Frequently Asked Questions

 
Questions

Website Development

  1. How much does it cost to design a web site?
  2. How many changes can I make to the website design template?
  3. Do you provide hosting services in addition to website designing?
  4. What are the basic steps in getting my web site up and running?

Domain Registration

  1. What is a domain name?
  2. What is a top-level domain (TLD)?
  3. What is a second-level domain (SLD) ?
  4. What is the domain name system (DNS) ?
  5. What does it mean to register a domain name ?
  6. What is a name server ?
  7. What does it mean to park a domain name ?
  8. What does it mean to forward a domain name ?
  9. What does it mean to forward with masking ?

Web Hosting

  1. What does it mean to host a domain?
  2. Can I purchase a domain without having a hosting provider yet?
  3. What is Virtual Hosting?
  4. What are PHP, ASP, perl, etc?
  5. What is uptime?
  6. What is the difference between UNIX hosting and Windows hosting?
  7. What is a Dedicated Server?
Answers

Website Development


  1. How much does it cost to design a web site?
    How much a site costs to design depends on a number of factors:
    • number of pages on the website
    • types and number of graphic images on the website
    • programming
    • web copywriting
    • online marketing

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  2. How many changes can I make to the website design template?

    That depends entirely on whether you are paying us on hourly basis or on per project basis.

    If you are paying us on hourly basis, you can make as many changes as you wish to the design template as you wish. If you request too many changes to your website design, or if you change a design template after the entire site has been formatted with the template, you will incur more charges.

    If you are paying us a flat fee for the whole project, then there is a limit to the changes that you can request for website design. We offer a reasonable number of revisions to the initial design templates. Once the design has been finalized and the development process started, design related changes are not possible unless the project quotation is revised.


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  3. Do you provide hosting services in addition to website designing?

    No, we do not offer web hosting services directly. That is we do not have a web hosting business of our own.

    However we can certainly help you in finding the right host based on your website's needs and your budget. We can also arrange and manage hosting for your website on your behalf. All hosting expenses are borne by the client.


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  4. What are the basic steps in getting my web site up and running?

    The four basic steps in getting your web site developed are:

    1. Register your domain - Domain name that is available today might be registered by someone else tomorrow. So the moment you decide that you need a website, get your domain name registered.
    2. Website Development - The second step in creating an online presence is to get your website designed and developed. This the most crucial step and will require a lot of input from your side.

      The step starts with initial consultation and identification of client's business or personal website requirements. All ideas will be assembled into a comprehensive, coherent format to best represent the unique mission of the client.
    3. Web Hosting - Web Hosting involves the placement of a web site or many web sites on a server that is connected to the Internet. The simplest and often the less costlier option is to opt for Linux hosting. Linux provides a number of tools and technologies like for PHP, Perl and MySQL for website development. On the other hand Windows is often more costlier and provides ASP, MS SQL and MS Access for developing websites.

      Your choice of hosting platform depends upon on the technologies decided on to develop the website and most of your end users will be least bothered about which platform you choose.
    4. Search Engine Promotion - Your Web business will succeed only if customers can find your site. Forty-one percent of American consumers say they use search engines to find Websites where they research purchases, making search engines like Google™ the most common source of Website traffic.

      Promoting your site takes a lot of time and may involve waiting several weeks or even months to get into certain directories and search engines.

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Domain Registration


  1. What is a domain name?

    A domain name is a Web address. The domain name is mapped to an IP address (which represents a physical point on the Internet). Thus a domain name locates an organization or other entity on the Internet. When someone types a domain name into a Web browser, the requested Web page will open. For example, the domain name www.yourdomain.com locates an Internet address for "yourdomain.com."

    A domain name consists of a top-level and a second-level domain. The "com" part of the domain name generally reflects the type or purpose of the organization or entity and is called the top-level domain (TLD) name. The part of the domain name located to the left of the dot (" . ") — "yourdomain" in this case — is called the second-level domain (SLD) name. The second-level domain name — being the "readable" part of the address — refers to the organization or entity behind the Internet address. Second-level domain names must be unique on the Internet and registered with an Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers- (ICANN-)accredited registrar.


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  2. What is a top-level domain (TLD)?

    A top-level domain is the part of the domain name located to the right of the dot (" . "). The most common TLDs are .com, .net and .org. Several new top-level domains have been added to the menu recently, including, .biz, .info, .name, and .ws

    The top-level domains have certain guidelines attached, but are for the most part available to any registrant, anywhere in the world. Exceptions are the restricted TLDs (rTLDs) — which include .aero, .biz, .edu, .mil, .museum, .name, and .pro — that require the registrant to represent a certain type of entity, or to belong to a certain community. The .name TLD is available strictly for individuals, while .edu is reserved for educational entities, such as universities or high schools.

    Where appropriate, a top-level domain name can be of geographic significance and hence only available to registrants in the locale defined by the TLD. These are called country-code TLDs (ccTLDs) and include such top-level domains as .bz (Belize),.ca (Canada), .dk (Denmark), .ec (Ecuador), ie (Republic of Ireland), .uk (United Kingdom), .us (United States), and .zw (Zimbabwe)


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  3. What is a second-level domain (SLD) ?

    Located immediately to the left of the dot (" . "), the second-level domain is the "readable" part of the domain name. The second-level domain is entirely defined by the registrant, and often refers to the organization or entity associated with the IP address. For example: In www.cnn.com "cnn" (Cable News Network) is a second-level domain.

    Second-level domains can be divided into further domain levels. For example: www.sportsillustrated.cnn.com. These sub domains sometimes represent different computer servers within departments. More than one second-level domain name can be used for the same IP address.


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  4. What is the domain name system (DNS) ?

    The domain name system (DNS) enables each machine connected on the Internet to be recognized by a domain name. Every computer on the Internet has a unique IP (Internet protocol) address which consists of a string of numbers. Since the IP addresses can be difficult to remember, the DNS allows a familiar string of letters (the "domain name") to be used instead of the IP address. So instead of typing the IP address' arcane string of numbers you can type, for example, "www.truelogictech.com"


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  5. What does it mean to register a domain name ?

    The Internet domain name system (DNS) consists of a directory, organized hierarchically, of all the domain names and their corresponding computers registered to particular companies and persons using the Internet.

    When you register a domain name, it will be associated with the computer on the Internet you designate during the period the registration is in effect.
    Note that the above description applies to domains that are registered and hosted. If the registrant elects to, a domain can instead be registered and parked. A parked domain name does not need a DNS affiliation.


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  6. What is a name server ?

    A name server is a computer that contains a list of domain names and the associated IP addresses. When a domain name is typed in a Web browser's address bar, the name server associates that with the IP address, and the correct Web site — barring any unforeseen difficulties — opens in the Web browser window.


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  7. What does it mean to park a domain name ?

    Essentially, to park a domain name means to reserve your registered domain until you have created the site content, found a hosting provider, or sold the domain to a third party. When you park your site, a temporary Web page will be displayed until you have decided what to do with the domain. Domain name parking is often used by registrants who do not yet have a hosting provider.

    Parking options include a one-page Web site that'll inform the visitor to the site that, for example, this page is "Under Construction," "Coming Soon," or "For Sale." You can also elect to have a customized page displayed. To set up your parked domain, use the One-Page Web Site Setup Wizard in the "Parked Pages" section of the account management department.


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  8. What does it mean to forward a domain name ?

    Forwarding a domain name enables you to direct incoming traffic from your domain to an already existing Web site. Thus, when someone attempts to access your site, he or she is automatically redirected.

    Typically, this option is selected by users who are registering a new domain, but are already hosting their files elsewhere. When the domain name is forwarded, the destination address, not your domain name, is displayed in the browser's address bar. This can be avoided by choosing to forward with masking.


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  9. What does it mean to forward with masking ?

    If you decide to forward with masking, visitors are effectively kept from knowing they have been redirected. Forwarding with masking secures that your domain name remains in a visitor's browser's address bar when the visitor is being redirected. That way, the actual destination address is concealed from the user who only sees the domain name from which he or she is being forwarded.

    If you are using regular forwarding, the destination address, not your domain name, is displayed when the visitor is redirected. So if, for example, the destination Web page has the address http://geocities.com/username, that address can be hidden and www.yourdomain.com can be shown instead.


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Web Hosting


  1. What does it mean to host a domain?

    Hosting (also known as Web site hosting and Web hosting) is the business of housing, serving, and maintaining files for one or more Web sites. While web pages are designed and developed on a single computer, they must be transferred to a server, or host, so that they are available to the rest of the world over the Internet. A host is simply a computer that has a constant, high speed connection to the Internet.


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  2. Can I purchase a domain without having a hosting provider yet?

    You can register and purchase as many domains names as you'd like and choose to have them parked until you have found a hosting provider. To do so, register a domain name and select "Parking." If this option is chosen, a temporary Web page will be displayed while you finish creating your site, sell the domain, etc. The temporary site will inform anyone passing by that this is the future location of your site. The temporary site will be active 24-48 hours after you have completed the purchase.


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  3. What is Virtual Hosting?

    Also known as shared hosting, this form of web hosting should suffice for most everyone.

    Virtual hosting simple refers to the fact that your site is on one server, and that this server hosts mulitple sites. You are virtually shared - your site will not be the only one on this specific server.

    Very few sites would actually need the power of a dedicated server, so this option provides to be a reliable and cheap solution.


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  4. What are PHP, ASP, perl, etc?
    These are all programming languages which are referred to by their acronyms.

    PHP - PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor
    ASP - Active Server Pages
    Perl - Practical Extraction Report Language

    Each programming language has its own benefits and uses.

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  5. What is uptime?

    Uptime is literally what it means - it is the amount of time your site is online throughout the entire month.

    The best uptime would be 100%, but because things can break, many hosts offer 99.9% uptime guarantees. This means that if your site is not accessible for more than 43 minutes in a single month, they will reimburse you, depending on their terms of service.


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  6. What is the difference between UNIX hosting and Windows hosting?

    Depending on which operating system to go with depends on your needs.

    If you need to support Microsoft products such as ASP, MS Access, or VBScript, then Windows hosting would be better. Furthermore, if you are comfortable with IIS and do not have the time to understand how UNIX works, Windows hosting would again be a better choice. But this is relevant only if you handle the administration of the server yourself.

    There are some things to remember :

    First of all, just because you use Windows at home does not mean you should use Windows hosting. The two are completely different, and having a Windows system at home will not affect your ability to communicate with a UNIX server. From the visitors' point of view, a website hosted on Unix or Linux will look and function no different than the one hosted on Windows.

    Secondly, Linux is much more common with web hosts due to its superior stability and because it is free. Since it is free, Linux hosting is usually cheaper than Windows. Just because it’s free does not mean it’s not as good - Linux is an excellent product too.


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  7. What is a Dedicated Server?

    For sites requiring more power than what normal hosting can provide, a dedicated server is usually the better route to take.

    Having a dedicated server is a completely different from normal virtual (shared) hosting. The server is now fully yours - the entire hard disk and all the bandwidth allocated can be used as you want. There is no longer any CPU Usage restriction. If you need, you can use up 100% CPU utilization. You can put all your sites on this one server without having to worry about paying hosting fees for each site added.

    But along with these new liberations come new responsibilities. Most important is to ensure that you server is always patched and up to date. There are new updates being constantly released, which if not applied to your server could let a hacker could gain inner access to your server.

    Because management can be so difficult, there are usually two types of dedicated hosting offered:

    • Unmanaged - your host will not help you maintain the server. Far more cheaper than managed dedicated, you should only opt for an unmanaged server if you are well versed with how a server functions. The server will be given to you either with a plain operating system installation or with a control panel installed. It is your duty to take care of all upgrades, patches, configuration, security, and fixing any problems. In such a situation, it might be worthwhile to hire a system administrator to ensure that your server is always in good condition
    • Managed - your host will assist you in the upkeep of your server. This can be quite expensive, but for those without the technical skills it can be very helpful. By choosing to go with a managed dedicated server, the web host will help you with the above-mentioned administrator responsibilities. While more expensive, it will save you the headache of trying to get your server to work if there are any problems.

    Dedicated servers come either as just plain installations (where only the operating system and basic services are installed) or with a control panel. The control panel lets you easily modify most server features from a web page. It should be noted that the control panel will have limitations, and will not provide access to everything.

    It should be noted that with a dedicated server, even though you may be paying a set up fee, the server is usually owned by the company . you are only renting it for the time being.


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