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What about Graphics?
We encourage clients to provide their own graphics, but we do require a permission
statement from the copyright owner(s), as well as copies of model releases, if
applicable. We offer non-exclusive use of our clipart and stock graphics free of
charge, or we can design graphics specifically for you at our hourly rate.
Who "owns"
the site? All customer-supplied materials remain the property of the
customer. Once the site design is "finished" and the final payment
made, the client retains all rights, with the exception of our clipart or stock
graphics. We do reserve the right to request removal of our logo or
link(s) to our
URL should the client or a third party significantly alter the appearance of the site (we
would hope the customer would contact us first for any changes to the site, for whatever
reason they may be necessary).
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Do I need Internet access to have a home page?
It's not absolutely
necessary; you could run to your local library and check on your site and get your e-mail
(if they let you), sign up for an Internet-based email
account, or get free e-mail through Juno if you have a computer and modem.
This
might be all you need for personal use.
However, if you expect to establish
any kind of web presence for business purposes, you should be Net-savvy enough to know
what else is out there, what your competition is doing, where to find additional
resources, etc., so that you can make informed decisions and focus your marketing approach
appropriately. Most ISPs charge under $20./mo. for unlimited access, and some offer
limited access packages for well under $10./mo. -- hardly an unreasonable expense for any
size business.
If I have you design
my site, do I have to host it with you? No. While we will gladly
discuss our hosting service with you, you are under no obligation. Likewise, you may
design your own site or have someone else do it for you and
still host with us. Design and hosting are two
entirely separate aspects
of our business.
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What goes into
designing a site? A site is made up of
basically the content, i.e., the text on each page, and the
graphics. The graphic site elements include banners, buttons,
your logo, images, background, accent graphics, and more,
depending on your preferences. You may provide us with your own
graphics, select from stock images, or have us create new
graphics specifically for your site.
We prefer to receive the content from the
client, but we will be glad to assist you in its development. Web
site organization, being interactive and non-linear, does not
follow the same rules as organization for print, so it often
takes considerable rethinking and rearranging of existing
materials to make them suitable for the web.
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What is a dynamic
site, and why does it cost so much more than a regular site?
A dynamic site is one where the pages and their content are
generated "on-the-fly". Much of the actual
information used on the web site is stored in a database and
called up as needed. This allows for greater flexibility as to
what content is displayed where and how; for example, product
descriptions may contain all the details on their individual
pages, and only the item name and price in a list of all products
within a category, yet both refer to the same record in the
database. Programming is often based on certain conditions being
met, such as "if this condition is true, then show me this
information, otherwise show me different information."
Dynamic sites are ideal for larger businesses in
need of a sophisticated shopping application, or any other use
where content management is critical.
The development and programming of a dynamic site is
much more complex than writing a few pages in straight HTML. Our
starting price is based on the software necessary to drive the
dynamic site and 20 hours of site and database development, and
actual programming.
An example of a dynamic shopping site would be Select
Seeds
See also our free e-report.
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Why do I have to have a link back to your site on mine?
You don't have to. Having said that, we
make it part of our design contract, but you're welcome to
discuss this before the template approval. This is standard
procedure and gives you a number of advantages:
- Normal email correspondence becomes part of the contract,
and that time is included, as are some minor upgrades. This
can amount to one or more hours a month! Most other design
companies will bill you for every minute they spend on your
account.
- We will soon add an *our clients* section, on which you
will be listed, giving you a link back to your site. Every
link to your site improves search engine rankings.
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Why should I pay you? My
son/daughter/niece/nephew/neighbor's kid got (fancy wysiwyg html
editor) for Christmas and will do it for free! That's great for your personal home page! But let me ask you this: if
you were building a physical store, wouldn't you hire an architect and
construction firm to do this for you? After all, they are professionals
and know the ins and outs of the building trade and how to make sure that your
store is solid. You might even hire professionals to furnish and stock your
shelves and so forth.
Or: can you really consider yourself a professional artist, just because
you've finished a paint-by-numbers picture?
The same applies to commercial online enterprises. For your store to be solid
and successful, you need to hire professionals. Unless you'd rather build
just a roadside stand....
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Please contact us if you have any questions.
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Why should I pay
for hosting? Nothing wrong with the Freebies, and if you're only putting up a
non-commercial "personal" site, you're probably better off. If you have a
for-profit venture with a small niche market and an established clientele, you probably
will do fine with the freebies as well. However -- if you intend to market your site
through the search engines, be aware that many of them won't list it if it is hosted on
the freebies; this includes Geocities and AOL, and many others. Reason: too much
SPAM coming from those domains and too many unreliable
sites.
If you're serious about your business, then your own
domain becomes a "must" -- people simply (for no good reason!) feel more
comfortable dealing with a site at "www.yourbiz.com" instead of
"www.members.isp.com/~yourname/ yoursite.htm" -- besides, it's easier to type!
Especially for small businesses, appearance is extremely important, and your own
URL adds to the professional image.
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My ISP doesn't provide web space (or charges too much). Where can I find a home for my site?
We will be glad to discuss your hosting needs with you. Feel free to
explore the details on our hosting
and hosting
rates pages.
I have a
site I want to host with you, but don't know much about uploading files. What kind
of support do you offer? In the words of one of our customers: "Your support
is phenomenal." We provide an extensive online manual for our hosting customers
and try our best to answer additional questions, troubleshoot, or help you any other way.
Most of this support is provided free of charge, but please realize that our time
is valuable, and if you require extensive help, you will incur extra charges (of which we
will notify you ahead of time).
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How do I know my domain is active/transfer has been completed?
If you are hosting a new
domain, it's really very simple: you can view your pages online anytime after your IP is
live by typing in the number string you are given, but to see "yourdomain.com"
open that address in your browser window. Usually, a new domain name is active
within a couple of days after registration with a domain
name registrar.
If you are transferring a domain, ping your
domain and check the IP address returned. Another easy way to determine
whether a transfer has been completed is to make some minor change to your home page that
only you know of. As with new domains, you can view your site anytime by typing your
IP address into the location box of your browser, but you will only know of
the switch-over if you change the content of your pages in some way. If you need to
cancel a previous hosting contract, please allow up to two weeks for this transfer to be
completed by InterNIC (it can take as little as a couple of days, but rarely so!)
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What do I need to know about registering
a domain?
The domain registration process can be rather intimidating for the
first-time registrant. Here are some terms you need to know:
- Registrar: the company that keeps domain
registration records, accredited by ICANN (an international
organization that oversees domain registrations)
- Reseller: a company that provides registration services by
working with a registrar on a wholesale basis. We are a
reseller.
- Registrant: this is the domain name owner. Can be a
company, organization, or individual.
- Administrative Contact: the individual assigned by the
registrant (domain owner) to handle any changes to the domain
record. Some domain changes require admin approval. It is therefore
imperative that the email address of this contact be kept up to
date, because this is how the registrar will communicate with the
admin contact.
- Billing Contact: the individual assigned by the registrant
to handle any billing questions. Often the same as the admin
contact. Billing only comes into play if you are working directly
with a registrar.
- Technical Contact: the company or individual responsible
for making sure that the domain record points to the right servers,
and other technical details. This is most often the hosting company.
Understanding these terms is important because many hosting companies
will register your domain for you, and put themselves down for all
contacts, sometimes even as registrant. This means that they
essentially own the domain, not you. They control every process
concerning the domain, and if you ever want to switch hosting companies,
they can hold your domain hostage (remember, the admin contact controls
what happens to the domain). Always insist that you are listed as
registrant and admin contact, with your email address.
At Fauna Art Studios, when we register a domain for you, you
determine who will be listed as registrant, admin contact, and billing
contact; your hosting company will be the tech contact (FAS, if we host
the site for you), unless you request otherwise.
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What should I / can I expect from Fauna
Art Studios?
This goes for both hosting and web design:
- Personal attention. Providing excellent service is important to
us, which is why we maintain a small client list.
- Professionalism. Particularly when designing a new site, we work
closely with you and will advise you, so that your site is efficient
and appropriate for your company or business, not bogged down with
the latest, greatest unnecessary bells and whistles.
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