FAQs or Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Domain Name and do I need one?
What is Hosting?
Why don’t you do your own Hosting & Domain names?
What is SEO?
What are Themes?
What are Functions?
What about email?
What about Aftercare?
DOMAINS
What is a Domain Name, and do I need one?
A domain name is the address of your web site, and yes, you do need one.
A domain name is the address of your web site, and yes, you do need one. The TLDs, (Top Level Domains), are the names like xxxxxxx.co.uk, and yyyyyyyy.com, and these two, .co.uk and .com, are the best to have altho’ having a different one is OK.
Buy a domain name from any of the large companies like 1&1, but only buy the domain, no other services or software, at all. If you buy it yourself it is yours, under your control. This is a good thing.
Choosing a domain name can be tricky as quite a few have gone. If the one you want has gone please ask me for advice as there are several considerations that come into play when choosing another.
HOSTING
What is Hosting?
Hosting is the rented space where your web lives, the domain is the address.
Hosting is space on a type of computer the rest of the internet can access directly, which is normally not true of your computer. There are various types of hosting, at various price levels. Please do ask me which will be right for you, as it is easy to get into the wrong sort of hosting. Cheap hosting is cheap hosting and usually not very good. However expensive hosting can often be a mistake too. Please ask.
I recommend very affordable hosting, and to make your life easy, can arrange everything for you. I recommend using an independent host, and independent supplier of domain names, and me as a website maker. This ensures your eggs are in different baskets, and is, I think, good business practice.
Why don’t you do your own Hosting & Domain names?
Two reasons:
1: Really good hosting is an expert field. I recommend the best I know but don’t pretend to be able to do it at that level myself. The same goes with Domains. (I could make a few quid doing it, but earning a few quid by being unprofessional isn’t what I do.)
2: A numpty web developer holding a client hostage with a domain or hosting the developer controls is, sadly, only too common. I despise this, and try to insist that you have all control and ownership of all parts of your website. I resolve these situations about once a month for customers who are having argy bargy with their existing webby-fella. You having control of your website really is best.
SEO
What is SEO?
SEO is Search Engine Optimisation, or trying to make your site more findable than others on Google.
Google, (and the other Search Engines), used automated processes to find your web site and determine what value to ‘rank’ it at. The higher the rank the more people find it. (Forget Page Rank, that’s different and not worth bothering with here). A website will be ranked by it’s Titles, it’s Keywords, it’s Links and above all, by it’s Content. By adding content regularly, with keywords, WordPress can make good ranking easier, (not easy, easier), to get.
SEO is a long term process entailing a lot of work. C21 will start you off and point you in the right direction.
THEMES
What are Themes?
Themes are the designs that give a website it’s look.
An easy way to think about Themes is to think of them as an outfit, a set of clothes. The website is the body and contains everything that functions, but the set of clothes gives it a particular look. Some looks are better than others for different purposes, and the look, or theme can be changed just as an outfit can be changed.
Themes can be from a stock of free WordPress ones, from a huge array of bought in ones, or can be made especially for you. I usually make them for you.
FUNCTIONS
What are Functions, or Plugins?
Functions/Plugins are parcels of ‘bolt on’ code that do special tasks.
The beauty of WordPress is in it’s functions/Plugins. You can do all sorts of great stuff and have a great looking, highly effective website quicker and cheaper than ever before. I will advise the best plugins to use, and how to use them.
But.. I will also advise you not to have too many as they slow a website down and can conflict with each other, breaking important parts of your site. As with many things, moderation is best.
And.. if you want to change a plugin to suit your needs exactly, that’s extra. I’ll quote before I start.
EMAIL
What about email?
It is usually a good idea to use your Domain name as your email name.
Part of a website is you looking professional. And using a joebloggs@hotmail, or jillbloggs@AOL looks unprofessional.
With your own domain name and hosting, (especially if you use a decent host like Vidahost), you get email included in the package. Tell me the addresses you want and I will set them up on the Hosting computer and give you all the settings/passwords etc so you can set it up on your computer.
AFTERCARE
What happens afterwards if I have a problem?
A good aftercare system, with 2 hours of time, is included in the price of the website.
Included in the price, the 2 hours is split into 10 minute segments, so usually is enough to solve or rectify about 12 things. This is an ‘about’ sort of arrangement; and I’ll help where needed.
A ‘How to Use WordPress’ lesson is not part of Aftercare, and is also included in the website build price.
Note: This is an email system only. Replies will almost always be same day.
I reserve the right to charge for phone queries at £25/hour or part thereof.
