There
are many reasons, but for businesses the answers fall into a few main categories:
- To have an Internet "presence." The
Internet has become so popular during the last few years that not having a presence is
almost like not being listed in the telephone directory. Although this reason may seem
trivial at first, people throughout the world are using the Internet more and more each
day to search for information about companies of many types.
- To attract more business or new business. Your Web
site can be at work selling your product or service 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The
Web can provide audio/visual effects (movies, animation, sound bites), interactivity
(on-line order forms, questionnaires, etc.) and freshness (updates as often as you like)
unmatched by conventional advertising media. In other words, there are things you can do
with your Web site that could never be done with your other forms of advertising. Your Web
site will not replace your other advertisements, but it will complement them in a very
powerful way when used properly.
- To serve current customers or clients better.
Technical support information, product specifications, up-to-date price lists, phone
numbers and e-mail addresses can all be built into your Web site. This provides a great
way for your current clientele to access important information with minimal effort and
could give your customer service efforts a big boost.
- To conduct on-line commerce. Technology now exists to
allow customers to securely submit their credit card information via your Web site to
place orders for goods or services.
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How much will it cost?
A single, high-quality page typically costs
$110.00. This is a one-time charge for layout and design, search
engine registration, etc. Once your page is designed, Ozewebhost
can then host your site on our high speed web server. The cost
for web site hosting is billed monthly in advance with pricing
plans starting at $27.50.
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Why should I choose Ozewebhost to design and maintain
my organisation's Web site?
Your Web presence is
important. If it is not viewable in all browsers, if it loads too slowly, or if it is
difficult to navigate, it is not working as hard for you as it should be. In fact, it may
even be working against you.
We have over 20 years experience with computers,
software and programming. This provides us with the knowledge, experience, and tools
to do the job right. From the simplest single page to the most complex and sophisticated
sites, you can be confident that our product will leave your Internet visitors with a
positive impression of your company or organisation. And because
Ozewebhost's prices are
so affordable, there is no reason to take chances by settling for anything less than the
best.
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Anybody can design website these days... Right?
Modern web creation and publishing tools
have made it easier for individuals who are computer literate to
create simple websites. However,
producing high-quality, interactive Web sites still requires skills and talents that
develop with time and experience.
If you want to be sure that the final product is up
to par, it makes sense to hire experienced professionals to do the job right. In the end,
you'll save time, energy and money (compared to paying your employees to learn to do the
job in-house or having to re-design a site that is poorly done the first time).
Smart business people know that initial cost and
out-of-pocket expense are not the true measure of how much something costs. We don't
stop until you're totally satisfied and, more importantly, that your web site begins
producing the business result you desire.
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What do I need to know about URLs and domain names?
Your URL (Universal
Resource Locator) is your Internet address. People type this address into their browsers
to get to your Web site. There are two main types of URLs that are available for your Web
site. You can choose either of these depending on your needs and preferences.
- Your site can be listed as a subset of your Internet
Service Provider's (ISP's) site. This method is least expensive but often makes your URL a
bit longer and harder to remember and to type. Example:
http://www.ozewebhost.com.au/~crago/ where <Ozewebhost.com.au> is the name of the
ISP and <crago> is the name of the individual who owns the Web site.
- You can register your own domain name. This gives
your site its own special identity. It costs more than the method described above but adds
a touch of prestige to your business's Internet presence. Example: http://www.crago.com,
where <crago> is the name of the business that owns the site. The name of the
ISP that hosts the site is not apparent in the URL.
In either case, your site can be viewed by people
all over the world no matter how they access the Web. Also in either case, your site can
be listed in Internet search engines so that people who don't already know your URL will
be able to find you by searching for certain key words that appear in your site. If these
ideas are new and unfamiliar to you, we will be happy to explain them in more detail. Just
give us a call!
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How can I get more traffic to my Web site?
As a free service to each
of our Web site design clients, Ozewebhost submits the site's basic information to
the major search engines that accept automated submissions. Client's should realise however that since these
search engines contain literally millions of entries, search engine registration alone
will not necessarily bring thousands of visitors to your site overnight. We recommend that
our clients use a battery of marketing strategies to bring traffic to their site. These
include, but are not limited to the following:
- Keep your site clean and error free. Nobody will
spend much time on a site that takes forever to load or one that is filled with broken
links. Let us know if you find errors or hear of problems with your site.
- Publicise your URL (Web site address) on your
business cards, fax cover sheets, company letterhead, etc. These documents are going
directly to the people with whom you want to do business (or with whom you want to
continue to do business). Make sure they see your Web site!
- Register your own domain name (e.g.,
yourcompany.com). It's more professional and easier to remember than a long URL that
attaches your name to the name of your Internet Service Provider.
- Advertise your Web site on the radio, in print ads
and on television. If these media are already in your marketing plan, it's easy to include
your URL at the end of the ad. While these ads are generally limited in content, they can
draw inquisitive listeners, viewers, and readers to your site for more detailed
information.
- Make sure you're registered with the major search
engines and directories. If your site was developed by us within the past few months,
chances are that your site already appears in these search listings. On the other hand, if
it's been a while since we submitted your site, you may find that your listing has been
dropped from these databases. The good news is that it's relatively easy for us to
re-submit your site to hundreds of search engines.
- Get others to link to your site. If we developed your
site, you're already linked to the Ozewebhost business directory. Chambers of commerce,
Internet service providers, community organisations and others all offer free or
inexpensive ways to get your site linked. Also consider reciprocal links to your business
associates' sites and to your clients' sites.
- Keep your site fresh. If people return to your site
for a second visit, will they see the same thing they did last time? In some cases, that
may not be a big problem, but in other cases, it could spell disaster. If you feature
products, real estate listings or press releases, make sure that there is something new at
least once a month.
- Make your site valuable to your visitors. Consider
rewarding them for coming to your site with a special printable coupon, a tip of the day
or information that helps them make decisions or purchases.
- Announce your new site with a press release. Unlike a
paid ad, this is FREE. Of course, it is most appropriate if your site is new.
- Create an ad banner campaign. Ozewebhost can design
an ad banner for this type of use and can help you to draw attention to your site by
getting your ad banner to appear on other Web sites both far and near.
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Why does my site look different on different computers?
If you use more than one
computer or more than one Web browser to surf the 'Net, you already know that the same
page may look and act quite different depending on how you view it. Dozens of variables
such as Web browser, monitor size, video colour depth and operating system can all affect
the way a site displays and behaves.
The World Wide Web is full of examples like these
that underscore the importance of professional Web page development. There are all too
many Web pages that look wonderful in the latest version of a popular browser, but appear
dishevelled, disorganised, or completely unreadable to millions of other potential viewers
who have different hardware/software configurations.
At Ozewebhost, we strive to make sure that your Web
presence is available to 100% of its potential audience. We make use of the latest
advances and browser extensions while also considering those who view the Web through
other less sophisticated combinations of hardware and software.
This Web site is a good example. It uses the latest
in Java, JavaScript and HTML 4.0. Although it looks different to different viewers, it is
viewable to everyone who visits because Ozewebhost has designed it for, and tested it on,
a wide variety of platforms and browsers. (Try viewing it on a number of different
computers or with a number of different browsers to see for yourself.)
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Who maintains my site once it has been designed?
Once your site is
published, you will probably want to make occasional or periodic changes to keep it
looking fresh and up to date. That is one of the great advantages of the Web as a means of
mass communication. There are two ways to accomplish these updates.
The first option is to have it done in-house by your
own staff. This might make sense if you anticipate a high volume of changes on a regular
basis, and you employ trained individuals who can devote the time to keep a site current
and polished. However, it has been our considerable experience that most organisations
find this method much more labor-intensive and complex than they at first anticipated. In
fact, many clients who initially decide to maintain their own sites, later realise that it
is more cost-effective to have Ozewebhost perform routine maintenance tasks, especially
when they consider the hidden cost of a site that doesn't function properly or looks less
than professional to their prospective customers or clients.
Ozewebhost has as much interest in your site looking
good and functioning properly as you do (maybe even more). When one of our sites is
visually or functionally disrupted by a well-intentioned maintainer outside our
organisation, it reflects badly on us and on the client for whom the site was designed.
Therefore, from the very beginning, we made a
conscious decision to offer one of the most affordable and flexible maintenance policies
anywhere. Because we have all the necessary tools and the skills that have developed with
years of experience, we can perform maintenance tasks much faster, and therefore more
affordably, than most organisations can do in-house. The choice is yours, but our
maintenance fees are so low that the outcome for most organisations is obvious.
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