Develop Build Create a Web Site - website design development maintenance Winston-Salem Outer Banks Triad NC Web Design Carolinas

Web Design Carolinas - web site design website web development maintenance North Carolina Winston-Salem Outer Banks, Custom website design, development and redesign, Fast, reliable website management and maintenance, Interactive web-based applications, Website and search engine optimization

Web Design Carolinas - We put the world in your hands

Web Design Carolinas - web site design website web development maintenance North Carolina Winston-Salem Outer Banks

Frequently Asked Questions

Developing Your First Web Site

Why do I need a Web site?
You're here, aren't you? :-) You're looking at this web site to get information. Are you at work? Are you at home? There are millions like you. The Internet can expose your organization to vast numbers of potential customers - local, national and international. The Web is one of the least expensive and yet most targeted, flexible, and effective forms of advertising available. Plus, many companies discover that a Web site is a more economical, faster, and efficient way to make information available to clients, customers, distributors and employees than traditional print methods. Instead of spending large amounts of money producing newsletters, brochures, memos, product booklets, catalogs, etc., businesses are pointing people to their Web site where they can quickly add and change information.

Five Reasons to build a Web site

Your competitors are beating you to it
Your customers are asking for it
You want to increase sales
You need to lose some overhead
You want to gain market share in uncharted territory

I'm confused and overwhelmed. Where do I start?

We will guide you through the entire process. Whether you're a startup looking to create your first online presence or an established organization looking for ways to exploit the growing functionality of the Internet, Web Design Carolinas offers a full range of Web development and marketing services that can help grow your business. Here is what you can do.

Step One - Think about what you want to accomplish with your site. Do you want to reach new customers? Do you want to service existing customers? Do you want to service internal users? Think about the Who, What, Where, How and Why for your organization. What information is most frequently requested from your organization? What content do you want to provide in a cost-effective manner e.g. specials, news/events, new products, etc?
Step Two - Gather any/all materials that you think might be relevant: logos, pictures, graphics, text, brochures, your scribbles/doodles, etc. More is better.
Step Two 1/2 (recommended but not critical) - Research other sites. Start with sites in your field but also consider sites that you have really liked/disliked for any particular reason. Look for content and features you like as well as designs/layouts.
Step Three - Contact us for a free consultation.

Can't I just do this myself?
Yes, software is available. However, for most people, the learning curve is steep and the results often do not meet expectations. At the end of the day, you want a site that is fully functional and professional in appearance. When you value your time and compare it to our cost-effective, experienced solutions, you will find that we nearly always offer the better value.

Can't our in-house IT tech people develop our site?
Many IT departments are capable of developing Web sites, however, many prefer to hire an outside firm for initial site development or site redesign. The reasons are many: time/budget constraints, lack of artistic ability, benefits of having an outsider view the site and process as if a potential customer, benefits of having an outsider guide the process with competing departments and interests (this can prevent departmental turf wars eg my content is more important than their content). If you use an outside firm to develop your site, your IT staff should be an integral part of the development process. Their suggestions and input may be critical and their commitment to the project and ongoing maintenance are improved if they are involved upfront.

Should we hire a full-time Webmaster?
If you have a huge site that needs constant maintenance, you may want to hire a full-time Webmaster. However, we believe the term Webmaster is really outdated because the field is growing so fast and in so many directions that no one person can "master" it. Unless you have a very simple site, you will need a person with a large set of skills that must be constantly updated. Most companies are finding it very difficult to recruit and keep high-tech workers. Salaries are high. Many companies are offering salary bonuses of 10 percent to 25 percent to new hires and retention allowances — or training money — to workers with critical IT skills. And what do you do if you hire a "lemon"? It is much easier to fire us than to fire an employee. And, most importantly, we have very low overhead. We can do site maintenance quickly and very economically.

What is a domain name and how do I get one?
Our domain name is www.webdesigncarolinas.com ... we will help you register a unique domain name for your site or you can do this yourself by using a service such as Go Daddy. Because domain names are vanishing at a rapid rate, we recommend that this be your first step.

How will people find my site?
Internet surfers will generally find your site in three ways

by using a search engine/directory service such as Yahoo or Google

by finding you through links or ads from other sites

by seeing your web address in conventional marketing/advertising materials developed by you - your Web address should be included in every piece of paper that leaves your organization and every conventional advertising campaign you launch (TV, radio, print, etc).

We will help you with all three approaches, as our goal is not just to design your site but to make it successful. Through experience, we know what works and what doesn't work.

What is hosting? Do you offer hosting? Do I need to buy/install a server?
The host is the computer or server that "houses" your Web site. It could be in your back office, at an Internet Service Provider in your town, or it could be hosted in another city. Physical location is not important but the reliability, capabilities and support of the hosting company are very important. For the vast majority of sites, bandwidth and storage are far less important than features, support & reliability. You want your site to be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and you want a host that will meet your current and growing needs.

Web Design Carolinas specializes in Web site design services ... we do not offer on-site hosting. Nor do we have a hosting or reseller agreement with any particular hosting company. There are many excellent companies that specialize in hosting. We will help you choose a host that best meets your needs and then guide you through the setup process. We suggest that you do not make a decision on hosting at the onset ... there is no need to pay for months of hosting if your site's completion is months away.

In our humble but experienced opinion, unless you have a dedicated IT staff that is capable of handling the demands of hosting and server maintenance, it is better to go with a company that specializes in hosting rather than hosting your own server.

What about package deals?
While package deals (bundled services such as phone, internet, hosting, Web design) may offer value to some customers, we have found that they do not meet the needs of most businesses/organizations. Most packages are very inflexible, requiring you to "force fit" your ideas into a template type approach and are often more expensive than the sum of individual services. If you buy a "Web site in a box", you are fitting your needs to someone else's package.

Do you use all the latest technology?
Yes, and we can provide all the latest technology for your site! However, we often choose not to use all the "bells and whistles". The key to success for your site is ease of use, speed of access, and content! Because of varying computer and browser capabilities, not every feature can be accessed by everyone. For that reason, we generally implement new technology only after it has been in the public domain for a while. We specialize in cross-platform sites that anyone can use. Also, complex graphics can be painfully slow to download for the average user. We generally design for the middle ground. Our goal is for your site to be seen and used by the largest number of people! We never use proprietary or obscure software to develop your site or applications. Everything is in the public domain and readily transferable.

Can I see my site while it is under development?
Yes, we create a special private section on our test server just for your site. At various steps in the process, we will show you the current version of your site (at a special web address) and ask for your comments and feedback. For example, most projects start with the front page design. We will design test layouts for your review and feedback. Once you have approved this stage of the project, we will proceed to develop the "inside" of your site. All stages are a collaboration between you and our team. No surprises ... your site does not "go live" until you have approved it.

How much do you charge?
Each project is different and some sites are more involved than others. For example, browse our portfolio to see the wide range of web sites that we have developed. We price jobs on a project basis, not an hourly rate. After an initial free consultation we will provide you with an estimate of the cost to develop your site. Then we will work with you to develop your site within that budget and we will keep you posted on additional costs that may be involved. One way to reduce the cost of your site is to provide text (and graphics such as logos) in digital format. If you are not proficient at scanning, let us take care of this step for you. The more work you do up front (eg proper planning, thinking about navigation and content and how the site should function etc) the lower your final cost.

Note: Copyright to the finished web pages and underlying source code (intellectual property) produced by Web Design Carolinas is owned by Web Design Carolinas until final payment has been received from the client. Upon final payment, the client is assigned rights to use as a website the design, graphics, code, and text contained in the finished assembled web site.

Will a Web site improve my bottom line?
It depends on how you measure your bottom line and how hard you "work" your Web site.

E-commerce, e-business, the new economy ... all buzz words. If you're selling products online, it's easy to see how your site can add to the bottom line. But e-commerce/e-business is so much more. Maybe the "e" in e-commerce should stand for efficiency. E-business encompasses all the ways that a Web site can improve communication, distribution, customer support, marketing, etc. Often e-business is more about reducing costs (e.g. reducing mailings of catalogs) or improving productivity (e.g. applications and content aimed at sales force support) than direct sales. And let's be frank, for many organizations, a Web site is part of their competitive image and marketing. Do your competitors have Web sites? We believe that a Web site is now a necessity, not a luxury.

You must "work" the Web. If you do not update your site, add new content, give visitors a reason to return ... you will not be using your site to its advantage. And you must market your site through conventional means (include your address on letterhead, advertisements, etc.) ... do not depend solely on search engine traffic to bring visitors to your site.

Can you provide online shopping for my site?
Yes, we have experience developing online shopping/storefronts and we will guide you through the process. If you are only selling a few items, we can help you use PayPal for your shopping cart. For many small businesses with limited products, this is a cost effective solution. However, a full-scale shopping cart experience will significantly increase the expense of developing the site.

You must obtain a merchant account through a bank or financial institution (if you already accept credit cards just contact your financial institution and tell them you intend to accept online orders as well)
Decide whether you want offline order processing (swipe, phone or computer entry of credit card orders at your place of business) or online/realtime order processing (all automatic - you are sent confirmation to fill the order - no order entry on your part). Both methods involve per transaction fees - real time order processing is more expensive.
Hosting charges will almost always be higher for online shopping sites.
Decide on shipping and return policies upfront.
Determine whether you want order integration with a back-end database or accounting package.

A few businesses want to "sell" products through their web site but do not want to accept online credit card orders. If that is your preference, we will help you develop alternatives to conventional online shopping.

I only sell wholesale or to businesses. What can a Web site do for me?
E-commerce/e-business is more than selling books and toys online. E-business encompasses all the ways that a Web site can improve communication, distribution, customer support, marketing, etc. Often e-business is more about reducing costs (e.g. reducing mailings of catalogs) or improving productivity (e.g. applications and content aimed at sales force support) than direct sales. For example, do you have product catalogs, product specs, brochures, technical manuals, procedure manuals, etc. that are expensive to print and distribute? Put that information on a Web site for your customers, distributors, sales force.

What can a Web site do for my local business?
Internet usage has become so widespread that even businesses that serve strictly local markets are finding advantages from doing business on the Web. Let locals and future visitors get to know you. How much money would it cost to effectively advertise all the wonders of your business using traditional advertising e.g. radio/TV spots, newspaper ads, etc? Buy a fraction of the ad space, include your Web address and tell the whole story on your Web site.