantly to the cost of your new website.
What is a server?
Each website's files (webpages, images, etc.) must be located on a web server, which is a powerful computer which is constantly connected to the internet, making your website available on a continual basis. When someone visits your site, their computer downloads the webpages from the server on which it resides.
What is FTP?
FTP, or File Transfer Protocol, is the way that files (webpages, images, etc) get from your computer or mine to a website on the internet. In order to transfer the files, you need an FTP program. FTP is very simple - the process basically consists of opening the program, locating the file on your computer, and clicking on a button to transfer the file to your website. I use WS_FTP. Our web resources page offers links to some excellent FTP programs. Please email me if you have questions about using FTP -- I'd be glad to help.
What is a domain name?
A domain name is an address on the web, for example, quantawebdesign.com. Your domain name might be your personal name, the name of your business, a nickname, or something else. Most domain names end with a .com extension, however, extensions such as .net, .org, .edu, and .gov are also used. Domain names are subject to availablility. More about domain names...
What is a URL?
A URL is the complete website address, usually beginning with http://, followed by www., and ending with your domain name. The complete URL for this site is http://www.quantawebdesign.com.
What does it mean to validate a webpage?
The W3C validation service checks HTML & CSS documents (webpages) for conformance to HTML & CSS standards. W3 (Wold Wide Web Consortium) is the body that sets the standards for use of these languages, in which webpages are written. By validating a webpage, one can be sure that it's written with no errors, and therefore will display as intended. The W3 validator is to webpages what spell check is to written documents. Each page I create is validated as it is finished. W3 awards the following certifications to pages which have passed the validation process.
What is a quanta?
Quanta is the plural of quantum, the smallest quantity of radiant energy. Cool, huh?
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