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I'm
not computer literate - is it worth me having a website?
You
need a website just as much as someone who is computer literate.
It is not your knowledge of computers that is important
- but the fact that your potential customers will see your
website.
The
majority of people in the UK are now computer literate,
and use their computer to find out information about businesses
and suppliers like yourself. Without a website your business
is losing potential customers just because they find information
about your competitors more quickly and easily than they
find information about you. Your competitors may not be
as good as you in your business field, but if potential
customers can locate information on them (but not about
you) then your next customer may go to your competitors
instead.
We
recognise the fact that not everyone wants to know how to
use a computer.
As a comparison, not everyone wants to learn how to drive
a car, but they will still use transport at some time. Whether
it be by car, bus, or train - they will get to where they
are going, but will rely on someone else to do the driving.
You
can still benefit from the internet (a computers transport
highway) by having your own website. Designed, hosted, and
maintained by Image Website Design - you don't even need
a computer because we can look after everything for you!
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Who
needs a website?
The
simple answer is everyone who is in business.
Over the next 5 years, possibly less, it is anticipated
that at least 95% of businesses will have a website. A website
is your internet presence and gives you credibility and
integrity. Effectively it is a tool which sells your business
to potential customers
The main function of a website for the vast majority of
businesses is to provide an on-line brochure for potential
new customers which answers such simple questions as:
Who is this person?
Can I trust them?
What is their standard of
workmanship?
How do I contact them?
What products do they sell?
What services do they provide?
It also serves to make an easy contact for old & new
customers alike. Provide a good contact page, with a contact
form, and you will receive e-mails from customers even when
you are closed, because the internet is working for you
24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
A well designed on-line brochure will bring you credibility,
and along with this it will bring you new customers.
Your website will also multiply the effect of any existing
advertising extensively. When your advert in newspapers
and magazines includes your website address customers can
look immediately at your website. The initial newspaper
advert can only contain perhaps 50 words to attract a new
customer. Your website can contain as much information as
you need to convince them that they need your products or
services.
Most people in the UK now use their computer to find out
information about businesses and suppliers like yourself.
Your competitors may not be as good as you in your business
field, but if potential customers can locate information
on them through a website (but not about you) then your
next customer may go to your competitors instead.
If you would like to see what types of businesses have recently
acquired a website, please take a
look at our Showcase page
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I
want a website, but don't know where to start?
You've
already made the right moves towards developing your own
website, by looking at our website.
Most people don't realise just how easy we can make it for
you to have your website up and running - its simply a case
of following a few simple guidelines.
A website can be viewed as a simple extension of your existing
marketing material. If you already have a brochure, then
that will give you an excellent start in the process of
creating your website. If you haven't yet produced a brochure
to advertise your business then think of a website as being
an online brochure - put your thoughts down onto paper for
what you would expect to see if you were a customer
picking up a brochure for YOUR Business.
The following links will take you to three pages which will
help to guide you, and will give you a head start to creating
your website:
1) How
to create a brief for your website
2)
Deciding
on your Logo
3) Making
your website work
Once you've decided what you need in your website, then
we will convert your ideas into a professional, contemporary
website which will give your business the opportunity to
reach its full potential. Contact
us now, and we will help you to get started.
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Can
I get a Grant to fund my website?
Not
all businesses will be able to obtain a grant, and many
businesses will prefer to fund their website without outside
funding - however
website grants are available for small and medium sized
businesses, which means that you may be eligible for free
government financial assistance towards the development
or redevelopment of a web site.
A grant may be available to cover up to 50% of the cost
of a new website or to improve an existing website by adding
e-commerce.
E-commerce and IT grants usually have a ceiling of £1000,
and this would be more than sufficient to finance a professional
business website.
There are several routes available to you if you are seeking
a grant for your website. A good starting point is to look
at your local council to see what they can offer. Local
authorities in the UK often have small business promotion
schemes where funding assistance with websites may be available.
Call your local council office or have a look at their website
for more information on who to contact in their grant application
department.
For more information of Grant Providers and Grant funding
please
look at our list of Grants and funding bodies for websites.
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When
you design my website, what are your main considerations?
Whether
your website is just 1 page, 3 pages, or 50 pages we make
sure that it is structured with the end user in mind. It
must be quick to load, easy to navigate, and must look professional
- to compliment your company's image.
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What
is the difference between Website Design & Website Hosting?
Website design is the process of creating your website and
webpages, so that they are ready to be viewed on the Internet
Website hosting is providing somewhere (on the Internet)
where your website can reside, so that anyone can look at
it.
Every website which we design is given its own unique domain
name, and we automatically arrange very fast, very reliable,
hosting so that your website is visible on the Internet
24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
To provide an up-market analogy, you can make a short film
which could be used as TV commercial, or to be shown at
the cinema - but no one will see the advertisement until
you pay for it to appear on the television, or cinema circuit.
By analogy the Website design relates to making the film,
and the Website hosting relates to it appearing on the TV
or cinema.
The positive advantage of the Internet is that once your
website is designed, it can be hosted very inexpensively
- regardless of the size of the website, and the frequency
that it is viewed.
We don't sell a design package without the hosting, so you
know that when your website is ready it will be on the Internet
immediately.
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Do
I get an e-mail address with my hosting package?
Yes. You are able to have e-mail such as info@yourdomain.co.uk
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Do
I need a computer / should I buy a new computer?
You don't need a computer, and you don't need to be computer
literate to have a website.
The important reason for having a website is to make it
available to your customers, and potential customers, so
that they can see it whenever they want to know more about
your business.
Many people believe that a website needs to be run from
their own computer in their home or office, and that everyone
visiting the website will be connecting to their home/office
computer to access the webpages - and this is not
the case. The vast majority of websites are actually
hosted on a small number of large computers dotted around
the world. These computers have very good connection speeds
(considerably better than broadband), and allow thousands
of websites to be active at the same time. Only very large
organisations (e.g. Tesco.com) may consider hosting their
own websites - smaller websites are hosted on remote computers.
We will produce your website for you which will stay operational
regardless of whether you have a computer, and regardless
of whether you have access to it.
If
you have a computer then you will be able to view your website,
and will also be able to send & receive e-mails. Your
computer is probably compatible and sufficiently up-to-date,
but we recommend that your computer should be no more than
2 - 3 years old. More information can be found on our page
titled 'Buying
a computer'.
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What
is broadband, and how many people use it?
Broadband is a fast way to connect to the internet. The
number of people transferring from the older & slower
dial-up internet access across to the faster, always-on,
broadband connection is increasing all the time. More information
can be found on our page titled 'Buying
a computer'.
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How
do I make payments to Image Website design?
Before doing any work for you, we will provide you with
a quotation for the work you ask us to undertake. Once the
design work is completed, we will issue an invoice, based
on the original quotation.
We are a small company, and require prompt payment for all
invoices. Payment can be made by cash or cheque - we are
unable to take credit or debit card payments.
Website Hosting & Support is invoiced quarterly in arrears,
for clients paying by standing order. The due date for these
is usually the 3 month anniversary of the contract start
date. Payment is required by the due date and we will ask
you to set up a standing order for these quarterly invoices.
Clients not paying by standing order will be invoiced annually
in advance.
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Are
there any restrictions on website visitor levels, or total
file sizes?
Some hosting companies will restrict websites to a maximum
bandwidth (number of visitors) and a maximum data storage
(website size).
We offer an "effective" unlimited use hosting
service for our clients, which means that your website can
be as large as you would like, and there is also no restriction
to the number of visitors who can access your website.
We can accomplish this because we know the clients we are
selling to, and we have contracted the hosting onto very
fast, very reliable, servers with capacities which will
far exceed the requirements of our client base.
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I'm
looking to setup an on-line shop, can you help?
Whether you want to sell just one item through your website,
or provide a Shopping Cart for people to pick and choose
the items they want, we can help.
An on-line shopping facility can be set up for a very reasonable
cost - don't be put-off by people telling you it will cost
thousands of pounds! We will show you how it can be done
within your website budget. On-line shopping can be slightly
specialised, so please contact us to discuss your requirements.
If you are contemplating selling through the internet you
will probably need a PayPal business account. PayPal
is accepted by thousands of businesses worldwide and is
the preferred payment method for most internet transactions
where the seller does not have a major e-commerce store.
Click
this link to learn more about PayPal - its free to sign
up for a business account, and you are not committing yourself
to anything.
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Will
my website appear in Google searches?
We will submit your website to more than 40 search engines
& directories. However it can take many weeks for your
website to appear in the search results of the major search
engines such as Google & Yahoo - this is normal. No-one
can guarantee top level rankings for your website, although
we will use our knowledge and experience to gain the best
results possible.
Most
of our clients choose this level of search engine submissions
- however, if you require more search engine submissions
then we can offer several package alternatives which can
make your site more widely accessible. Please ask for details.
If
you are interested in further promoting your business and
your website we recommend that you continue to use traditional
advertising methods, acquire inbound links to your new website,
and in addition possibly also use modern methods of advertising
- e.g. Google Adwords (http://www.google.com/adwords/learningcenter/)
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What
content should I put into my website?
Every
website is different and you will choose what you need in
your website. The minimum size for a website can be just
one page, but regardless of size there are certain things
that should appear - even on the smallest website. Every
visitor will want to know how to contact you, so you need
to place your contact details somewhere - preferably on
every page. Also make it clear what the website is about,
and maintain a theme throughout the website. For more information
you can click
here to read our information sheet about Making
My Website Work, or alrternatively read through our
information sheet about "How to Create a brief".
What
ever you decide to place in your website, you can be sure
that Image Website Design will be here to keep you on the
right track.
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Does
Image Website Design belong to any recognised associations?
Our
professionalism is assured - Robert has been a member of
the Institute of Administrative Management since 1989.
 
Image
Website Design is also a registered member of UKWDA - the
UK Web Designers Association. The UKWDA is the largest internet
association in Europe and has more than 8500 members.
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Any
other questions?
If you have any other questions please don't hesitate to
ask us, or why not send us your question using the form
on our "Contact Us"
page
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frequently
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