Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):

• Why should I have a Web site?
• What does it cost to have a Web site?
• Can I have someone else design my Web site, but maintain it myself?
• What is a search engine?
• How do search engines find my Web page?
• What is a host?
• Can I host my own Web site?
• Will my Internet Service Provider host my Web site?
• I have a Web site but I don't seem to be getting many visitors. What's wrong?
• Do you maintain your own Web servers?

Why should I have a Web site?

Any business can benefit greatly by having a Web site. Your web site can contain information such as:

• pricing,
• product information,
• geographic area,
• hours available,
• scheduling,
• contact information,
• testimonials from satisfied customers,
• photos of recently completed projects,
• contracts,
• customer questionaires

But don't forget to promote your site! Otherwise, no one will know that it exists!

(see ...I don't seem to be getting many visitors...)

What does it cost to have a Web site?

There are three basic costs associated with having a Web site:

1. Web page design

We will design your site based on your need and your budget. Web page design may include text, graphics, animation, scripting, forms, internal and external links and, most importantly, promotion of your Web site - no one will know that you have a Web site without the proper promotion.

2. Domain Name registration

Although it is not necessary to have your own Domain Name (i.e., www.yourbusinessname.com), having a unique domain name can facilitate generation of traffic to your site and is highly recommended. Domain name registration costs $70 for a two-year period ($35 per year). We will register your domain name for you.

3. Hosting

Many Web hosting arrangements and packages are available. Depending on your requirements, hosting can cost you as little as $14.95 per month for a small business package through one of our affiliated hosting services. There is a one-time setup fee of $25. See What is a host? for more information about hosting.

Can I have someone else design my Web site, but maintain it myself?

It is possible to do some of the maintenance yourself, especially if you have some knowledge of computer basics and feel comfortable with HTML and/or JavaScript. We can also teach you a few HTML and computer basics which will help you to maintain your own site. Though you will most likely want us to help you to grow your Web site as your business grows, actual maintenance usually requires only minor changes or updates such as pricing or contact information, so the cost to have us maintain your site for you would be minimal.

Note: Internet Business Developers thoroughly tests and guarantees all Web sites it creates and maintains. Any maintenance to your site which is not performed by Internet Business Developers cannot be guaranteed by us.

What is a search engine?

Search engines are used by directories to find information about your Web page(s) in their data bases (see How do search engines find my Web page? for a more complete description of how search engines work).

How do search engines find my Web page?

To get information about your Web page, each search engine employs a "spider" or "robot" which visits your Web page in its trip around the Web. The spiders look for certain information contained in specific places in your HTML code that tells the spider what type of content is contained in your page. The spider then retrieves this information from your page and stores it in the search engine's data base. Your page is then ranked using a proprietary algorithm specific to that directory.

To learn more about Search Engines, visit Search Engine Watch.

What is a host?

The term host usually refers to a computer running special Web server software that enables it to serve up web pages on the Internet. Web host may also refer to a person or persons providing such services.

Can I host my own Web site?

Yes, if you have a web server with a high-speed connection to the Internet - see What is a host? for more information about hosting.

Will my Internet Service Provider host my Web site?

Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) may provide Web hosting services in addition to Internet access. Be sure that these services have the features that you need. For instance, if you want to sell a product on-line, you may want to let visitors purchase your product on-line with a credit card via a secure server. Many ISPs do not include such e-commerce features with their hosting services. Internet Business Developers is able to provide you with many e-commerce solutions through its affiliated hosts.

I have a Web site but I don't seem to be getting many visitors. What's wrong?

Chances are good that you're not promoting your Web site or that you're not promoting it properly. High visibility on search engines and directories requires constant submission of your Web pages to these directories and search engine data bases. Linking to related sites can also be advantageous. You MUST promote your business on the World Wide Web just as you would promote your business in the real, brick-and-mortar, world. Internet Business Developers will show you how to successfully promote your business on- and off-line.

One simple way to promote your Web site off-line is to include your Domain Name address (e.g., www.yourbusinessname.com) as part of your voice-mail greeting. Customers who call when you're out of the office will be directed to your Web site to get their questions answered. Even if they don't get all their questions answered, when you do return the customer's call, you'll be speaking with an educated customer.

Do you maintain your own Web servers?

We do not maintain our own servers. Our expertise is in building successful Internet strategies for our clients which includes Web Page Design, Web Promotion, Internet Marketing, Consulting and Training. We offer hosting through several hosting affiliates who are experts at hosting web sites. We have recently become a reseller for one of the largest hosting services in the country. Each of our affiliates is an expert in providing reliable, fast, and efficient Web Servers to resellers (that's us) and their clients (that's you). They leave the web design and site maintenance to us and we leave the web server maintenance to them.

All user Web Servers are configured with either Unix or the FreeBSD operating system; currently, we are using a customized version of 2.2.7.

A descendent of BSD UNIX, FreeBSD is fully open-source, aggressively maintained, and contains the most stable networking code to be found anywhere.

Web server software is Apache version 1.3.3.

Custom routing configuration provides direct DS-3 connections to four national backbones: Digex, UUnet, Sprint, SAVVIS.