Information on this page has been divided into three categories, Basic, containing questions on basic web terminology, General, containing general questions on our procedures, policy and services, and Technical, referencing more technical questions.
Although the Internet had been around for awhile, HTML (HyperText Markup Language) was invented by a fellow named Tim Berners-Lee, in 1989, when he created the World Wide Web, as a tool for manipulating and cross-referencing scientific text, using "mark-up" tags for formatting. Since that time, HTML has grown to include graphics, multimedia, and other imbedded objects, and is still the basis for the formatting and structure of most pages you view on the web. HTML works on the "client-side", meaning it is interpeted, then displayed by your browser as it is read.
Since standardization has been slow in coming, different browser manufacturers interpret some code differently, which sometimes creates some frustrations for the web programmer. Sometimes a "happy medium" needs to be acheived so that a site will display correctly in various browsers. Other technologies have come about, however, such as CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), that help in this process.
As HTML has grown, it has also become cumbersome. Cascading Style Sheets was developed by the World Wide Web Consortium, an organization that oversees the architecture and standardization of the Web.
The basic premise of CSS is to remove the styling markup from HTML code and place it into separate documents called "style sheets".
The word "cascading" comes in as there is a hierarchy of precedence in the use of style definitions. This allows the web developer to set up a basic style sheet, while overriding variations can be written into the "head" of an HTML document, or within a line of HTML markup code.
Cascading Style Sheets allow the web developer to define basic styles for an entire site. They also provide for greater flexibility and efficiency. The ability to hide and display the text on this page is brought to you through the advantages of CSS.
Using JavaScript to detect the brand of browser, we are able to define different style sheets to accommodate the differences between browser HTML interpretations. These technologies also allow us to adjust the display to look good at various resolutions. Before CSS came along, this would have meant coding an entire different set of pages for each browser at each screen resolution - an expensive task.
Common Gateway Interface (CGI) programs interact directly with the web server. These programs are called "server-side" programs because they have the ability to send information to the server, receive a response, and display that response dynamically to the web browser.
For Example: A "client-side" script, such as an HTML page, or JavaScript code, is static - it never changes. Static pages simply define what is interpreted, then displayed by the browser. Server-side programs, on the other hand, work directly with the server to initiate a process on the server, receive a response, and send that information back to the browser to be displayed. CGI programs can allow access to a database, create an HTML page, process credit card transactions, create form mail, and a whole host of other interactive activities.
PHP is an extremely fast and powerful "server-side" programming language. Although it is basically classified as a CGI (Common Gateway Interface) language, PHP holds many advantages over common CGI languages.
For starters, PHP was designed to be embedded into HTML markup code.
In other words, it can be directly intermixed with HTML, rather than being contained in a separate program. What this means is that PHP makes it very easy to write interactive web pages. PHP also provides a wide range of interfaces, which means that it can interact with several other languages and databases.
PHP provides the means to do everything from processing data to generating graphics on the fly. As an example, the page you are viewing now was written using a PHP script. Until moments ago, the text you are reading now only resided in a server database. From the moment you clicked on the menu selection to open this page, the PHP script opened the database on our server, retrieved the data, and wrote the HTML code for this page. Fast huh!
There are two advantages in the process I just described.
First of all, it saved me the tedious and time-consuming task of cutting and pasting the same code over and over for each of these FAQs to display. The display code is the same - only the data within it changes. With the data stored in a database, using PHP, I only needed to write the code once. It was then set in a PHP code loop, which wrote the page for me, accessing a different record in the database each time, until it reached the end of the file.
Secondly, If this were your web site, you might want to change this data from time to time. We would write a simple form for you to access and change the information in the database, add more information, or delete information that may be incorrect or out of date.
These are some of the advantages of server-side processing and why we rely heavily on PHP to do the job.
This acronym is also commonly referred to as "Domain Name Server", or "Domain Name Service", all meaning the same thing, which is the system by which domain names are translated into IP (Internet Protocol) addresses. DNS also controls the delivery of email. Without DNS, we would be having to remember and type IP addresses (such as 166.50.288.34) into our browsers address bar rather than domain names.
Entire books have been written explaining how the DNS works. The nutshell is this: When you register a domain name, you will be asked for DNS addresses, which will be provided to you by your web host. You are not required to enter a DNS, but until you do, your web site will not be found.
The DNS describes the location of your name server. Actually, you will have at least two domain name servers - a primary, and backup. In case the primary fails for some reason, the secondary will still report the proper information. Your DNS will look something like this:
NS1.EZRABBIT.COM
NS2.EZRABBIT.COM
Once this information is entered, your domain name will point to your host nameserver, which stores your actual IP address.
If you change web hosts, you simply need to change the DNS address held by your domain name registrar to the new hosts DNS address.
Secure Socket Layer is a technology developed by Netscape in 1994 to create a secure, protective link between a web browser and a web server. SSL encrypts data so that it is private and secure, allowing credit card and other data to be sent over the Internet without the fear of the information being intercepted.
Use of SSL requires the purchase of an SSL certificate, which is provided by an authorized Certificate Authority.
Most businesses on the web who need this type of security use SSL certificates.
There are two basic types of SSL Certificates - Shared or Private.
If you are hosting your site with us, through our hosting site, EzRabbit.com, we will provide you with a free shared SSL certificate.
For more information on the difference between shared and private certificates, as well as advice on how to shop for a private certificate, go to the EzRabbit FAQ Page.
Understanding the importance of server-side processing requires understanding how a browser (such as Internet Explorer) functions - what it can and cannot do.
HTML and JavaScript. A web browser is simply a computer program designed to display stuff - mainly HTML pages. It can display these pages with or without being connected to the Internet, as long as the files are accessible. If the files reside on your hard drive, it can display them just as happily as it would receiving them from a file server. However, your browser has limitations. HTML is designed for display of information. The use of scripting languages such as JavaScript still only have the ability to enhance that display.
Your browser can access your printer, save and retrieve files and other normal computer operations, but HTML and JavaScript cannot perform processes on your computer. The only exception to this is the ability to store and retrieve cookies, which are limited to storing a piece of data and later retrieving it. Pretty safe. HTML and JavaScript cannot, for instance, open a file, process some data, retrieve a result and act on it.
This is a good thing. The ability of HTML pages to do such processes would open up a whole world to virus mongrels and other unsavory characters.
The Server. A server is a computer that has been designed to "serve" information to other computers. An example would be a network server, which is the backbone of an office computer network, providing programs and files that can be accessed by other computers or workstations.
Putting things very simply, when you are viewing web pages, you are dealing with two machines. The first is the computer that your web browser resides on. Your web browser has two basic functions; sending a request to a server, and displaying that information once it is received. A web server is a computer that is connected to the Internet, and designed to "serve" web pages and the results of other processes to your browser.
When you need to perform a process, such as database manipulation, running an application, or connecting to other resources, this process is run on the server, which then serves the results to the browser for display.
Search Engine Optimization is the process of enhancing or optimizing your web pages to obtain high rankings on the various Internet search engines.
Optimization is not a simple task. Different search engines use a variety of criteria to rank their listings, and these criteria are constantly changing in order to avoid being taken advantage of. Optimizing a web page involves various means of using selected key words in your HTML markup. However, that's not all there is to obtaining good search engine placement. For instance, the popular search engine Google currently places high importance on the number of links that other web pages have to your site. Not only that, but the popularity of those sites linking to your site is also taken into consideration.
For more information on search engine optimization, see the FAQ below, "Can you guarantee a good search engine ranking for my site?"
In order to display your site on the Internet, you need a "web host" - a web server that is connected to the vast network that makes up the Internet. Anyone with the proper knowledge can install a web server. For the sake of reliability and cost-effectiveness, however, unless you are a large company with a dedicated technical staff and a specific need, it is best to put your site in the hands of a hosting company.
Web hosting is a very competitive field, and there are a variety of companies available offering a variety of services that would cost you thousands of dollars to implement on your own. Software necessary to run your site consists of server software, as well as a a variety of other software to run specific services and computer languages.
There are basically three types of web hosting services: shared, dedicated and co-located.
Shared: The majority of sites on the web use this type of hosting plan. It is very economical, secure, and worry-free. With a shared hosting plan, the space on your web server is shared with several other sites. The cost of purchasing, installing and maintaining and upgrading the software and hardware necessary to run your web site is the responsibility of the web hosting company.
Dedicated: Dedicated servers provide the advantage of complete control of the web server. Here, the hosting company provides the server, rack space, bandwidth, connection to the internet, hardware maintenance, and server monitoring.
Although some companies provide services (usually with a high price tag) for installing software on your server, you are responsible for the cost of purchasing and upgrading that software. Total costs for maintaining a dedicated server can run into thousands of dollars per year.
Co-Located: With a co-location plan, the hosting company simply provides rack space and an Internet connection for you to install and run your own server. Rack space generally runs around $500 to $700, per month, with initial setup costs about the same. Cost of the server and other necessary network equipment will probably run, on the low end, around $7,000. Add to that the cost of software, setup and configuration and insurance, as well as standby equipment should your server fail.
DataBoySoftware.com is our domain name. A Domain Name is the textual representation of your location on the internet. When you register with a domain host, your domain is assigned an IP (Internet Protocol) address that looks something like this: 206.256.12.35. This is your real Internet address. Your domain name actually acts as an alias for your IP address.
Flash is a graphics and animation program, developed by the Macromedia company, that is gaining increasing popularity on the World Wide Web.
For a graphics program, Flash is very fast due to the technology it uses to handle graphics. The program uses vector graphics, which allows it to create images as it needs them, rather than downloading whole images. Vector graphics are based on a sequence of commands or mathematical statements. Flash can also display photographic images and illustrations, and can be used for non-web presentations when included on a floppy or CD-ROM.
Flash opens the doors to much more creativity in designing a web site.
If you are considering using Flash on your site, however, you should also consider the following and weigh the benefits:
Flash requires a browser plug-in (a piece of extra code for your browser), which must be downloaded and installed before it can work. Will your potential customers take the time to install this plug-in (if they have not installed it already), or will they just go somewhere else?
Depending on the amount of graphics and sound you are using on your site, although Flash is fast for what it does, it will still take some time to load. This could also mean lost potential clients or customers.
Flash poses handicap accessibility challenges for screen reader users and people who use the keyboard to navigate.
The use of background music on a website is not necessarily agreeable to all of your site viewers.
For examples of web sites built using Flash technology, see the following sites:
Our web site design prices can range anywhere from $500. on up to several thousand, depending on your needs.
Once we have determined your needs, we will give you a flat price for designing your site.
We ask for 50% of that price to start the project, and the remainder on completion.
We charge an hourly rate for changes you decide to make outside of the original agreement. We also charge an hourly rate for finding photographs and graphics for your site, editing text for errors (if necessary), and other services that we may not be able to determine at the time of your quote. However, these services will be explicitly defined in your quote package, allowing you to shop around for these extra services, if you wish to. We will also provide help and resources if you wish to do the work yourself. We do not charge extra for minor changes or maintenance, consultation time, or long-distance phone calls, at any time, before during or after completion of your site.
No. Our contract with you is explicitly detailed, and we will go over each item with you to assure a mutual understanding. If we have forgotten anything, we eat the cost. Simple as that.
A detailed account of the design process from planning to final completion can be found at the top bar menu selection Your Site. This should give you a good idea of what we will expect from you and what you should expect from us. You may contact us at any time, should you have any questions. Please see the About Us page for contact information.
The World Wide Web has matured tremendously since its' inception in the early 90's - especially in the area of data security. Today, thanks to SSL (Secure Socket Layer) and other forms of encryption, we can enjoy the benefits of online banking, credit card transactions and other forms of sending secure data over the Internet. Many thousands of private documents are securely transferred daily over the Web, from loan applications to sensitive corporate documents.
If you are concerned about data security, talk to us about your specific needs, and we will provide you detailed information.
Once we have designed a site for you, we will do minor updates at any time at no extra charge. If your needs involve more extensive editing of text, changing photo images, or automating an e-commerce site, we can provide you with the utilities to do that, and it will be incorporated into the original design of your site. Major changes in the layout or design of your site will be billed at an hourly rate.
If what you have in mind is continual editing of your site content, you may want your site built around a content management system. There are drawbacks to this type of Web design, which we would be happy to discuss with you. In most cases, we find that it is much easier for the user if we write and install a utility for you that will allow you to edit the areas you choose.
However, if a content management system is what you want, we can install the system of your choice, or make recommendations for you. We offer a choice of open source (free) programs that do an excellent job. We will discuss the pros and cons of each and guide you to the system that is right for you. We will then build your site around that system.
Basically, your site, your graphics. There may be exceptions with some photographics or other graphics that come from a stock photo house, where there may be an additional fee for additional use - on another Web site, for example. However , this is usually not the case.
Upon site completion, you will receive a CD containing all artwork used on your site.
We do not expect our relationship with you to end with the completion of your web site. We will not charge you, at any time, for minor changes to your site and it is our policy to make those changes as immediately as possible. Minor changes may be something as small as changing an email address to changing the text on an entire page. The decision of what is minor and what isn't rests with us, and is solely dependant on the time it takes us to complete the task. If charges are to be applied, we will discuss this with you before the task is begun.
Changes involving structural design or other extensive work will be billed at an hourly rate. We will provide you with a close estimate of the total hours, or a flat quote based on our hourly estimation.
From time to time, you may want to refresh your site to keep it alive and interesting. We use Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), which means that some style changes can be made throughout your entire site by simply changing a few lines of code. We may or may not charge you for style changes. Most style changes, such as font style or size, header styles or other formatting changes can be made in a matter of minutes, whether you have three pages or a thousand.
You may decide you want to revamp your entire site, including structural and major graphic changes. In this case, we will provide you with a flat quote.
Yes. We provide accredited registration through our company hosting site, EzRabbit.com
We will even help you find an available name that will be appropriate for your company or organization.
For a brief explanation of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), see the FAQ "Search Engine Optimization" in the "What Is" categoy above.
Basically, Search Engine Optimization is a number of practices and methods of obtaining a high ranking when someone enters keywords for your type of business in an Internet search engine.
An integral part of DataBoy web design is the use of key words within the content of your site.
We may make suggestions to the text used on your site, or other optimization enhancements. We stay on top of current trends and specific search engine priorities, and design your site incorporating these practices.
Due to the ever-changing methods used by various search engines, from time to time, we may contact you with suggestions of changes to your site to improve your search engine ranking.
Ninety percent of the time, we will make these changes at no extra cost as one of our ongoing services to our clients.
The above methods are certainly helpful in obtaining good search engine ranking, are popular with most good web design companies, and - depending on your type of organization or business and the amount of competition - may very well be enough to land you on page one in a keyword search. However, if you are really serious about making search engines work for you, in most cases, the employment of an SEO specialist is the key to placing your site on or close to a number one position.
When you consider "bang for the buck", Search Engine Optimization is the most important form of advertising and obtaining new customers/sales leads for your company on the Web.
Many web designers advertise their own SEO services.
We prefer to go with the pros.
It just makes good sense.
Good SEO is a specialized field.
It takes a considerable amount of time and expertise to stay on top of the ever-changing search engine environment.
We work directly with HayMeadows.com, a Seattle firm with an exceptional track record.
Prices are quite reasonable when compared to other forms of advertising.
HayMeadows has the numbers and the testimonials to back those numbers up. Never settle for anything less, and beware of companies that may use tricks to get you quick rankings. It is important to know who you are dealing with in SEO, or you could get your site banned from search engines altogether.
"Guaranteed" search engine ranking is a sales gimmick.
The Web abounds with companies guaranteeing placement in the top ten of Google, Yahoo, etc.
If you have or are considering forking out your hard-earned money to one of these companies, consider the following:
No company can guarantee you "top ten" ranking on a specific keyword or keyword phrase (for instance "real estate"), unless you are in a highly specialized field with little competition.
Anyone can place a "paid sponsor" search engine ad and have "page one" results.
You can do this yourself and save some money.
On what keyword are they guaranteeing your "top" ranking?
Good search engine optimization involves a number of keywords (or keyword phrases), each of which will bring your web site up in a different position on a search engine result list.
There are multitudes of companies using practices frowned upon by search engines, such as "doorway" pages, hidden text and search engine spamming.
These methods can get your site permanently banned from top search engines.
Put in "databoysoftware.com" as a keyword in any search engine. Amazing first page results!
A more reputable SEO company that advertises "guaranteed page one ranking" has the following lines in the details of their "guarantee":
"We do not guarantee a first page placement in any specific search engine.
We do guarantee a first page placement over an aggregate of the major search engines including Yahoo, Google, MSN, AOL, Fast, Excite, Infoseek, Lycos, AltaVista, AskJeeves, ODP, Teoma, Hotbot, MetaCrawler, AllTheWeb, Overture and a few others."
And then;
"...we don't guarantee that a "specific keyword phrase" will achieve a top ranking because we are not gods."
Another "guaranteed results" company states: "Each optimization client will be given a guarantee on a case-by-case basis depending on competetivness of the keywords."
Okay ... I'll guarantee you that if your product is chocolate banana tennis shoes, you'll have # 1 ranking in most search engines.
However, if your product is life insurance well...
The bottom line is this: Deal with a reputable company who does not promise you "pie in the sky", but rather, good, professional results, and has examples and satisfied clients to back up those claims.
We work hand-in-hand with one of those companies, HayMeadows.com, in designing your site and utilizing their services to assure you a solid search engine ranking.
Submitting links to industry sites and specialized directories
Reciprocal links to complementary web sites
Opt-in e-mail
Banner Ads and other paid advertising
Creating and promoting e-books
Submitting links to your site in forums relating to your business
Developing free services
Publishing a newsletter
Including your URL in stationary, cards and other literature
Contracting with a Search Engine Optimization Service
Traditional media
Some of these services we will do for you at no extra cost.
We will consult with you regarding your particular business or organization and help you come up with a plan that will be right for you.
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) often offer web hosting for free.
In most cases, the URL to your site would be something like "http://www.yourISP/~yoursitename".
Not too professional. Some ISPs offer web hosting as an additional service (enabling you to have a professional address, such as http://www.yoursitename.com), but there is no particular advantage or necessity to host your site with your ISP.
There are many web hosting companies offering a variety of services at very competitive rates.
However, we recommend that you consult with us before deciding on a web host to make sure that they offer services that will be compatible with your particular web design.
We strongly recommend that you host your site with us, at EzRabbit.com.
We offer very competitive rates (starting at $2.95 per month), and accessibility and services are never in question.
A web template is a pre-designed site, and could possibly save you some money in designing your site.
Web templates are available in prices ranging from free to several hundred dollars.
Some may be customized extensively, while others only allow editing of the content.
If you are on an extremely tight budget, we can provide you with a large selection of templates and options to choose from.
Naturally, there are pros and cons, and we can discuss these with you in the planning stage of your web site.
DataBoy has U.S. clients from coast to coast and even some outside the U.S. Modern communication methods make it very easy to plan and develop your site, no matter where in the world you reside.
As we design your site, you will have your own account at DataBoySoftware.net, a site designed exclusively for our web design clients.
Here we can post examples of your site as we progress through the design process, as well as graphic galleries if we are researching graphics for you. We also provide an easy-to-use upload utility so that you can transfer files to us directly from your computer with just a couple of mouse clicks.
For communication, we prefer to use e-mail extensively throughout the process, which allows both of us to have a solid reference to our conversations.
We also provide you with a toll-free number and we do not charge for conference time, or long distance calls to your business.
AreoMail, a DataBoy company, provides several services, from do-it-yourself to professional mail list campaign processing.
We can provide you with a PHPList account, which you can administer yourself, or we can administer for you for a small extra charge, with our minimum hosting charge of $30. per year.
This would include a subscription page, where your list participants can subscribe/unsubscribe and modify other preferences.
If you do not have a need for a subscription page, we can provide you with PHPList for just $20. per year, for up to 1,000 subscribers, with an additional $10. per year for each additional 500 subscribers.
For professional mail list campaign management, AreoMail will handle all of your needs, including HTML message design, page design on your site, subscribe/unsubscribe pages, display ads, database management and campaign statistics. Call us for a quote today at 206-418-1003 or toll free at 1-877-376-7544.
We have some very talented people who do Flash design, from banner ads to entire web sites.
We can also add any multimedia content to your site that you wish.
We strongly prefer using PHP for our server-side processing, for a multitude of reasons, including ease of programming, the ability to access almost any popular database, and the ability to embed PHP code within HTML markup.
If you have a particular need to use another language, or you need to update code on your current site, we can accommodate your needs, in most cases.
First, you will need a merchant account.
There are many merchant accounts available on the web.
A merchant account may include:
Setup fees
Application fees
A monthly minimum charge - typically $25. or more.
Monthly "Statement Fees"
A 1% to 4% charge based on the amount of the purchase
A $.20 to $.40 charge per transaction
Other charges for various services
If you will not be doing a lot of credit card transactions, you might consider using a service such as PayPal or ProPay.
These services do not require a merchant account, and only charge you per transaction.
For a wealth of information on creating your online business see this article from How Stuff Works.
Yes. Exceptions would be some server-side processes that may be on your current site. However, this is seldom the case. Our hosting service provides all of the most popular web languages and software.
Send us the name of your current site, and we will be able to determine whether there might be any problems.
If we are modifying a site for you, we actually prefer the site to be on our servers.
However, we can usually work with your current host and, in some cases, it may even be preferable to leave your site where it is.
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