FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)
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Website Design and Development
Can you do a draft of a custom website and if I like it I will use you?
What if I don’t like the website you have designed?
Why don’t you like to do flash web sites?
What’s the difference between web design and web development?
Can I manage my site myself?
I like your work, but how can I use you if I am in Johannesburg and you are in Durban?
Why do I need a website ? I don’t even own a computer.
Can you recommend a good web designer in Cape Town?
What is wrong with what you call a "conveyor-belt-site"?
I see that you show no examples of websites designed for my type of business. Isn’t it better for me to use someone who has experience doing websites in my industry?
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Can you do a draft of a website and if I like it I will use you?
Afraid not. Website development is different to hardcopy advertising, where the norm is that you start with a draft. Any draft that we could do would certainly not be one that would give you a realistic idea of what the end product would look like or how it would function. The internet is a very dynamic medium and the whole is a lot more than the sum of its parts. Each of our web sites are custom made. They are unique and created from scratch, so that by the time an effective draft had been created, you would in fact already have the end result.
Our past projects section should give you a good idea of whether or not you think we can meet your needs. - Please also read the next question and answer.
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What if I don’t like the site you have designed?
We have never had this experience. However, once the site is complete, we post it on the internet for your approval. From that time you have 7 calender days in which to give us feedback and we will tweak and change until you are happy. We are so confident that we can make this commitment: If you had to dislike the entire site, we would do a complete custom redesign at no extra cost. Provided that we have followed your design specifications, this is limited to one redesign. If the site is still not satisfactory because you changed your mind about what you want, the second redesign would bear an additional cost to you.
It is however highly unlikely that this would ever happen. One of our major strengths is the ability to create a website to suit and project the character and image of each individual business.
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Why don’t you like to do flash sites?
We actually do like to do them. They're great fun, but we don't do them because they are not good for your business. They are not search engine friendly. Nor are sites that use javascript drop-down menus, which we also avoid, along with a number of other design elements, like frames. With every site that we design, the end objective is in mind from the outset and that objective is for the site to contribute to your business. If poor design elements make your site unable to be found (or well ranked) by search engines, then this objective becomes impossible to attain.
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What’s the difference between web design and web development?
Web design is the process of creating a look and feel for a website. Web development looks beyond this to the functionality and is concerned with questions like: how user friendly is it? Does it serve its primary purpose? How good is the content? Does it draw and keep visitors? Does it evoke the required action? Is it search-engine friendly? Web design on its own can in fact be hugely detrimental to a site’s objectives. A good website takes many factors into consideration and not just the first impression or visual effect.
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Can I manage my site myself?
Yes you can, by various means. If you have a basic knowledge of html and have an FTP programme, OR have a basic knowledge of MS Frontpage, OR just want to manage minor changes and are comfortable in MSWord (which our WYSIWYG site editing software emulates), OR you ask us to add a more advanced editor to your site.
We offer a hosting package that includes a wysiwyg editor which is very intuitive and will allow you to manage your website without any html or Frontpage knowledge at all.
For a nominal additional fee we can also add on our advanced editor, which is quicker and easier to use, can allow different people permission to edit different pages and site content and cannot break your site.
However, please note that if you opt for any form of self-management, this is entirely at your own risk. Please be sure to have a back-up of your site before you begin making any changes, in case something goes wrong. Although we do regular backups, this is in case of a server emergency and is not intended to be used to back up individual sites that have been accidentally wiped or corrupted.
This only applies to self-managed hosting options. If we are your webmaster (we manage your site for you) then we obviously do have up to date back-ups of your site.
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I like your work, but how can I use you if I am in Johannesburg and you are in Durban?
This is the beauty of the internet. Roughly 40% of our clients have never met the person developing their website face to face. Between the telephone and email it is a simple process. If we need to run a visual concept past a client, the concept is uploaded to a private site on the internet where the client can see it, give feedback and, in many cases, even watch the changes being made while discussing it on the telephone.
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Why do I need a website ? I don’t even own a computer.
You do not need a computer to be on the internet. It is the same as taking an advert in a newspaper that you never read. The advert is aimed at reaching your target market. A website is the same. It is not for your benefit, but for the express purpose of reaching that segment of your market who do have and use their computers to find things on the internet.
You would merely provide no email contact, but still give all other contact details. The number of people who are using the internet as a preferred resource is growing by the day and this is a sector of the market that you stand to lose if you do not have a website.
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Can you recommend a good web designer in Cape Town ?(or any other city)
Afraid not. At this stage we have no personal experience with web developers in other towns.
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What is wrong with what you call a "conveyor-belt-site"?
The common name for this is a "template site" and there is nothing wrong with it if you are happy to have a site that is a standard with no real persona of its own and you don't mind if your site looks like various other sites on the internet.
Many people however prefer to have a unique site which encapsulates their essence and it just so happens that we pride ourselves on creating them. Many standard template sites however have nothing wrong with them.
Please do just consider that a website on its own is not enough. Even if you do decide to go for a template, which is generally much cheaper, it is worth paying a bit extra to ensure that they do at least customise it for you from an optimisation point of view.
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I see that you show no examples of websites designed for my type of business. Isn’t it better for me to use someone who is in my industry?
With most businesses it does not matter because you as the client are providing the content for the site. A competent web developer would also know how to source material related to your site and get a feel for your business. It is better to have a good web developer rather than someone who shares your knowledge of your industry, but who may not give you the best website.
If however you are in a highly specialised field and want the web developer to do the bulk of the copy writing as well, then someone with knowledge of your business is obviously important. - Just remember what you are paying them for: to do what they do best so that you can do what you do best.
If you are not sure if we have an understanding of your particular business, please drop us an email or give us a call. You can also get an insight into industries we have experience of by clicking here.
I have very unique needs for my website. How do I know that you can meet them?
Unique - in all its possible forms - is our speciality. Why not give us a call? The one thing we hate is doing a bad job and if we have any doubts about being able to fully satisfy your needs, we will be the first to say so.
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