The Internet is a powerful marketing medium that can no longer be ignored. Although everyone knows that they need to be
online, many don't know what questions they should be asking in order to make an informed decision when choosing a web design, hosting, and marketing company.
Whether or not you currently have a web site, this information can increase your bottom line. Having a site designed is only the first step. Effective promotion is the crucial, yet often overlooked, second step. You would never open a business without
advertising, right? These are the questions you should be asking:
Click on any question for more information.
- Will my web site have its own domain name (www.yourcompanyname.com)? At what charge?
It 's important to know that having your web site within another company's domain name will severely limit your Internet success (e.g. www.somecompany.com/yourcompanyname). You will get much greater exposure by having your own domain name and it presents an image that your business is progressive and serious about online communication.
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- Will I have a dedicated IP address for my web site? At what charge?
IP stands for Internet Protocol. IP addresses are four sets of one, two, or three digits separated by periods. They define the Internet address of the particular machine pointed to by the URL. For example, 72.32.78.168 is the dedicated IP address for www.innovativeconnections.com. If you type this in the address box, it will take you to our homepage. Domain name servers try to translate domain names into IP addresses. Some hosting companies will put many domain names on one IP address in order to save money. Obviously, this creates more work for the servers while trying to locate your specific domain name. This can increase download times, error messages, potential problems, and recovery times.
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- Are there any setup fees? At what charge?
Many companies charge one time fees to set up your account. They may also charge fees to set up particular features such as a shopping cart system. Make sure you ask about this ahead of time.
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- Can I have an electronic form customized for my business? At what charge?
An electronic form allows you to gain specific information from your visitors so that your responses are quicker, more professional and more productive. This definitely gives you a competitive edge.
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- Will visitors receive an immediate reply thanking them for filling out my electronic form? At what charge?
By providing an automatic reply, your customers are assured that their information was received and that you are a company who appreciates them and are committed to quick response times.
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- Can I display color photographs? At what charge?
A quality picture can sell your business. There is no other advertising medium that allows you the opportunity to display color photographs at a high quality for a low price. Don't miss this opportunity.
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- Can photographs have thumbnails linking to larger photographs ensuring fast download times? At what charge?
A thumbnail is a very small version of the actual image. This is a great time saver for your visitors. By having a thumbnail, you can set up the page so that visitors can click on the thumbnail image in order to see the full size picture. Your visitors will appreciate having a choice. They can click on the thumbnail if they want to wait for the picture to download. This should be standard practice for any professional web site design company. Click the thumbnail below for an example.
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- Can I have a counter on my homepage showing how many times my web site has been accessed? At what charge?
At a quick glance you always know how many times your information has been accessed.
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- Can I have a link to an interactive map that will give customers directions from their home to my business? At what charge?
This is a great tool which allows customers the opportunity to quickly access and print out precise directions to your location.
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- Will you offer ideas on how I can promote my web site? At what charge?
Any professional company should be able to offer ideas based on your type of business.
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- Can you tell me ways in which I can use my web site to reduce business expenses and save time? At what charge?
This should be one of the first considerations when developing an action plan and should be prevalent throughout the entire planning process.
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- Can you host my web site? At what charge?
Every web site must reside on a server with a high-speed, 24 hour connection to the Internet in order for it to be accessible on the World Wide Web. A professional company will own its own servers which are monitored 24X7 by a live person. The servers should be housed in an environment built specifically for computers with the highest communication connections available. Hosting companies should also have a series of server backup strategies, including off-site storage.
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- Can I have a shopping cart to sell products and services online? At what charge?
The Internet is a highly effective way to sell both products and services. This levels the playing field and allows you to compete in a global market. A shopping cart system is a software program similar in concept to a shopping cart at your local grocery store. A professional shopping cart system will seamlessly organize and handle all the details of adding items, calculating costs, figuring tax, etc.
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- Can I accept credit card payments on my web site? At what charge?
By accepting credit cards online, customers will find you easy to do business with. Remember, today's consumers demand convenience.
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- Do you provide a secure server that protects credit card transactions? At what charge?
Without this feature you cannot offer visitors the security needed to protect credit card information.
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- Do you provide email forwarding accounts? At what charge?
Email sent to your domain name will be automatically redirected into your existing email account.
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- Can I have email autoresponders? At what charge?
Visitors will receive an automatic reply in their email after sending you an email.
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- Can my web site be updated so I can test new marketing strategies and keep it current? At what charge?
Web site content should change often in order to give visitors a reason to return. A web site is the only type of advertisement that can offer this kind of flexibility, you should take full advantage of it. It's a great avenue for testing new marketing strategies.
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- Will my web site be submitted to search engines and directories? At what charge?
The search engines and directories will be your primary source for new web site visitors. The success of your
web site will very much depend on your inclusion on a variety of search engines and directories. Each search engine has their own set
of rules and ranking criteria. If submissions are not made in accordance with these rules, your
web site may be permanently rejected. Web sites should be submitted on a regular basis for optimal results.
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- Will my search engine submissions target a variety of markets? At what charge?
At the beginning of your web site planning, your goals and target market should be clear. Your web site should be built around these goals based on the various ranking criteria of the search engines.
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