Tek-Web F.A.Q.

The world of web design can be a puzzling place.

Information is power - so we have compiled the answers to some of the most commonly asked questions, to empower you to make the right decisions.

If you don 't find the answers you need on this page, please contact us, and we will be glad to give you whatever information you need.

Basics

How much will a website cost me?

Not surprisingly, this is one of the two most common questions we get asked.

The second question is why we don 't post our prices right on our website. Well, the main reason we don 't post our prices is because the answer to the first question is - “it depends”.

This question deserves an answer page all its own, so go HERE to read about our pricing policy.

What domain name should I choose?

This depends on how you are going to use it.
If you are going to be telling people over the phone, choose one that is easy to say and spell out loud.
Above all, try to choose one that is memorable and not confusing.
Often it is a good idea to use your company name, or some variation of it.

What restrictions are there on choosing a domain name?

There a certain words, phrases, and characters that cannot be used.
It must not already be registered.
Although in some cases you can purchase a domain name from existing the owner, this is often an expensive endeavor.
We will be glad to help you with this decision.

What about hosting?

There are several things to look for in choosing a host for your web site.
Click below to read about them in detail, or check out the article HERE...
Read More...

Reliability and speed of access - Not only should the web host be reliable and fast, it should guarantee its uptime.
Data Transfer (Bandwidth) - To give you an idea of the typical traffic requirements of a medium-sized website, most sites that are not used for software download archives or large graphics or video repositories use less than 3 GB of bandwidth per month.
Since your bandwidth requirements will grow over time, as your site becomes more well-known, possibly with links leading to it from other sites, so you will need to also check the hosting company's policy for overages: is there a specific charge per GB over the allowed bandwidth?
Disk space - Most web sites need less than 10 MB of web space, unless they are offering large files (e.g. software or music) for download. If you are offered more space than you need, be aware that you probably will never use the extra space, so don 't let it influence your decision too much when comparing web hosts.
Technical support - Do they offer technical support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (24/7), all year round?
You should understand that things will go wrong from time to time - often at the most inconvenient of times.
And just because a hosting service advertises that it has 24/7 support does not necessarily mean that it really has that capability. Test their support functionality by e-mailing late at night and/or on weekends, etc. See how long they take to respond.
FTP, PHP, Perl, SSI, .htaccess, telnet, SSH, MySQL, crontabs - If you are paying for a site, you really should make sure you have all of these (and if you don 't know what they are, you 'll find the definitions here).
Some hosts do not allow you to install PHP or Perl scripts without their approval. This is not the best scenario because it means that you have to wait for them to do the install, or at least grant the permissions, before you can implement a feature requiring these scripts on your site.
Server - Is the type of operating system the host's server uses important? There are a few reasons for choosing a specific type of server.
In general, if you want to use things like ASP (a Windows-specific development language), you have no choice but to look for a Windows NT/2000/XP machine for your server.
Otherwise it may be better to use the more stable and feature-laden Unix systems running the Apache server.
In fact, if dynamically generated pages that can access databases (blogs, guestbooks, contact forms, mailoing lists, etc) is what you want, using PHP on a Unix-based server will prove to be more portable than ASP.
Another reason to choose Unix-based web hosts (which include web hosts using systems like Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, Solaris, etc) using the Apache web server is that these servers allow you to configure a lot of facilities that you might need on a typical site (error pages, image protection, blocking email harvesters, etc) yourself, without having to ask and wait for your web host to implement them.

Tek-Web is proud to partner with Warp 9 Web Hosting to offer all our clients a seamless integration of hosting into their total order.
Warp 9 meets - indeed exceeds - all of the above requirements, and also provides us with an across-the-board discount for all our clients, as it does for our sister company Alpha Mare Web Services.

What if I want to host the site somewhere else?

The client is free to host their site wherever they choose, and we will help in whatever way we can.
However, Tek-Web may not be able to offer support in certain instances, as each hosting service has their own way of setting up certain applications.

Design

Why is good design so important?

The purpose of web design is to facilitate communication between user and content.
If the user cannot find what he is looking for, you lose him.
If the site is hard to navigate, difficult to read, or even just ugly to look at, you will lose your visitor.

How do you decide on a design?

In order for any web site to be really effective, the designer has to balance the conflicting demands of usability and attractiveness.
We will consult with the client to determine their goals for the site, and then create a design that presents the information in a logical, functional, and attractive manner.
The final approval of the design rests always with the client.

How long does it take?

The timescale of a website design project is often dictated by the client. If you have a deadline in mind we will endeavour to meet it for you. The most common delay in the creation and completion of a new website is waiting for content (text/images) to be sent to us by the client.

What software do you use?

Our designers and developers use whatever software they need to get the job done.
We are always on the lookout for new and useful applications, but we definitely have a few favourites...

HTML-Kit - This is the most-used program by far.
HTML-Kit is a text editor for HTML, XHTML, XML, CSS, Javascript, PHP...
Every piece of code, no matter where it originates, is cleaned up, checked, double-checked, and optimized by hand in HTML-kit before it goes online.

A partial list of others that we use includes:

Dreamweaver
Photoshop
Flash
CFont Pro
JASC Animation Shop
Audacity
PaintShop Pro
AnalogX Capture
Edge Diagrammer
Coffee Cup HTML Editor

Development

What is the difference between a "static" and a "dynamic" site?

A static site is one that is written in HTML only. Each page is a separate document and there is no database that it draws on.
What this means functionally is that the only way to edit the site is to go into each page and edit the HTML - so either the client will have to do it, using a webpage editor and FTP of some kind, or pay someone to go in and edit the site each time they wanted something changed.
A dynamic site is written using more complex code, and it can do a lot more. For instance, there can be an area where the client can log in and change various parts of the site, such as adding or removing products, or changing information. This is possible because each page is constructed based on the information in a database, and the information in that database can be changed via an interface.
Dynamic sites can reduce ongoing maintenance costs for clients who either don 't want to or haven 't got the skills to change things with a webpage editor or with the HTML. They usually cost more to develop, as they require more complex coding and a content management utility needs to be developed to help the client manage the website information.
Another benefit of dynamic sites is that they allow changes only to the content of the site and not the design, so it will not be possible to accidentally break the visual style of the site. Dynamic sites also have benefits when sites start to get very large, as they make data management much more efficient and the site more easily expandable.
Many clients prefer to use a combination of the two types of coding, having some dynamic areas such as a product catalog where they have to change information or pictures regularly, and leaving other pages such as contact information as static pages.

What other kinds of web applications do you offer?

There as many possibilities as there are clients.
For example - Blogs, e-commerce sites, employee time-tracking, webmail, wikis... We can design an application as a stand-alone site, or include it as a part of a larger site.
We will be glad to discuss your needs, and help you determine how to meet them.

Maintenance / S.E.O.

What happens once the site is completed?

We provide full design and development support for any website we design and are always available should the client encounter any problems or require any enhancements.
Any sites hosted with Warp 9 Web hosting through us will automatically receive full technical support as well.

To keep the content current, we offer reasonably-priced web site maintenance and updating, so that the website need never get out of date.

S.E.O. (Search Engine Optimization) is generally included as part of the original quote. Yearly updates are included as well.
Additional S.E.O.updates can be arranged to be completed on a schedule dictated by the client, at a nominal charge.

Some Good Ideas

Do Some Research.
It is a good idea to know what you want before you go looking for someone to provide it. Know your target audience, know what information you want to present to them, know if you want your site to be mainly promotional or if you want to actually sell products online - all these things and more will be useful information to have on hand when you sit down to talk with your designer.
Trust the professionals.
If you went to a mechanic you wouldn't try to argue that a certain part is better than another. Please, if you don't know anything about design or user experience, trust your web designer.
Keep your clients in mind.
If you wouldn't do it to your customers in a real-life place of business, you shouldn't do it to them on the web. Don't make them wait, don't hide information from them, don't blast them with loud music: be polite, welcoming and open.
Remember the "Pick Two" Rule.
Speed. Quality. Economy.
Pick any two.

Some Bad Ideas

Do-it-yourself Free Websites
It is an affront to the senses to endure pop-up ads broadcast by many of the free site providers. Be sure this also broadcasts: "We believe in our business - but we don 't believe it 's worth paying to host our business 's web site. Please ignore those popup windows and enjoy your visit." Remember: anything that gives your viewers a negative experience reflects upon you and your business. Don 't ruin your first impression irritating your viewers to save a few dollars a month.
Get your nephew/cousin/neighbour 's kid to do it
This should really be self-explanatory - but you 'd be surprised how many of our clients bring us half-finished, unprofessional sites they want us to "fix up". Be aware that "fixing up" someone else 's workj is often more time-consuming, difficult anad costly than starting from scratch.
Splash Pages.
People come to your site looking for information. Any delay in getting to that information is an annoyance to them, and can result in lost clients. The web is not a book and websites don't need a "cover".