website design in london
Hosting is the storage of data on a remote server. A remote server is basically a computer just like the one you have but one that is switched on all the time and is also connected to the internet permanently. Or at least 99% of the time. And the data typically consists of html files that can be viewed by a browser. If you are given a choice of Windows or Linux then go for Linux on Apache. I also use something called a “.htaccess file” which works with Apache servers. Windows servers tend to be a bit more expensive as well.
How does that relate to you? Well, someone has to pay for that computer and that connection and its maintenance. If you want to put your files on that computer (server) then you have to pay your “host” a “hosting” fee. You are paying rent basically to accommodate your files. Typical costs will be around £45.00 for a year. There are cheaper services, but their support may not be very good or the company may go bust at any time. Their “uptime” may be very low as well. As with buying any other product, it's always good to check the quality of service and the reputation.
arupdesigns.co.uk is a domain. The domain is not the site, but merely the name. You can buy the rights to a domain name so that nobody else can use it except you. You usually hold those rights for a year or two years. You may find that the name you are looking for has already been bought and you have to think of something similar. You can buy them from a domain name seller for around £10.00 for a year.
Most hosting providers now offer domain names as part of a package. So you could get your hosting and domain name together. If it's a reputable and reliable hosting provider, that would be fine. If you want to be safe, buy your domain separately so that you hold the rights to that domain and not your hosting provider. Just in case they happen to go bust.
I would say about a week is the absolute minimum. Just to get the domain name and hosting account organised could take that amount of time. But most people cannot move that fast. They need time to work on the look of the site. To think about what goes where and a whole host of other things that they hadn't thought about before. So unless you've done a lot of preparation and have all your text and images ready then 3 months would be quite a realistic estimate.
I accept all forms of payment: cash, cheques (payable to Arup Sen), credit card, bank transfer and Paypal. We can discuss this further when we meet.
If only need to make changes every six months or so then it's much easier if you just get in touch and give me the list of required changes.
If you need regular changes, for example once a week, then it would be better to get your site made with a user admin panel. I will provide training in how to use this and then you can make as many changes as you need. Simple changes such as editing text, adding images and creating categories.
If you need to make big changes such as a completely new look to the site or restructuring the contents then it could mean rebuilding the whole site. Or it could easier than it actually looks. Best to get in touch and discuss it.
Trends change and so do technologies. You have to move with the times. So if you want a more modern look to your site, then I can do that for you. You may just want to make it simpler or add more content and structure. Add some of the effects that some of the more popular sites are using or implement some of the feature requests from your users.
Yes of course. Some of my clients have created designs on paper and some have created them digitally. It's all too easy to get caught up in the look of the site rather than is contents. It's really about arranging the contents on the screen. Once there is an actual prototype site you'll find it much easier to move forward with your ideas.
I have blog on my site, so can you. Blogging has becoming a popular extension to a website and I can certainly add this to your site. You have to check with your hosting provider that they have PHP/MySQL but most of them do. Blogs tend to come in various shapes and sizes with different feature sets. The one I use is called Wordpress.
I have a lot of experience with Wordpress and as such would be able to help you build your blog exactly as you want it. Wordpress has many themes or templates to modify its look. If you can't find one that suits you then I can create a custom theme for you. I also offer training in how to use it. There also many plugins or add-on software modules available to extend Wordpress to allow you to create slideshows, galleries or podcasts. The blog could be part of the site or even the site itself.
Online shopping is gradually taking over the retail market with increased sales every year. But how do payments work? They are done by a payment handler or payment gateway. They act as an intermediary between the customer and the bank. When you get to the point in your online shopping session where you enter your card details it is the payment handler that verifies your details and undertakes the transaction between the real bank accounts.
Whether you have an online store or just a few products you need to set up an account with a payment handler such as Paypoint or Paypal. They then give the website developer the code required to integrate your basket or one-off products with card payments.
Yes. In fact you can have as many as you want. I have arup@arupdesigns.co.uk, but I could also have things like admin@arupdesigns.co.uk or info@arupdesigns.co.uk and so on. You can check this address via webmail, have the message forwarded to your regular e-mail address or set it up in your mail client such as Microsoft Outlook, Mac Mail or Mozilla Thunderbird. I can come and help you set up your e-mail client too.
SEO means search engine optimisation. I don't even pretend to be an expert on the subject and there are people who spend all their time on this. They get paid a lot too. It's all about being found by search engines such as Google. So how does your site get higher on the list when someone searches subjects covered on your site?
Every search engine has a piece of software called a crawler or a spider that works its way around the internet and collects information. Basically, they read the code for each page, mostly the textual content and hyperlinks. So a big part of SEO is about arranging the code and content of the page. The methods fall into two main categories, namely “white hat” and “black hat”.
Black hat methods will of course incur penalties when discovered and the site using these methods can be removed from their list. So it is better to use “white hat” methods. And that's what I'll be doing. Here are the main things that I do:
Optimising your site code is only half the story the rest is about building links. Inbound links as they are called. If there are links to your website on other websites then your page rank will increase. So it is important to build links. I'm not talking one or two I mean hundreds and thousands.
If you want to have advertising on your site that is very easy to implement. I need to know this in advance in order to create areas for ad placement. There are standard sizes for advertising banners on websites so you will need to decide which sizes would best suit your layout. If your site is likely to generate a lot of traffic then it is well worth considering as there is the potential to earn a regular income from your site through advertising.
I'm happy to answer any questions by phone or via e-mail. Please feel free to get in touch.