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Frequently Asked Questions About Professional
Web Design
Answers to commonly asked questions about web design, web hosting and search engine placement.
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Why
do I need a professional web designer/developer
to create, update or maintain my web site?
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| If
you are serious about your Internet presence and
you are utilizing your web site as a marketing or
e-commerce tool, you want your web site to be optimized
to reach your target audience. A professional
developer/designer goes beyond the visual aspects
of the web site and assures that the site functions
properly,and provides "behind the scenes" enhancements
and development that may not be known by nonprofessionals
or seen by the user. This includes but not limited
to optimization for search engine readiness, meta
tag development, graphics optimization, and script
and code development. |
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Can
you "guarantee" top ranking on
the Search Engines?
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Guaranteeing a top ranking in the search engines
is impossible. There are over 25 Billion
web sites on the Internet and thousands more
submitted every day.
Design By Linda will optimize
your web site to be search engine ready for
key words that you believe your target audience
will
use to find you. The
web sites developed by Design By Linda are designed
to be search engine ready for
key words associated with their business types,
product, services and
location. For more information on what to look for
when considering services from Search Engine
Optimizer (SEO) companies offering guaranteed
top rankings, please visit: http://www.google.com/webmasters/seo.html |
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How
will clients find my web site?
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| You
do not want to rely solely on the search engines
for getting traffic to your site. The search engines
can take weeks even months to list your site unless
you are willing to pay for submission. For your
web site to get noticed and used, you need to have
a marketing strategy. Make sure that your web
site address is on all of your current marketing
tools, such as your brochures, newsletters,
business cards, e-mail correspondence, business
letterhead, and other media advertising such as
newspaper or radio. Include your web site address
in your phone mail message. Make sure that all
of your current clients know your web site address.
Send them an e-mail or a post card announcing your
site. I also recommend listing your site with
all appropriate indexing or link services,
such as local and national business listing sites.
There are many sites that offer links to web sites
within business or interest categories. |
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How
long does it take to get my site listed on
the search engines?
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Each
search engine has its own schedule for spidering/indexing
and listing web sites. Search engines
do not guarantee inclusion from their free submissions
and do not give a time line for inclusion, however
most web sites that are optimized to be "search
engine ready" do get listed. (All
web sites developed by Design By Linda are optimized
for inclusion on the search engines.) You can
choose to pay for inclusion of your website to
many of the search engines, normally they have
information on how soon your listing will appear
with the paid inclusion. Most of the paid inclusion
plans require payment annually or monthly to keep
you in their database. There are also "Pay-Per-Click"
advertising options. Design By Linda will be happy
to assist you with your online marketing plan.
Google,
the most frequently used search engine, currently
takes about one to three months to index and reindex
pages. Google does not have a paid inclusion option. Yahoo/HotBot/Overture/MSN/About do
not guarantee that they will list all sites that
are submitted to them for free. Other search engines
have the same one to three month inclusion time.
Once
your URL has been submitted to the search engines,
the next thing for you to do is be patient. Unless
you have paid for inclusion, you may need to wait
for up to three months. Repeated submissions to
the search engines does not increase your chances
of a more rapid listing and resubmission once you
are listed does not improve your ranking unless
you have changed your page content.
Design
By Linda submits all web sites to the major search
engines for FREE. If you choose or want
faster inclusion, Design By Linda can assist you
to find the most economical way to pay for inclusion.
Paying for inclusion is optional.
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What
can be done to assure that my site is optimized
for the user?
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| As
a rule your home page should not take longer
than 20 seconds to open. If it takes longer than
that you can risk losing visitors. People on
the web are usually wanting instant gratification. Graphics
should be optimized to load quickly. You
can save your slower loading pages for after
you get the visitors attention. Your site should reflect
your target audience's wants and needs. Your
site should be easy to navigate so that
your visitors don't get lost. Your site should
be developed so that it works with the most
popular web browsers. Not all web browsers
function the same, some features that are available
in Microsoft Internet Explorer do not work in
Netscape Navigator and vice versa. Design By
Linda will assure that all your pages are functioning
properly and are optimized to gain the most effective
web presence. |
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What
if I change my mind about the design or
features, or want to add more features?
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| A web
site is very flexible. What you start with
can change and evolve as you need or want.
A web site is not like purchasing printed material
where once it is printed you are stuck with
it as it is. Your web site can change any time
you want. You can change anything from the
text content to the overall design, or add
new feature to your existing site any time
you choose. Keep
your visitors interested in returning by
keeping the
information on your site current and changing
the site to include new information . As your
webmaster I will assure that your site is kept
current and updates are done in a timely manner. |
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How
do I choose a domain name?
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| Your
domain name can be what ever you choose as long
as it is available for purchase. It is recommended
that you try to match your business name to
your domain name as closely as possible.
Many people searching for your business on the
web will try typing in www.yourbusinessname.com
to find you before attempting a search. Domain
names cannot be longer than 63 characters. Your
domain name must be registered and an annual
fee paid. (New domain name registration and annual
renewal is included as part of the webmaster
package provided by Design By Linda.) You can
check availability of domain names by doing a
search. Search
for a Domain Name. |
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If
you have more question about having a professionally designed
web site, please feel free to contact
Design By Linda. There is no charge to have questions
answered.
All
consultations are free and you are under NO obligation.
Available days, evenings and week-ends for your convenience.
Design By Linda
An Iowa Web Design Company
Des Moines, Iowa
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Copyright 1999-2008 Design by Linda, Web Site Design, Des Moines, Iowa, USA
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