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Home  Pointers Articles |
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 Learn how your Website can do much more than you ever thought  |
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| 10 Good Reasons to have a Website! |
1 - Identity
Let people know your name, who you are, where you are and what you do. The information superhighway has no geographical limit. It is open 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. If you are not there, potential customers may not know that you even exist. |
2 - Product and Service Information
Exposure is the key, and information is a powerful marketing tool. Educate the public with detailed information about why and how they can benefit from using your products and services. |
3 - Search Directories
Internet surfers often use search directories to access information by locations, topics or keywords . . . How can you get listed in the directories and be accessible to the public when you don't even have a web page? |
4 - Broader Customer Base
Your Internet presence exposes you to a greater number of potential customers whether you want it to be local, regional, nationwide or worldwide. |
5 - Point of Contact
Use your web site as a store front where potential customers can enter and find answers. Here you provide names, numbers, addresses and directions to allow people to get in touch with you. |
6 - Valuable Input
Your web site can allow quick feedback from customers. Comments and suggestions are valuable input to improve your business and customer relations. |
7 - Greater Image
Greatly improve your professional image with your domain name (www.yourname.com) printed on your
business cards, stationery and advertising material. Tell people that you really mean business. |
8 - Flexible Tool
Once your business is online, you can use your web site creatively as a flexible marketing tool. The only limit is your imagination. You can add and expand your site to perform additional task as you grow in the future. |
9 - Low-cost Investment
Your web site is truly low-cost advertising. It is a marketing tool you can use again and again for years. Please compare the contents and the cost of your web site with advertisements in newspapers and magazines monthly, quarterly and yearly. |
10 - Why Not?
Today you see web site addresses shown everywhere on all kinds of media. Many businesses now have web sites, and web sites are here to stay. In fact, it's very noticeable for you not to have a web site. |
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| How to work with Web Design Companies to get your site done? |
I know someone who can make websites. Why should I pay extra to a professional company?
We believe a website should reflect the same quality and character that your customers experience when they come to you offline. Choosing a professional companyl ensures an organized, well maintained website that will reflect your current marketing strategies. Some of the problems you may experience when choosing an ametuer to design your web site can include broken links, unorganized information, large unclear graphics, unclear navigation, and little to no online promotion once the website is complete; it can also be very time consuming and frustrating. |
What do I have to do or supply to have my website created?
You will need to supply us with the content, be it text and/or images that you specify. You will not need to organize it, or lay it out or format it in any way, just make sure to give the text to us in a readable format likeMS Word, MS Excel, MS Notepad etc; we will handle the rest. After supplying us with this information you will be contacted on occasion to confirm or make changes to our work in progress. |
How long will it take before my website is live online?
We aim to complete your project in approx 4-8 weeks after we have all the required information and cleared payments. Large databases will take longer. You should expect visitors 6-12 weeks after your website has gone live (only if you have chosen search engine optimisation). This time scale may vary depending on the search engines chosen and their current criteria which can change on a weekly |
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| Learn about Domain Names, TLDs, IP Address etc.. |
What is a Domain Name?
A Domain name is a unique alphanumeric name used to identify a particular computer (i.e. web server or mail server) on the Internet. Domain names allow Internet users to type in a name, such as signdomains.com, to identify a numeric address such as 208.17.50.203. It acts as an Online Brand or unique identity on the web. No two parties can have the same Domain name.
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What are the valid characters for registering a Domain Name ?
The domain name must conform to Standard rules for domain names:
Only characters in the range of A to Z, 0 to 9 and hyphen are allowed.
Names cannot begin or end with a hyphen.
The maximum length is 63 characters (exclusive of the .com, .org, .net, .info, .biz portion). |
Why do I need a Domain Name?
A Domain name is your identity on the web. To promote yourself and your business on the web, it is highly recommended have one. Worldwide, people can visit your website online and can know about your business through your site. |
What are the different components of a domain name?
A domain name is a combination of two or more words. The last word is called "Top Level Domain". A Top-Level Domain (TLD) is the suffix that is attached to the end of a domain name. For instance, in the domain name, signdomains.com, ".com" is the TLD. Generic Top Level Domains (gTLD) such as .com, .org, .net, can be registered by anybody. To the left of TLD comes "Second Level Domain"(SLD). e.g. in 'signdomains.com', signdomains is the second level domain, '.com' is the TLD. One can also have 'my.signdomains.com', here 'my' is called the host name or "Third Level Domain". |
What is the difference between the 3 TLD's i.e. .com, .org and .net?
There is no significant difference between the 3 TLD's. These are just a few options and you can even avail all of them as 3 separate domain registrations. |
Who can register a Domain Name?
Any entity such as Individuals, Organizations, ISPs, Corporates, Resellers, etc in any type of profession can register a domain to get a recognition on the Internet. |
Who is a Registrant?
The Registrant is the individual or organisation who registers a domain name. This person, after certain conditions are met, and upon payment of the registration fees, holds the right to use that specific domain name for a specified period of time. This person is the "legal entity" bound by the terms of the Registration Agreement. The Registrant is in technical terms the "SLD holder". This stands for the holder of a Second Level Domain. |
Who is a Registrar?
A Registrar is an organization that registers domain names on behalf of a Registrant. Signdomains.com is a Registrar. Registrars must receive accreditation from ICANN and be technically certified by the Registry before they can register domain names in the Registry. |
What is an IP address?
An IP address is a numeric address associated with every computer on the Internet to identify its location. As an example it is much easier to remember signdomains.com than its IP address, which could be 208.17.50.203 (IP stands for Internet Protocol). |
What is Domain Name System?
Domain Name Server(DNS) translates alphanumeric domain name to its numeric IP address that a computer understands, i.e., DNS will translate www.signdomains.com to 208.17.50.203, its IP address on the web. |
What is Universal Resource Locator?
Universal Resource Locator (URL), referred to as web address is a unique identifier of your Internet address. An example is: http://www.designeri.in |
How long does it take to register a domain name?
As soon as we receive the payment we initiate the process of Domain Name Registration which takes upto 48 hrs to fully take effect and show up on the WHOIS query. Please be assured that you (the one who has applied for domain name) have been reserved as the Registrant and the name cannot be used by anyone else. |
What is the Registry?
Registry is an entity that receives Domain Name System (DNS) information from domain name Registrars, inserts that information into a centralized database and publishes the information on the internet so that domain names can be found by users around the world via application such as the World Wide Web and email. |
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| E-Commerce and Online Selling |
What will be required to create an online store?
In order to set up an e-commerce website you will need an Internet Merchant Account (speak to your bank for more details). The next step is to decide if you would like credit card transactions handled automatically by your website or you would simply like your website to collect the credit card orders for you and allow you to take the payments manual (which means you will handle the transitions using a PDQ machine). Once the decision is made we develop the site to your specifications. |
Is it difficult to update product lists and categories?
No, we will create an easy to use administration section for you that is accessible by user name and password from any location with Internet access. You will be able to add, delete, and edit information on your website in real-time. It is very simple to use, much like filling out an online form. |
What if I don't have the time to keep up with online orders?
This is something that you must be prepared for before offering products online, however, don't expect the rush of orders that you see on Fed Ex commercials. The average website will receive 5-7 orders per week depending on the product/s being offered and the amount of exposure you create. |
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| Promoting your website on the Internet |
What is Website Promotion?
Web Site Promotion entails search engine submissions, strategic links, strategic copywriting, banner ads, opt-in email, client retention marketing, affiliate programs, press releases, sponsorships, strategic domain purchasing and much more, all designed to bring your website into as many areas of a search engine or directory as possible. |
What is a Directory?
As the name itself suggests, Directories organise Internet sites by subjects, so that the users can select a subject of their choice and browse through the list of resources in that category. Users have to tunnel their search until they reach the goal. Directories are built by humans rather than by computer programs. |
What is Search Engine Optimisation?
Optimising your site for Top ranking "Search engine optimisation" is the process of ranking your site on the Top ranking lists. Its the process of preparing and indexing your web site with Search Engines and Directories with the goal of achieving the highest possible rankings for a given keyword or phrase so that your web site is accessible to search engines and focused for a given keyword or phrase that will help and increase your chance of getting listed in Top ranking list and bring in Internet traffic |
What is Search Engine or Web Service?
A search engine is termed as a 'Web Search Service’, which uses tools that help find information on the Internet. They are used to find specific information using ‘keywords’ on the World Wide Web! Search Engines are also called 'Spiders' or 'Crawlers' that use programs, which crawl through websites and gather information about each site and creates a database of web pages. When a query is submitted, it scans the databases and provides a list of web addresses that matches your query. |
What is the benefit of submDesignerIing my website to Search Engines and Web Directories?
Traffic you receive from search engines is already targeted. Visitors arriving at your site from search engines have entered a keyword relevant to your site, so they are already interested in your product or service. This is the best source of potential customers you can have. Search engines are free to users. Search engines are the number one way where users find new sites. Surveys show that over 85% of users rely on search engines to locate information on the Web. |
What are Web Spiders or Web Crawlers?
A spider is a program used by a search engines to index the World Wide Web content. Spiders captures specific information about a page, some capture the title and the first 1,000 characters of content, some captures the title and "description" meta tag, some look for only the keywords and some use the combination of all of these methods. |
2 - Product and Service Information
Exposure is the key, and information is a powerful marketing tool. Educate the public with detailed information about why and how they can benefit from using your products and services. |
What is a web site Hit?
The number of times a web site is accessed; normally the usage is hits per day |
What are Search engine Keywords or phrases?
"Keyword" or "Key phrase" is the word or a phrase someone enters into a search box of a search engine to find whatever they are looking for. While optimising a web site for top rankings on search engines it is important that the site is optimised for the most important keywords and phrases |
What are Doorway Pages?
A page designed as an entrance or gateway page or welcome mat page to a website. Doorway pages are specifically created to rank high on search engines, but in recent times even these are not recognised by some search engines. |
What is the term Link Popularity?
The number of 'quality inbound links' to a website is termed as Link Popularity. The link popularity is determined by the number of web sites that are linking to your site, the similarity of the content on sites that offers link to your site. The other terms synonymous to Link Popularity are Reciprocal Links or Link Exchanges |
What is a Meta Tag?
META tags are a very important HTML component if you wish to achieve good search engine performance. META tags provide these search engines with the title, description, and keywords of each page on your site. |
Do I need Meta Tags?
Yes. These tags help search engines with placement. Without these tags, your site would not rank nearly as well. |
How will people find my web site?
Your pages must be built properly and they must be registered in various search engines, directories and link lists, in order to have maximum exposure. When we have been instructed to we will design your site and carefully consider how to best maximize it's visibility to the search engines, crawlers, spiders and robots. We use special wording and keywords in the page title, page text and in special tags within the HTML code, which aren't visible to humans reading the page. These, and other techniques we employ, assist the automatic search routines of the crawlers, spiders and robots, such as those used by Alta Vista, to get your site listed properly. |
What is the time frame to see some results?
You will notice immediate results if you have opted for ‘sponsored links’ these are paid for in advance and will appear in a highlighted colum on the given search engine. In general, however, the average time between the promotion and seeing your listing is approximately 6-8 weeks, this varies greatly depending on which service you have contracted us to implement. |
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| Useful Concepts about Web Hosting |
What is Web Hosting?
For a website to be made available on the Internet, it has to be 'hosted' on a web server. Web hosting provides a home to your website on a web server to establish your presence on the Internet. Each website has its secure web space as well as its own unique Internet address and email accounts. The unique address is called a domain name such as www.yourname.com. |
Are Web hosting charges levied on a monthly or annual basis?
The Web hosting charges are levied on an annual basis, to be paid lump-sum at the time of registration of web space. |
Is it essential to have a Domain name before I think about hosting?
Yes, you are required to have a Domain name before you can host your website. |
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Questions & Answers 
