Designing Websites - Frequently asked questions
Here are the most often asked questions about designing web sites requested by our visitors.
Website Questions Answered:
Where can I quickly learn to build my own website?
Can I build my own site and have you write the stuff I can't?
Website Security Questions:
My forms get filled with junk. Will SSL prevent this?
Search Engine Questions:
What is search engine optimization?
What do I need to do to get top search ranking?
Paid search placement... Does it work?
Ecommerce questions:
Do I need a shopping cart to sell a few items I make?
Do I need SSL to sell online?
ANSWER TO: "Where can I quickly learn to build my own website?"
The keyword here is "quickly". Assuming that you have no experience writing HTML you can quickly learn to build a simple website by using a templated, wysiwyg editor like Website Tonight.
If you are planning a shopping cart, you will want to take a look at the e-commerce answers.
If you want to quickly build a site to simply share information with others, a blog is a fast and easy way to develop a following.
ANSWER TO: "Can I build my own site and have you write the stuff I can't?"
Contact us and describe your need.
ANSWER TO: "My forms get filled with junk. Will SSL prevent this?"
No. SSL encrypts information being sent from point A to point B. Although it will prevent the information from being intercepted, it will not prevent a user from entering junk... or malicious code.
In order to minimize access by automated form filling robots and hackers, a server side validation script that checks what a visitor has entered is the best deterrent.
ANSWER TO: "What is search engine optimization?"
Search engine optimization is the art of designing web pages to be most visible to search engines. Search engines are blind to images and only see text and tags.
Some search engines index pages by keywords, which makes keywords in the meta keyword section and the number of those keywords used in the content of every page critical. Other search engines like Google index on the Meta Title, so critical keywords must exist there as well.
Search engine optimization begins when you choose your domain name. If you are selling widgets, make sure widgets is in your domain name. A failure to adequately optimize a web page for search engine keyword indexing will guarantee that your site will never be displayed on the top pages of any search engine.
The second part of search engine optimization is updating and tracking your keyword information in a methodical, consistant manner. For the submitting and tracking part, we use a professional automated program that generates monthly reports for our clients, so they can stay abreast of how their site is doing.
ANSWER TO: "What do I need to do to get top search ranking?"
Here it is in a nutshell.
- Choose a domain name that includes your main keyword
- Create pages that use keywords multiple times
- Use <H1> tags for headings and include a keyword there whenever possible
- Create a site map and make sure it is linked from your home page
- Maximize text content and use images only where necessary
- Create a links page and get as many other sites to link with your site as possible. (Reciprocal links are fine, but AVOID LINK FARMS like the plague!
ANSWER TO: "Paid search placement... Does it work?"
It depends on what kind of paid search placement you refer to.
If you are referring to Yahoo Directory, it is a must as that link gives weight to other search engine ranking.
If you are referring to the search placements you bid for, the jury is still out. We have had a number of clients try this approach and all of them have told us that they quickly found themselves spending more than they made from the paid placements. We can only say; Be frugal in this approach and stay on top of your return on investment.
ANSWER TO: "Do I need a shopping cart to sell a few items I make?"
Yup. We have yet to find a site that decided to sell just a few items that didn't ultimately get totally out of hand.
My son, who is in a band decided to sell one cd. A full blown Zen Cart was set up for it. Glad we did. Now T-shirts and other accessories are being added, and who knows what will happen in the future. By setting up the cart, right up front, all of the bases are covered and no major changes need to be made, no matter what is added.
So do yourself a major favor. Use a cart. Many like Zen Cart are free and even if you have to pay someone to set it up for you the payback will be many times the initial cost.
ANSWER TO: "Do I need SSL to sell online?"
If you are planning to collect personal information and credit card numbers directly from your website and process them manually the answer is yes, but there are other options.
If you are just getting started, you can create a Pay Pal account for free and Pay Pal will provide the secure socket layer and protect your customer's information and process online payments. They will then charge a fee for each order processed.
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