Frequently asked questions
Some of the most common questions we are asked are listed below. If you can't find an answer to your question here, then please contact us using our contact form.
About our web design services
- If I ask for a quote, what happens next?
- How long will it take to design my web site ?
- Do you use pre-made templates ?
- What do I need to supply to build a website ?
- Should we put lots of graphics on my pages ?
- Which tools and techniques do you use ?
About our search engine optimisation services (SEO)
- What is a web browser ?
- What is a search engine ?
- How do search engines work ?
- I have a new site but why isn't it in the search engines yet ?
- How do search engines rank a web site ?
- When I type the relevant keywords associated to my business, why doesn't my website appear or why is it very low in the results ?
- Can one get instant results with SEO ?
Website hosting, domain names and site updates
- What is a domain name?
- How do I register my domain name ?
- What is Web Hosting?
- Do you provide Web Hosting ?
- I already have a domain name but no web space?
- What does uploading mean ?
- How do I upload my website online ?
About our web design services
If I ask for a quote, what happens next?
- We first talk to you on the phone or discuss by email to find out your exact requirements.
- We analyse you requirements and make possible recommendations to achieve your web design objective.
- We create a design prototype, along with detailed information about the website : once you are happy with our proposal, we start working on your website itself and give you a realistic end date.
How long will it take to design my web site ?
This largely depends on what is involved, as well as how soon you, as the client, are able provide us with the essential documents, such as copy and pictures. A simple brochure site can be up and running in 1 or 2 weeks. More complex projects can take longer. When we know you exact requirements, we will send you a contract with a realistic end date.
We know that project deadlines are very important : we will always do our utmost to meet them.
Do you use pre-made templates ?
No, we never use pre-made templates because with pre-made templates, your site would end up looking like hundreds of others sites on the internet. At Clifton Web Design, we create each and every website from scratch, so every design we create will be unique.
What do I need to supply to build a website ?
You will need to supply us with the text and pictures you want to appear on your site. The more complete this content is, the easier the process will be. You can supply your text and pictures (e.g. full sized jpegs from digital cameras) via email, cd or diskettes but we are also able to scan them for you. We can also search for pictures or graphics for you on the internet, if you don't have any of your own. It is also helpful, if you have any particular ideas about colours schemes or styles that you want, to tell us as much as possible at the start.
Should we put lots of graphics on my web pages ?
It's essential to keep a balance between aesthetics and clarity : not everyone has a broadband connection, and overly complex graphics take a long time to download, so it's very important to maintain a fast download time so that people on dial-up connections can browse your website without having to wait for ages. However, all the graphics we incorporate on our web pages are optimised for fast-loading time.
Which tools and techniques do you use ?
We usually hand-code our websites using an open-source editor called Bluefish. We code using W3C compliant code and we don't use (deprecated) tables but only CSS. By keeping most of the code on a separate file, this ensures your website is standard compliant (a legal requirement sometimes), loads faster and that your pages are clear and easy to update.
About the world wide web and search engine optimisation
What is a web browser ?
Web browsers are software installed on computers and used to see the pages of a website located on the Internet or stored locally on a hard drive. Some famous browsers are Internet Explorer, Netscape, Firefox, Opera, Safari, Konqueror and Lynx (text-based browser).
Our websites are compatible with all browsers and running platforms (Windows, Mac, Linux ...). We always ensure that each and every website we create is tested to the fullest.
What is a search engine ?
A web search engine searches for information on the public web by sending
out a spider to fetch as many documents as possible. Some well known
search engines include Google,
Yahoo, MSN.
Search engine traffic is considered to be the best traffic a website
can receive, along with printed or online directories : nearly 85% of
traffic to most web sites is found by using a search engine or directory.
How do search engines work ?
Search engines employ the use of spiders to gather information from websites. The spiders continuously crawl websites pages, following the links on the pages.
What does «optimising a website» means ?
It's essential for a web designer to find a balance between several elements : usability (e.g. navigation menu), accessibility,search engine visibility and fast download time. For example, if your website is not accessible, you will lose visitors; if it has a low visibilility for search engines, you will lose potential visitors.
Optimising your website means optimizing your internet business.
I have a new site but why isn't it in the search engines yet ?
It can take a certain time before the spiders used by search engines find your first pages and include them in the search engine's results.
How do search engines rank a web site ?
Every search engine uses a different algorithm for ranking the various websites. An algorithm is a very complicated set of rules that a site needs to adhere to, in order to rank well in the search engine's results.
When I type the relevant keywords associated with my business, why doesn't my website appear or why is it very low in the results ?
This is where Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) becomes important: it
is the process of increasing the number of visitors to a web site by
ranking high in the search results of a search engine. The higher a
website ranks in the results of a search engine, the greater the chance
that it will be visited by potential clients.
By properly designing your website, we will first ensure that search
engines easily find your pages and index them : this is the first (and
an important) step..
However, a «new born website» is usually of not great interest
to search engines in comparison to its longer established competitors
: this is perfectly normal and logical; the process of becoming popular
is time consuming and requires a good knowledge of how search engines
work.
Ethical SEO techniques will improve the chance that the site will be
found by the search engine and well placed : The goal after that is
to have your pages appear in the top results.
We can offer SEO packages from £50 per month, which includes a monthly report on how well your site is doing. To find out more about SEO and how it could benefit your business, please have a look at our Search Engine Optimisation Page.
Can one get instant results ?
Unfortunately, no. Beware : a few SEO firms which promise instant
and magnificent results might use «bad» techniques prohibited
by the search engines that can eventually get websites banned temporarily
from the search engines.
At Clifton Web Design, we never use any
of these techniques, nor do we promise instant magnificent results,
because it is just not possible to promise instant, magnificent results
in a very short space of time. Yes, high rankings take some time to
build up- especially when using ethical (and safer) practices : however,
the benefits will be huge once your website will naturally rank well
in terms of visitors and potential clients.
Website hosting, domain names and site updates
What is a domain name?
A domain name is a unique address which points to your website. Eg.
www.cliftonwebdesign.co.uk.
Many personal sites use only the domain name of their Internet Service
Provider (ISP) but we strongly recommend you get your own domain name
if your site is a commercial enterprise.
How do I register my domain name ?
First, you will need to check if the domain name you are looking for
is available to be registered : you can use Nominet's
free on-line search facility - called WHOIS in order to determine
whether a domain name is available and, if not, the organisation or
person to whom it is registered, and at what time that registration
was made.
Alternatively, most web hosting companies allow you to do the same checking
before you get a webhosting package which will be associated with the
domain name you have chosen.
If you need help choosing the right domain name for your business, we'll be happy to advise.
What is Web Hosting?
Web hosting is the process of renting some web space on a remote server in order to publish your website online. Web hosting companies offer several web hosting packages. We will help you to determine which one is the best for your requirements.
Do you provide Web Hosting ?
We do not provide web hosting ourselves. Quite a lot of web design companies who "offer" web hosting are re-sellers who use the services of a dedicated web hosting company. It is also possible that a design company may not have the technical expertise needed to ensure total reliability. We believe that our clients should have complete control over their website, which means a separate web hosting contract between the client and the host, which doesn't tie you to particular website design company. We will be happy to help you to determine which web hosting company and which web hosting package is the best for your requirements.
I already have a domain name but no web space?
Most of the time, transferring your domain name to a new web server is a straightforward process. In any case, we will be happy to assist you with this.
What does uploading means ?
While downloading is receiving a file from another computer, uploading is the exact opposite : sending your web pages to your webspace so that they can be accessed by the public across the Internet.
How do I upload my website online ?
Uploading your website is a very simple process. It can be done in
2 ways : you can either use the "control panel" which is associated
with your hosting plan (just click on the file you want, to upload it
to you webspace), or use a FTP program installed on your computer. If
you choose the second option, we suggest one of the following programs
:
Mini ftp clients (these ones are light and easy-to-use)
Drop
up Load (Windows) is a very light and simple ftp utility. No installation
is necessary : just copy the DropUpLoad.exe file on your disk and double-click
on it to launch it ! From this point, you can upload your files on your
web space with a simple drag and drop. Our recommended choice.
wlFxp
(Windows, Mac OS X, Linux) is a light and simple ftp utility. No
installation is necessary (note : you need to first install the J2SE
package from Sun to use this utility).
Fully-featured ftp clients
FileZilla
(Windows) is a fast and reliable FTP client and server with lots
of useful features and an intuitive interface. Our recommended choice
for Windows users.
Cyberduck is a robust
FTP browser for Mac OS X with a nice and easy to use interface. Our
recommended choice for Mac users.
AceFTP
is a very easy to use FTP client software.
Linux users can also use one of the numerous ftp programs provided with
their distribution, for example :
gFTP (this utility
is usually provided with your distribution if you're using the Gnome
Desktop Environment or Konqueror on KDE, which incorporates a very simple
and efficient ftp utility.
Any slight tweaks or amendments are carried out to the
site free of charge in the first six months.
All our packages also include up to 2 hours total general Internet orientation
education, Web design consultation, and helping clients learn to use
the ftp software to easily update their website.
