publishing & promotion

Commonly Asked Questions

Why do I need a Web Site?
Creating a web presence allows you to supplement your current advertising allowing your business to maximize it's exposure. Most consumers may see your ad but don't contact the business. When an Internet user sees your site Address  “http://www.Your_Company.com” they are very likely to visit your site. It is another way to convince the customer that you are serious about your business and communicate more than what you can in a simple print ad. A Web site can also be dynamic, it is very easy to change, much more than any print ad.

How quickly can I get on the Web?
In a matter of days a starter page can be in place. Any final page designs can be set up a test web space for you to look at your design on the web or can be faxed or delivered for approval. Much of the process depends on organizing the content, the words and pictures that will become your site. The development process depends on your participation in this process.

Why do I need a Domain Name Site?
Which one of these domain names options makes your company more distinctive and professsional?

  • http://www.isp_xxxxx.com/~your_name

  • http://www.compuserve.com/homepages/your_name_here.com

  • http://www.aol.com/your_name_here.com

  • OR http://WWW.Your_Domain.com

Are you telling people "I'm serious about my business"? What are the costs and time involved in getting my own domain registration. WHAT is a domain name? Where do I get it? Who owns it? Where can I use it. How does e-mail work with that anyway? Are there scam artists out there who will charge me three times as much as I need to pay to register my name and host my site?

How do I plan for my website?
The order of establishing a logical plan for Internet\Intranet services follows:

Initial Consultation (Client & Webspinit)
- evaluation of ideas; plans and tools needed

    • Determine the site sophistication from simple low maintenance layouts to multi layered interactive sites that can gather information from prospective customers

    • Determine whether you wish to be trained on software\hardware for self publishing or are you wanting delegated site building and maintenance.

You can have web sites that are very simple or complex. The web service should involve points that reflect the thrust of your commercial intent. At the minimum; the points covered here are valid for ANY site whether small or large.

Pre-planning stage (Client & Webspinit)
This involves good old fashioned paper and pencil. You map out a general idea of what you want. That involves discussion and planning what the site is intended to do. Who am I targeting? What am I offering? What is my budget? What response am I looking for? How am I going to know this web site has value and is returning the information\response I want? A domain name is chosen for the site and a proposal for the initial structure is completed.

Set-up Phase (Webspinit)
The set-up phase is the construction of a framework, the server, the domain name and the initial layout for the site. The site might also entail planning for the creation or translation of a database and some programming or scripting. At the end of this stage there will be a foundation for your site design.

Content Phase (Client)
The content phase is the gathering and organizing of the content that will be used on the web pages. This stage is often a critical point where development will not proceed until most of the content is completed. Content should always be provided to Webspinit in final form as additional editing can cost you money.

What can I include in my Web Site?
Almost anything you want. Images, pictures, coupons, text, letters, forms, animations and even files available for your customers to download. Almost anything is possible with WWW Design.

Development Phase (Webspinit)
In this phase the content is placed into pages, adjustments are made for spacing, download speed, meta tags & links. Preliminary testing is done to ensure browser compatibility, link verification and general look and feel.

Client Edits & Approval (Client & Webspinit)
At this time the client has the option of making small adjustments in text as needed. Changes that require more time will be provided for on a change order or charged for on an hourly basis.

Testing (Webspinit)
With the site 95% finished, testing can be completed and last minute adjustments made.

Publication (Webspinit)
Your website will be uploaded to your web space.

Promotion (Webspinit)
With your webspace in place, your site can be promoted to the major search engines. Additional promotion may take place to niche or local search engines depending on your audience. The main factor in establishing a web "presence" is how am I going to get people to come to my site and why will they come. Is what I'm offering relevant? How am I going to make the best of this site. How do I register with search engines? How many are there? (hundreds at last count) See our
Promotion pages for more detailed information.

Completion
Your web site development cycle is now complete! Any additional work that needs to be done should be planned for in regular maintenance cycles.


Where will the site reside?
Do I use a commercial service like CompuServe\ AOL; etc - or should I use an Internet Provider or a Web Hosting Service? Do I even consider setting up my own server? What are the costs of bandwidth? Modems; ISDN; T-1 service? Who is going to maintain all this? Where will I get support on the weekend or late at night? What happens if the server goes down?

Webspinit is partnered with a national web hosting company with an excellent reputation for affordability, reliability and support. We can help you to take advantage of a number of plans and features to suit your site.

Can I maintain my own Web Site?

Considerations
Sure, many tools are available that allow you to maintain your own Web site. Classes are available to teach you the basics at local universities and some are privately available. You may want to use the web to find suitable, economical and convenient classes to fit your needs. Webspinit recognizes how quickly things change on the web and will not make recommendations on any particular class due to the rate of change. Plan on spending a significant amount of time learning and you will need to schedule time to keep current on tools, techniques & technology. Doing a cost benefit analysis on development and maintenance, including wages, benefits, software, tuition & consulting might help you make the decision to delegate your web work. Webspinit's team has many years of experience in business communications, technology, management and graphics which our clients benefit from with fast, functional, well-designed, up-to-date websites.

Tools
Is my hardware and software up to date and efficient in web design work? You need a strong Pentium based machine with 128MB RAM and lots of hard drive space. Webspinit uses a 450 Mhz Pentium II with 6 Gigs of HD space. A smaller user can get by with a 200 Mhz as an absolute minimum. Raw horsepower is a great saver if time is an issue. 56K Modem, FTP dialers for uploading, graphics programs for creating images, web design software for creating sites; relationships with Internet Service Providers that are sympathetic with help and advice; and an eye for marketing that reflects common sense and an understanding of the issues that revolve around bandwidth considerations.

Time & Skill
Who is going to design and maintain this site? Am I going to learn the software and hardware aspects of web building? Do I farm out the work to a specialist; so I can focus on my business? Will outside sources be able to listen to what I want and satisfy my needs? Do I have the extra time to spend? An initial site can take a good forty hours just to conceive and block out initially. Actual design time can take anywhere from a week to a month for a site. Maintenance as an ongoing issue can be a matter of 5-10 hours per week. Can I afford that kind of time?

When you need to have a professional appearance on the web there are many issues to consider. Contact Webspinit for a solid review of your needs and a proposal before plunging in. We will help you analyze the Who\ What\ When\ Where\ Why\ How of getting on the internet before you waste valuable resources and time. When you do get on line; you will be satisfied that a solid, focused and well planned strategy has been mounted to accomplish your goals. Email or call Webspinit at 831-476-9065 for more information.
 

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