FAQ

How to have a GREAT business website!

• What are the choices involved in having my own Upstate website?
There are three areas:

• Design - this of course has to do with creating all of the appearance and function details of your website. The design can be very simple; or quite complex, depending on your budget and on the amount of information you'd like to see included on your site.
• Hosting - Once your website is finished, we "host" or publish it so that it appears on the web. We offer three levels of hosting that vary by how much service is included.
• Domain name registration - Your domain name - or "URL" (Universal Resource Locator) is the ".com or .net, etc." that a searcher types into her computer to find your website. Our domain name for example, is "www.upstatewebservices.com". Domain names are registered on a "first come-first served" basis. If you don't already have a domain name, we can help you to search for one that fits your business and that you like.

• What are the costs of having an Upstate Website?

• Design costs- Our design costs are priced up front in a personalized proposal; and are non-recurring. That means that once the website's design is paid for, your only expenses beyond that will be hosting and domain name registration (unless you request additional design work in the future).
       We advertise one-paged websites that we create with a template and some basic information with very few changes from $149; and four-paged sites from $449. Some of the ways to keep design costs at a minimum are: 1) adding only those pages that are necessary, 2) providing your own logos and pictures, 3) providing as much of the text as possible yourself, and 4) avoiding custom graphics design, if possible.

• Hosting costs- Hosting fees are priced annually and are recurring. We don't require minimum hosting time committments, but fees are paid in advance and are non-refundable.
       We offer three levels of hosting: 1) Basic for $99/yr that includes no additional services. 2) Service for $199/yr includes basic plus up to 30 minutes of design time per month (unused minutes do not roll over) for price and other changes due to normal changes in business operations (additions and modifications of the website excluded). 3) SEO (Search Engine Optimization) includes Service level plus ongoing SEO steps to promote your website in the web.
• Domain name registration costs- If you don't already have one, we help you to search for your name in the first place without cost. The registration fee is $20 per domain name; and is recurring annually. Domain names are paid for in advance, and the fee is non-refundable.

• What forms of payment do you accept?
Cash, good checks, Paypal and most major credit cards. Terms can sometimes be arranged for especially larger projects; and we're open to barter proposals from especially companies located near our home in Rochester, NY.


• What are the steps for having my own Upstate website?
First, contact us to discuss your project. We'll customize a sample page just for you and publish it on our website for you to see either that day or the next. After discussing that page and learning your preferences, we'll prepare a written proposal that includes pricing. We'll refine the proposal, making whatever additions or deletions are needed; and when we have agreement, the work will begin.

• How long does it take after agreement until the site's published online?
It depends on the size of the project. A simple one-paged site could be up and running within a day or two (subject to domain name transfer times). Three or four page sites can often take a week or more, depending on how long it takes to get photos and other content. Larger sites can take correspondingly longer times.

• How much control do I have over the design process?
While our goal is always to create websites that we can be proud to have representing OUR name; we never lose sight of the fact that it's YOUR website: Not ours. You'll be involved in the process from the beginning; and no page of your site will be published without your approval.

• What if we don't like the website that you design for us?
Because we work so closely from the very beginning, it's unlikely that the project would go far without your liking what's happening. Still, you can decide to discontinue the project at any time and for any reason. If you make that decision before the website is actually published online, all monies paid as a deposit for design work will be refunded (Photo and video production expenses - if any - are excepted; and additional terms apply for projects over five pages in size).

• We do have a domain name now with another host: Do you arrange for the transfer of that name to you?
We do, but the procedure is that you'll need to let your present host know that you're moving the name. Usually they'll email the needed information to you. When you in turn forward it to us, we'll arrange the transfer.

• That's if you hold the name; but what if I want to hold the name myself?
We're fine with that; and will help you to configure your name to point to our servers. We do strongly suggest that you set your name on "automatic renew" with whatever registrar you choose.

• What SEO (search engine optimization) steps do you take if we don't opt to take the SEO hosting?
ALL of our websites receive basic SEO attention: Meta content that includes titles, descriptions and keywords are carefully chosen. The text on the site itself is worded to include as many keywords as possible. "Alt" text is included for every image.

• Do you use Cascading Style Sheets; and why are they desireable?
Yes, all of our websites use CSS - or cascading stylesheets - to control the appearance of many of your website's details. The advantage to the owner of the site is primarily a wider range of design and style options, and shorter page-load times.

• What about Javascript effects?
Javascript is an optional component that can create a wide range of appearance and interactivity effects. Unfortunately, individual users sometimes choose to turn off the Javascript function on their machines because of security concerns. When Javascript is used on a website for exotic looking navigation for example, that navigation will be rendered useless to those users. For that reason, we use only HTML (text or image links) or CSS for navigation on all of our websites. We do sometimes use Javascript for fading slideshows or other visual effects that don't directly relate to navigation or page visibility.