Tel 478.922.8978 Mon-Fri 9a-7p est.

Q). Do I get to select the features for my project?

A). Of course, you can select colors, images, animation, navigational style. You can also choose whether to use audio or video. This is the main difference between having a professional design your site and using one of those online site creators.

Q). Does it cost extra for flash?
A). Yes it does, flash is an exciting, attractive, but an expensive technology. Affordable Web Sites provides flash spices.

Q). Do I own the project after you have finished?
A). Absolutely, you just pay $52.50 for a CD/DVD copy. You will receive everything but the masters used to create the files. The masters can be provided for an additional fee of $115.00.

Q). What if I already have a website designed by some one else, how can i save some of my previous investment?
A). We will look at what you have and try to save the features you like about your previous website. We have been successful in redesigning or enhancing projects created by someone else.

Q). How do you handle support issues?
A). We have a simple support page at http://www.affordablewebsites.net/support.html, but for items that need to be done right away, just pick up the phone and call us at 478.922.8978.

Q. We have some nice glossy printed material, how do we display this on our web site?
A). Chances are you created these documents in a print program we support, we'll just create a PDF version of this document using Adobe Acrobat Professional® software and place it on your web site.

Q). I want to update a newsletter or maybe 1 other page, can I update this myself?.
A). Yes you can, our most popular option is an online content management system that lets you update any page using your browser. In addition, we can setup a weblog for continuous interaction with your visitors. We'll even provide 15 minutes of FREE! training.

Q). How do I provide you with my content?
A). We have an industrial strength special web mail account that accepts all types of files up to 5mb-100mb in size. If your files needs to be scanned, you can send them via regular mail or we'll have them delivered via fedex (at a shared expense).

Q. What types of payments do you accept?
A). We accept Checks, Visa, Master Card, American Express and PayPal for payment for all services.

Q). Do you have any referrals/references?.
A). Of course, this information is viewed directly from our about us page here.

Q). What is website hosting?
A). Website hosting is the process that allows people worldwide to see your web files stored on a computer.

Q). Who handles the hosting?.
A). Affordablewebsites.net leases it's own server at three of the top hosting companies in the industry. Instead of your account being shared with hundreds of companies, your account is only shared with affordablewebsites.net clients. The advantage is that there is decreased down time, problems, errors, etc.

Q). I currently have a website that is hosted by someone else, can I transfer my hosting to your company?
A). Unfortunately, we only host the projects that we have designed.

Q). I have seen some hosting companies charge as low as $3.99 a month for hosting, why do you charge more?
A). Those hosting solutions are unmanaged solutions. what that means is that YOU have to provide all setup and file transfers and maintenance yourself. We provide only managed hosting solutions, our clients never touch the actual code or do major file transfers.

Q). How long does it take to develop an eCommerce web site?.
A). It usually takes about 30-60 hours (21-30 days) to setup, design & test, an eCommerce project.

Q). Do I need a Digital (SSL) Certificate?.
A). No, but a digital certificate authenticates your site and gives your visitors a more secure feeling ordering from your web site. When was the last time you ordered from an brand new company online using your credit card?

Q). How do I know what type of shopping cart to use?
A). It really depends on 2 things, how many items and categories you have and what features you want. After you tell us what you plan on doing with your store, we'll give you our recommendation.

Q). I was told I do not need a merchant account, I could use Paypal, is this true?
A). Yes you can use paypal (see authorize.net or paypal). However, we have found that the ultimate payment gateway solution is to use both. We recommend if your budget is real tight, start with paypal, but try to get your own standard merchant account in the future.

Q). How long does it take to get a merchant account, is it expensive?
A). For most businesses, it takes 1 day, there are no setup fees and it comes with real time payment software already installed.

Q). What about those ebay and yahoo stores, couldn't I just get one of those?
A). Sure you can, think about this for a minute. Your favorite store (gift store, music store, etc.) and ask yourself " do they have a yahoo or ebay store" instead of their own online presence, or do they have a yahoo or ebay" store inclusive of?

You are paying someone to design, develop and maintain your online business while you concentrate on making money.

Q). What type of maintenance do you provide?
A). We offer 4 levels of maintenance depending on your requirements. At the basic level, you provide us with your modifications and we update your site. If you want to provide some of your own maintenance, we can develop a software or browser based content management system?

Q). What if I want your company to provide all of my maintenance for me on a weekly basis, are you equipped to handle this?.
A). Of course, just tell us what you need on a weekly basis and we'll set up a payment plan to fit your needs.

Q. What is a Search Engine?

A). A Search Engine is a database of web-pages. It uses a special program called a web-spider to wander around the web, recording information about web-pages it finds.

Just being in a search engine database does not mean you'll rank highly for any particular query. That depends on the search engine's ranking algorithm, which looks at your web-page and tries to figure out what it's supposed to be about.

Q: Why should I submit my site to search engines?

A). 85% of users rely on search engines to locate information on the Web. By registering your site with various search engines, you make it easier for visitors to find your site and the information that you have to offer.

Q: Now that my site has been submitted, that's it...right?

A). Keep in mind that registration is an on-going thing: to keep their search engines running efficiently, the engine providers will periodically clean up their databases, dropping some of the sites for a variety of reasons. Because of this, it's a good idea to check regularly (at least weekly) to verify that you are still in the search engine's database. Search for your site name in the search engine to see if you are in the search engine's database. If your site doesn't show up, or your site has been dropping in the rankings, you may want to resubmit your page.

Q. What's the difference between a Search Engine and an Index?

A). A Search Engine (like Google) goes and looks at your PAGES and stores a summary of what is actually on them. All they need to know is your URL. They keep a database of web-pages, created by spidering the web. You've got no control over what they display, though you can suggest what to show using meta-tags.

An Index (like Yahoo) is a catalog or database of SITES. The most popular index on the web is Yahoo. Indexes are arranged in a hierarchy of categories.You have to tell them your URL, description, keywords, and other information they need when you register. Indexes are often also called Directories.

You should only register your home page with Indexes, but you can register more than one page on your site with Search Engines

Q. What is the difference between site search and web search?

A). "Site search" is what a visitor to your site uses to locate pages on your site only.
"Web search" is used to locate pages anywhere on the entire internet. Typically, web search results do not include pages from your site simply because your site is only one of millions.

Q. What is URL submission ?

A). It is the transmission of your URL, which is your web page's address on the internet, to highly trafficked sites for placement in their indexes. Included with the URL are the web page's title, a description and your keywords that are used to find information at Search engines, Online directories, specialty sites, free classified ad sites and link pages.

Q. What is Search Engine Optimization?

A). Search Engine optimization or SEO is the general name for a broad spectrum of techniques that can be used to improve your search engine rankings.

These techniques range from legitimate techniques such as proper keyword selection,search-engine friendly page design and meta-tag construction, to dubious (and hated by the search engines) stunts like cloaking and link farming.

Q. What is considered a top search engine position?
A). Recent studies indicate that if people can't find what they're looking for within the first 30 listings of a search query, they will enter a different search term and look elsewhere. With that in mind, we consider a top position to be a listing in the first 30. Of course, everybody wants to be number one in every search engine, but in reality, no search engine optimization company can absolutely control what a search engine does.

Q. What is a keyword?
A). A keyword (or key phrase) is the set of words that is typed into the search box of a search engine to find a particular business or topic.

Q. I received an email that says I can get on the st page in 2 days?
A). If you want to pay for your positioning, commonly known as "pay for placement" or "sponsored links" this is possible through googles adwords and/or yahoo search marketing. The drawback to this type of marketing is that you cannot control the cost which can change hourly.

Q. Do I need to host my web site with your company?
A). You do not need to host with us to take advantage of our services. If you are with another host company, you will need to provide us with information (hostname, username, password, and initial directory) to access to your web files via FTP. If you prefer, we can provide you with the doorway pages and you or your webmaster can upload these pages to your server.

What is a domain name?
A domain name is an Internet address (example: www.affordablewebsites.net).  This is the convention used to access a web site. Many people use domain names to promote their business (example: www.yourcompany.com).

Who do I list as the contact on the registration?
Contacts are individuals who represent the registrant on matters related to the domain registration.

How much does a new Domain Name registration cost? How long is the registration valid?
The fee for domain names starts at $9.50 or lower. New registrations are in effect for up to 10 years.

The registration fee covers the initial registration activities and most updates to the domain name record during the initial 2 year registration period. These updates include: updating the registrant's address, replacing the existing contacts with new contacts, updating information about existing contacts and changing name servers.

Registration fees are non refundable.

How do I pay for my domain name registration?
When you submit your domain registration online, there will be a field for you to include your payment information. Through an association with godaddy.com, we have our own domain registrar, affordabledomains.ws.