Iles of Design

FAQ's

We receive many questions everyday concerning our services,
as well as general internet usage, and basic Windows operating
system inquiries. Below are a few common questions we have
received, and are displaying here at our website in an attempt to
make your experience with us as pleasant and educational as possible.
Please take a moment to read through the FAQ's below, and if you
still have questions concerning our services, feel free to contact us,
and we will gladly assist you.

Our Services

1. Why should my company have a website?

Your website will:

* Give new & existing customers access to your products & services 24 hours a day

* Increase sales by reaching a greater number of consumers (nationally & internationally)

* Provide customers with current "up-to-date" information (unlike annually printed directories)

* Tell who you are, how you may be contacted, and give directions to your location

* Show up in search engines when buyers search for your products and/or services

Your customers, and potential customers are using the internet to obtain information,
buy products, and establish relationships with businesses. Shouldn't they be coming
to you instead of going to your competitors?

2. What points should I consider before having a website designed?

Follow these guidelines when planning a website, and you will be better able
to communicate your needs to your web designer/developer.

* Determine the objective of your website.

* Define your audience.

* Determine what content you will need.

* Look at other sites for inspiration.

* Develop a rough storyboard for your site to ensure that you have all the components.

* Write up a detailed project description based on the information you have gathered.

If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to ask. We are experts
in the field, and we are here to help you succeed in your business endeavors.

3. What does the average website cost?

All websites are priced differently. We will first have to have a complete understanding
of what it is that you'll require for your website - how much content, functions, enhancements,
graphical content, what your goals for your site are, etc. Please keep in mind that the more
we know and understand about your business, the better we will be able to generate a concept,
and determine a price for you. We will work with you to be certain that you receive the type
of website you desire, and can afford.

4. I have very little experience with the internet. Will I have problems updating
my site when changes are necessary?

Not at all. We will take care of updates for you! As a matter of fact, Iles of Design
has special monthly rates which include regular weekly or monthly updates.
Don't need frequent updates? Contact us, and we will update your site for one
low flat rate!

5. We already have a company site, but our web designer went out of business,
and our hosting services are about to expire. What do we need to do to provide
you with the proper information, so that we can transfer our website to your host?

This is not as difficult a situation as it may seem. We would simply need your user
name and password for access to your domain name. You should have received this
information when you registered your domain name with your registrar. If you do
not have it in your records, it is possible that your old web designer does. If you
are not able to contact the former designer, then you simply go to www.whois.net,
and type in your URL. You will find there the name of your domain registrar.
Simply email them with all of your identification information (name, address,
telephone, and email address), and they will supply you within a few days with
the user name and password associated with your domain name. Iles of Design
will then take that information to complete a transfer of your website from the
old server to our hosting server.

6. What steps should I take in preparing for the launch of the website?

First of all, we will handle all of the technical aspects of the website's launch.
We recommend spreading the word about your website by telling your customers
personally when you interact with them, and by adding the website's address
to your stationary and business cards, etc. That will make your presence
known, and will act as the beginnings of driving traffic to your site.

7. Can each member of my staff have his/her own email address, or will we all have
to utilize the same one?

Yes. Our hosting packages include additional email addresses for each
member of your staff, so everyone can interact with customers from his/her
individual workstation. (yourname@yourcompany.com)

8. I have several printed copies of the business logo, but I do not have any copies
available in file format. How will you get the logo into our site's pages?

If you have high quality printed versions of your logo, we can take one of
those, and scan it with our scanner, and create web friendly file types for
use in your web pages.

9. Does Iles of Design create websites from scratch, or do you use templates?

We do keep an inventory of templates on hand, and only use them at our client's
specific request. Otherwise we create ALL of our client's websites from start to
finish with only YOUR best interests in mind.
All of our designs are original, and creation begins from the time we sit down
with you to discuss the functions and features that you will require.

10. We have a small store which sells handmade pottery and crafts to the public.
We have been told numerous times that we must have an online store put in place
in order to be a truly successful business. Is this true?

Even though we would love to see all of our clients running a full-fledged
successful on-line store right out of the gate, we are aware that most small
independent companies simply cannot afford to invest in the kind of advertising
it might take to alert potential customers of its new on-line presence. With
that in mind, we often recommend starting small with a brochure style website
that describes your products and services, and provides contact and location
information for approximately 6 months to one year. This will allow your
website to become present in the search engines, and will give YOU time to tell
customers about your website, and will increase your daily visitor traffic average.
The longer your website is present on the internet, the greater your ability to generate
consumer awareness and confidence that will have them buying from you on-line in no time.

11. If I choose to go with your services, will I be required to use your hosting services?

No, not at all. If you already have a hosting service lined up, we will still be
more than happy to design your website, and will even upload it to the server of your
choice.

Computer Questions

1. Do you know where I could find keyboard commands for Windows programs?

Yes! Visit this link: Internet Explorer Shortcuts, and you will find most of the available
keyboard shortcuts. These are very helpful when you are at your computer working
for long periods of time, and often alternate between programs.

2. How can I remove all programs from loading when I boot up?

This is a really simple task to perform. In Windows 98 & 2000, simply go to Start --> Run,
and type msconfig in the text field --> click OK --> under the "General" tab select
"Selective Startup", then select the "Startup" tab, and remove checks from the programs
that you do not want to start when you start your computer. Afterwards, click "Apply",
and you will have to restart your computer before the changes will take place.

You may find items in the Startup list that are not familiar to you. Before you deselect
those items that you're not sure of, take the time to visit this website; Pacs-Portal,
and locate each of the startup items in your list (alphabetically) to learn what they are.
Some of the programs may be vital to your everyday use of Windows, so be careful.

3. I have created my own webpage, and was wondering if you could tell
me how to hide my source code from view source in internet browsers?

Technically, you cannot hide your html code from visitors. To display a web page,
the browser has to be able to read the source. Hiding your source would also cause
problems with your search engine rankings.

There are ways to make the source code more difficult for your viewers, such as:

(1) Adding dozens of carriage returns at the top of your HTML page.
All you see is a lot of blank space, but if your visitor keeps scrolling down,
they will eventually find your source code.
(2) Using frames - When you try to view the source code of a page using frames,
all you see is the first few lines of HTML.
(3) You can also use javascript to hide your source by using a .js file containing
all of your code, and then linking to it - sort of like the CSS format.

For me the extra work that goes into trying to hide source code seems pointless,
as any experienced web person will always find a way to either view your source
or recreate your layout, if that's what he/she intends to do.

4. What is cgi, and how can I tell if I have it?

CGI is Common Gateway Interface. CGI is a standard for interfacing external
applications with information servers. Many forms, guestbooks, shopping carts,
bulletin boards, etc. are run with CGI script. Call or email your hosting service
provider, and they should be able to tell you what options are available to you.
Iles of Design utilizes CGI script when necessary, and provides proper hosting as well.

5. How do you code a page, so that the background stays put, and the page info moves over it?

I often use CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) to handle this situation. With CSS, you will simply
place the following line within the HEAD of your html document (without the periods inside the
brackets). This will tell the browser that you are using CSS within your html document:

<.style type="text/css".>

Then you will tell the browser what background image you would like to use, and to "fix" the
background image (again omit the periods in between the brackets):

body {.

background-image: url(graphics/blk_wht_index.gif);
background-attachment: fixed;

.}

<./style>

An excellent source for learning the many ways that CSS can be utilized in your web design can be
found here: Glish.