Below you will find a selection of frequently asked question relating to web design and management.  We hope that the answers provide you with a better understanding of the process of building and promoting your website.

Why are your prices so low compared to other web design companies?
What is the difference between ‘static’ and ‘dynamic’ web pages?
Why do I need to register a domain name?
What is web hosting?
What information do I need to get started?
Why do you charge per page when other companies use a flat fee for a set number of pages?
What if I already have my own web space and domain name?
Once my sites built what then?
What if I want to make future changes or updates to my page?
What if my changes only take 5 minutes, do you still charge per hour?
Can I collect information from my visitors via my website?
How do I promote my website?

Why are your prices so low compared to other web design companies?

We are able to offer low prices because we keep our costs low. Our offices are based at home so we have none of the overheads associated with renting and running an office.  We also only produce simple, static web pages that do not include expensive (and often unnecessary) animations and complicated menus.  This cuts production time and does not require expensive software and licenses.  We are not aiming our services at large scale businesses with thousands of pounds to spend on website development and marketing, rather, we offer a specialist service for small businesses and individuals who want a cost effective web solution with a personal touch. 

A static web page is based on information that is fixed, for instance a page of text describing the background to your product or service.  Whilst the information can be updated it does not change automatically.

In contrast, a dynamic web page contains information that is updated automatically, such as a forum or chat room, or an online ordering system with product searches and shopping carts.  Because the information on a dynamic web page is constantly changing depending on what the viewer is looking for dynamic web pages are more complicated to produce, and therefore are much more expensive.

All our sites are based around static web pages, although certain dynamic elements can be incorporated such as gallery images which expand from thumbnails to full size pictures when clicked on, or simple search functions to search for particular words within your sites pages.  We are happy to discuss your requirements with you and additional dynamic content can be added to your site as required.

Why do I need to register a domain name?

A domain name is like a postal address for your website.  It is the unique name that people will type into their web browser to load your page.  An example of a domain name is www.pfwebdesigns.co.uk.  Before designing your website it is important to register your domain so that it can be incorporated into your web pages.  It is a good idea to choose a domain name that is the same as, or similar to your business name or product.  Domain names can end in any of the following

.com
.co.uk
.org
.ltd.uk

The cost of registering your domain name is included in our web hosting price which is explained below.

In order to display your website you need somewhere to put it.  Web hosting is simply the process of storing your website on a dedicated server so that people can access it whenever they want.  Certain internet service providers give their users free web space that can be used to host your site.  However, many of the big search engines penalise websites for being hosted on 'free space'.  It is for this reason that we use web hosting provided by a company called UKhost4u.  It costs £45 to host your website through UKhost4u.  This includes the registration of your domain name and a hosting package giving you 1GB of storage space to store your site, as well as integrated email addresses, web site analysis tools and full 24-hour customer support and data backup.  The £45 is a recurring annual fee.

You may wish to search for your own web hosting package or already have a domain name registered.  If you wish us to use these we will require access to the hosting site including all passwords and usernames.  From past experience we have discovered that it is easier and more convenient to allow us to register your domain name and hosting package, although this is entirely your choice.

We will design your website around any existing logo's or colour schemes / styles that you may already utilise.  If you have a company logo we can built this into the site, and match the background colours and buttons / links to your logos colours.  If you do not have a logo we are happy to produce one for you for a nominal fee.

We then need to know what you want your website for as this will affect the number of pages you require.  If you simply want to tell people where you are based and provide them with contact details then a couple of pages will probably suffice.  If you wish to provide users with details of the products and services you supply then you may wish to have a individual page for each product as well as the background to your company and its contact details.  At the end of the day it is your website.  We design all our sites from scratch so you control the layout and style of the site.

If you are unsure about the specific details you wish to include and the way you want your site to look we are happy to discuss this with you.  We can provide you with samples of existing sites so you can see how your competitors websites look.  We will then collect the necessary information relating to your business and products and use this to produce the site.

Each of your pages can contain text, graphics, photographs, tables and links.  As mentioned above, additional dynamic content can be added for an additional fee. 

If you have looked at our competitors sites you may have noticed that many of them change a set fee for setting up your website regardless of the number of pages you want.  At PF Web Designs we do not do this.  If you want a single page website, you only pay for a single page website.

As mentioned above you may already have your own web space or domain name registered.  We are happy to utilise these but will require full access to them including passwords and usernames.

Once we have built your website we will provide you with a copy for your approval.  Once you have confirmed that you are happy with the content and look of the site we will upload the website to the hosting companies server.  At this point the website will become 'live' and your customers can begin to visit and use your site.

Future updates and changes can be made to your site in one of two ways.  Firstly, as part of our package we will provide you with access to the server where your website is stored and give you basic instruction on how to update your site using software such as Microsoft Frontpage.  This will enable you to make small changes and upload the new updated pages to the server.  Secondly, if you would prefer to have no 'hands on' involvement we will happily update your site for you.  You simply provide us with the new information and the changes required and we will do the rest for you.  The cost of applying these changes is £15 per hour.

Although making small changes, say for instance changing or adding a new telephone number, may seem like a two minute job, the whole process can be time consuming.  The process of adding the new telephone number would probably only take a few minutes, but the page then has to be saved, tested, uploaded to the server and then checked again to ensure the update has occurred correctly. It is for this reason that updates are charged by the hour.  In order to save yourself money we would recommend making a number of changes at the same time, say at the end of every month, or every quarter depending on how frequently you want the site updated.

It may be useful for you collect certain information from you website visitors, whether it be to add their details to a mailing list or for their comments and feedback.  We are happy to add automated submit forms to your site that can collect this information for you.  The form will be added to a page on your site, and the customer simply fills in the required boxes before hitting the submit / send button.  The information is converted into an email which is sent to an email address of your choice where you can extract and save the data.  The system can be setup so that the customer receives an automated response from you thanking them for their assistance.  As this response is produced automatically you do not need to reply to each email in person, saving you time and money.

Once your website is up and running you need to promote it to generate visitors to the site.  This can be a complicated process.  For your assistance we have compiled an introductory guide to online advertising.