Web Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What sort of web site do I need?

A. First off lets look at the different types of web site available. To keep things simple we’ll split the types of site into three groups; Brochure, CMS and E-Commerce.
Brochure websites are like an online version of a printed brochure, they have information about what you do, pictures relating to what you do and information on how to contact you to discuss what you do. The only dissadvantage to a Brochure site is when it comes to changing it or adding to it, then just like with a printed brochure you have to go back to the designer and get them to make any alterations for you.
CMS or ‘Content Management System’ web sites give the control back to you and almost all the content can be edited and added to using nothing more than your web browser.
E-Commerce sites are CMS sites but geared especially towards selling online.
Which type of site you need depends very much on how you intend to use your site, if you have no interest or no time to edit or write on your site then it is more likely you’ll be happy with a Brochure site, if however you intend to write a blog (like an online diary of what you or your company are up to) or you wish to be in total control of your site then you’ll need a CMS site or to sell multiple products online an E-Commerce site is required.

Q. What is a ‘domain’ or ‘domain name’?

A. It’s your online name or website address, so in our case insightstudio.co.uk is our domain. There are lots of web sites that let you search for your desired domain name, but be warned you usually have to be quite creative or lucky to get your first choice of domain name, so many have already been taken particularly .com and .co.uk. We are often asked whether we suggest .com or .co.uk or .org , .co or .biz etc etc but this is influenced by what sort of business you are running so get in touch and we can advise. You can register a domain yourself or get Insight Studio to register it for you, we would normally suggest you register a domain name yourself, that way you never feel tied to Insight Studio…people stay with us because they want to ;o)

Q. What is ‘hosting’?

A. Once you have an address (domain name) then you need the space for your website to exist on….hosting is space on a web server where the world can view your site, it’s where all the files that make up your web site exist so the public can view them (only the files they are meant to!) Insight Studio can provide a hosting account for you and this is free for the first year and then currently  £100/year after that. Although it is easier for all involved if we host your site please don’t feel you have to have it hosted by us as there are many other providers out there and we would never hold you to ransom ;o)

Q. Will my site be ‘search engine friendly….What is SEO and do you do it….Where will I come in Google….’?

A. Any web site from Insight Studio will be search engine friendly and well structured (if you want to discuss exactly how then please get in touch) and in some ways this means it has SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) but this term is being used much more broadly these days…and often incorrectly as it should really be referred to as….ready for another acronym…SEM (Search Engine Marketing) This can include all sorts of things that are totally independant of the site itself and therefore beyond our services. If you feel you require SEO from a specialist company then we are happy to discuss this with you and give you the information you will need to make a well informed choice, be warned there are a lot of unethical companies in this part of the industry and please don’t go in to it believing everything you’re told, our policy is to simply repeat Google’s own facts (an introduction to which can be read by clicking here) So the last point ‘where will I come in Google’ we will not guarantee a position in Google as it is simply not possible to do so as clearly stated in Googles own words “Beware of SEOs that claim to guarantee rankings….”.

Q. What will it Cost?

A. We really need to know exactly what it is you require before we can provide an accurate quotation but we understand everyone needs some sort of idea of the costs involved in any project so as a guide;
Brochure sites are around £100/page with a minimum of three pages (most the work is in the initial design rather than the page count)
CMS sites start at £750 (For this price you can expect up to 10 pages that you can then edit yourself, so you can see how a CMS site can work out more cost effective than a brochure site)
E-Commerce sites start at around £1000.

We are happy to answer any other questions that you may have so please feel free to get in touch