Question:
Do I need a web site?
Answer:
A. An effective website will benefit nearly any business
or organization. Today's consumers turn to the Internet first (i.e., before using the yellow pages
or other sources) even when looking for a local retail outlet or service provider. This also holds
true for business to business shoppers. Many businesses search for new suppliers online, and
order online, too. If you want to remain competitive, you need a website.
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Question:
What can a web site do for me?
Answer:
Create an online brochure that will help potential clients, customers, and partners
learn about your company and look at it in a favorable light. Conduct e-commerce
and sell to a national or international market through an ordering system for one
or more products, or perhaps an extensive online catalog. Sell offline and use your website to invoice customers or accept payments.
Provide information to drive local sales of your products and services. Provide
customer service and support. Websites are a great place for troubleshooting guides,
FAQs, technical information, or even Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) labels.
Provide multiple ways for your customers to contact you. Save money through efficiencies.
Use the Internet to take orders with real-time credit card authorization to save
call center operation costs and cut entry errors. Save on paper, printing, and distribution
costs. Use online FAQs and knowledge base articles to cut the number of customer
service personnel you need. Earn affiliate commissions for sales and leads generated
through links on your website. Use a form on your website to generates leads.
A website can do a lot of things. And knowing what you want to accomplish through
your website should be first and foremost on your mind when you contact Armanda Designs.
A clear understanding of your goal and the possible routes to reaching your goal is important.
Consider how others have used the Internet.
Examine other sites, including your competitors’ sites. Which sites do you like
or dislike? Print out pages and make notes for your discussion with our team.
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Question:
What is a domain name?
Answer:
Domain names are the familiar, easy to remember names for
computers on the Internet (such as armanda.com). They correspond to a series of numbers
(called Internet Protocol numbers) that serve as routing addresses on the Internet.
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Question:
Does Armanda Designs register domain names? Can I register my own domain name?
Answer:
You can register your domain name directly through an accredited registrar. Most of our
customers, however, find it best to pay a nominal fee and let Armanda Designs register and manage
domain names for them. We take care of updates and renewals so that your website and email both
function correctly.
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Question:
Why should I pay for site development and hosting? Can’t I just do it myself?
Answer:
Yes, and you could build your own house or car, too. The key question to consider is this:
can you afford to take time away from your business and your customers to develop a website?
Quality website design is time consuming and requires unique combination of skills and experience.
Time is money, and it’s often a better use of your time and money to outsource web design projects.
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Question:
I can get a free web site and e-mail addresses through my
Internet provider (or OfficeLive, Angelfire, etc.) Can’t
I just promote my business through these free web services?
Answer:
Having your own web site with its own domain name provides several advantages. Your
web address should be a reflection of your unique business and the products you
sell, rather than an add-on to someone else’s web address. Your domain name should
be easy to remember, and easy to type. Will customers find you at http://mywebsite.club.officelive.com/default.aspx?
Or would your site be easier to find at www.mywebsite.com? Owning a unique domain
name for your business also give you more flexibility in choosing your hosting providers
and the features they offer, and allows a richer, more reliable interaction with
your customers.
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Question:
I’ve seen inexpensive web site templates for sale. Will I save money by
buying a template instead of hiring a designer?
Answer:
Yes, many affordable site templates are
available. Before buying one, understand that other businesses, perhaps even your competitors,
are also be using that same template. Remember, too, that after buying a template, you will still
need to add text and images, create links, optimize your website for search engines, etc.
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Question:
How can I reduce my cost for developing a web site?
Answer:
Armanda Designs bids most
projects on a complete site development, including consultation, domain name research and registration, content development, digital photography,
design, layout & navigation, search engine optimization, and
on-going maintenance and service. By taking care of one or more of these on your
own, you can reduce the investment required to build and maintain a web site. Talk
to an Armanda Designs representative today for details.
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Question:
Do you offer website packages?
Answer:
We learned early on that 'one size fits
all' is not a sound business philosophy. We are big fans of 'one size fits one', and we
work primarily on a custom project basis. Our first objective at Armanda Designs is to understand
your goals, which allows us to tailor a website solution to fit your individual requirements.
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Question:
What are your hourly rates?
Answer:
Armanda Designs provides a variety of services, and our
hourly fees vary depending on the complexity of the task. Rather than focusing on an hourly rate, we
quote projects or project components as a whole and then guarantee our prices. When you examine
all available criteria, you'll come to appreciate why so many businesses choose Armanda Designs, Inc.
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Question:
Do you offer discounts for non-profits and service
organizations?
Answer:
We are happy to support the ongoing efforts of charitable organizations through
reduced fees for our services. Contact Armanda Designs for detailed information about how we can help you.
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Question:
What will my on-going costs be after launching my site?
Answer:
On-going costs will
vary depending on your specific use for your site. These costs will likely include hosting fees,
search engine positioning, site updates and maintenance, and domain name renewals. If you accept payments
online, there may also be fees for your SSL certificate as well as credit card processing fees.
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Question:
OK. Once my site is built, how will people find me online?
Answer:
What a great question! What good is having the perfect web site for your
business, if no one knows it’s there? Most of our website proposals include search engine optimization.
We meticulously research current search engine usage and consumer habits, then customize your
website's content and structure for the best possible performance in major search engines.
We can also track your website's incoming traffic to learn which keywords drive visitors to you,
using this analytic data as the basis for future upgrades and fine tuning.
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Question:
What can I do to drive additional traffic to my site?
Answer:
Promote your site. Let other people know it’s there! Include your web address (URL)
on your business cards and letterhead. Mention it in your tv, radio, print, and
outdoor advertising. Have your URL lettered on your business signs, door, and company
vehicles. Put it in the signature line of outgoing e-mails, in letters, and in direct
mail campaigns. Show your URL on promotional merchandise (shirts, balloons, key
rings, or other items). Contact Armanda Designs for search engine optimization and search
engine marketing strategies.
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Question:
What about link exchanges?
Answer:
Search engines are always developing ways to make
their results more relevant. Links are one of the ways that Google, et al, measure
the 'value' of your website. That's why it is important for other websites to link to your site.
However ... it is also very important to get those links from the right websites. Major search engines
and directories may actually decrease your ranking (or drop your site altogether)
if you associate your site with the wrong partners. Armanda Designs can help you develop and evaluate
link partners to improve your search engine position.
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Question:
How long will it take for Armanda Designs to build
my web site?
Answer:
There are several factors that will affect your project’s timeline. Obviously, your
own target date is our first concern. How soon do you want to be online? Once we
understand your goals, we also consider the complexity of the site you need, our
current workload and outstanding commitments, your availability to provide the information,
images, and other resources we need to create the site, and other factors.
In the end, our goal is to deliver your web site the way you want it, and when you
want it. At Armanda Designs, we put it in writing.
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Question:
What if I don’t need a whole website?
Answer:
We help many of our customers develop
specific pages and enhancements to existing websites. For example, it may be time for you to add
a shopping cart to your site for online sales, or perhaps you simply need to add pages to promote
new products or services. Maybe it's time for you to leverage social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
to extend your brand and drive more traffic to your website. We can help you by designing new
features that complement your existing online presence.
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Question:
What if I already have a web site?
Answer:
In addition to adding new features to your site, Armanda Designs can also assist
you with marketing your site, improving your search engine position, updating content,
training your staff to maintain your site, enhancing your website’s features, and a
variety of other web related goals. Contact us to learn how we can fulfill your
specific needs.
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Question:
Can we work together effectively across long distances?
Answer:
Absolutely! We
regularly work with customers throughout the U.S., exchanging information
and files via e-mail, FTP and fax, and we stay connected through telephone, fax
and e-mail.
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Question:
Will my site look the same on everyone’s computer?
Answer:
There are many variables that affect the
way a website displays on a screen. These include the monitor size and resolution settings,
operating system, browser software, and other elements. Armanda Designs tests each of our projects
on a variety of platforms and internet browsers. We build our sites knowing that more than 60% of
our customers' web traffic relies on Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. We also check our work in
Firefox, Opera, Chrome, Safari and Netscape as well as previous versions of Internet Explorer
to insure compatability. We also cross check our work on large screens and on smaller
screens, both LCD and CRT. We understand the current trends in hardware & software, and we do
everything we can to make sure that your website will display correctly for a wide variety
of users.
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Question:
My current site runs slowly. Why?
Answer:
The speed at which a web page loads on your computer is affected by a number of
factors, including your computer's available resources, connection speed, bottlenecks
in the internet, and issues with the site's design and file sizes, and the site's
server platform. Armanda Designs can help you examine current conditions and you
options to identify the most practical solution. Ask us about our image optimization
strategies, and our use of streamlined pages and cascading style sheets to improve
your site’s performance.
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Question:
Will you host my site?
Answer:
Armanda Designs can deliver the right hosting solution
for your specific needs and budget. Our affordable pricing and convenient service are guaranteed
to perform.
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Question:
Who will maintain and update my site?
Answer:
Internet-savvy businesses keep the content on their Web sites fresh, and redesign
their sites at regular intervals. Why? It takes only a byte or two of dated information
for users to think they've come to a dead or an orphaned site. Contact Armanda Designs
to learn more about our hourly and contract rates for site maintenance and updates.
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Question:
Who visits my web site?
Answer:
Smart business owners analyze customer traffic to
learn ways they can improve the buying experience for their shoppers. You can do the same thing
on your website. Consider the number of visitors, the length of time visitors spend on your site,
visits to each specific page, the most (and least) popular pages, the number of e-mail and phone
inquiries generated from your web site (along with the nature of those inquiries), the referring web
site or link which brought customers to your site, and search terms used to find you. If your current site design and
hosting provider do not give you these kinds of statistics, talk to Armanda Designs
about creating a more effective web presence.
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