FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

Q:

What is web hosting and why do I need to purchase it?

A:

You web site needs to be placed, or "hosted" on a computer that is available on the Internet 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In addition, the web hosting firm will provide the email services (accounts) associated with your domain.

Hosting services are best provided by firms that specialize in the hosting business (only) and work full time to maintain the reliability and security of your site. Fast Lizard purchases high quality, high reliability hosting with maximum support and resells it to you at a very low price.

Q:

Can I host my own web site on my own computer?

A:

This is most always a poor idea. In order to host your own site, you must buy, build, run, support, and monitor a web server and a mail server, 24x7, at your place of business. You will be responsible for updating the server's software and keeping it secure. You'll need a backup power source and a redundant server. You are responsible for configuring a hardware and software network firewall and making the rest of your internal business network secure.

Just keeping your server up to date and secure can consume a significant amount of time even if you are professionally trained in this area. In addition, most Internet access plans (e.g. DSL, FiOS, or Cable Broadband) have specific prohibitions against running a server on your connection unless you pay (more) for a business account.

We put our money where our mouth is on this issue: while we are skilled in building and maintaining web servers and networks, we host our own site with an outside firm that specializes in web hosting. We highly recommend that you do the same.

Q:

Will you help me find a domain name that fits my business?

A:

Yes. We will help you find a domain name which represents your business well. There are a variety of guidelines to follow when choosing a domain name and we will help you understand them so that you can select a name that will work well for your business.

We will also conduct the actual search to determine if the names you prefer are available, and register the name(s) for you. There's no additional charge for this process (although there is a small fee charged by the domain registry to us which we pass on to you).

Q:

Can I register my own domain and arrange my own hosting to save money?

A:

The answer to the first part of this question is "yes" - you can register your own name and set up your own hosting. However, the answer to the second part is probably "no", it will not save you any money and it will reduce the level of support we can provide.

There are several reasons that you will not save any money. First we already charge a very low price for domain registration and hosting. You can buy registration and hosting a little cheaper, but the risk is much higher and the support quality and timeliness much lower. For a savings of about 20 cents a day, it simply is not worth the added risk to your web site and business email reliability.

Second, if you set up your own domain and hosting, you are responsible for researching, configuring, and maintaining the registration, DNS settings, Web Server configuration, Email configuration, etc. Your time is much better spent in other areas of your business than in trying to save a few dollars a year on hosting.

If you set up hosting or registration elsewhere and ask us to maintain it, we will be happy to do so. However, if we must dedicate extra time to working with your unique hosting and registration to correct errors on your part or because of a difficult and unfamiliar support environment, we will need to charge you for that work.

We try to be as flexible as possible in this area. If you have existing registration and hosting agreements, we will work with you to either transfer them or to support you where you are. However, we will always recommend that you let us handle your registration and hosting as we can provide far superior support and reduce your workload so that you can concentrate on what's most important: your business.

Q:

What is a domain name and why do I have to "register" it ?

A:

A domain name is a short name which your customers use to access our web site e.g. fastlizard.com. Domain names must be unique so that they lead to one, and exactly one, organization's web site. In order to keep the names unique, they must be registered with an official registrar that keeps track of all registered names.

Domain names end in a variety of "domains". While ".com" is the most popular, there are also ".net", ".org", and others as well as a domain for each country in the world (.us, .fr, .to, etc). There are different registries for the different domains. We can help you find the proper registry for the domain you wish to register.

Q:

Someone has already registered the domain name I want - - can I get it from them?

A:

Maybe. There are two ways to obtain a domain that has already been registered by someone else. First. domain registrations expire periodically. If someone has registered a domain but does not appear to be actively using it, you can wait for it to "expire". Domains can be registered for one to ten years so waiting for expiration may or may not make sense. We can help you check the expiration date. There is generally an (automated) scramble to grab an expiring domain within seconds of its expiration. We can guide you through this process so that you have a reasonable chance of obtaining it.

The other way to obtain a domain name when it has already been registered is simply to purchase it from whoever has it registered. While this sounds simple, be aware that domains often sell for over $1000 with more popular domains selling for tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. We encourage you to talk with us before contacting anyone about a domain purchase since once you inquire you tend to drive up the price. Also, if the person holding the domain is just "speculating", indicating interest will ensure that they renew the domain and hold onto it instead of letting it expire. Again, we can guide you through the process and try to obtain the best price for you if you want to go this route.

Q:

What is a URL?

A:

A URL is formed by taking a domain name, and adding a web server name at the front (typically "www" and a protocol (typically "http://"). So, when someone tells you to go to http://www.fastlizard.com, they are providing you with a "URL". A URL is used to access a web site.

From a technical viewpoint, when someone tells you to go to "fastlizard.com" they are giving you a domain name, not a URL. You need to type in a URL into your web browser in order to get your browser to visit that web site. However, most web browsers and servers will automatically translate a domain name into a URL. So you can type in "fastlizard.com" and you will end up at http://www.fastlizard.com.

URL's can often be longer and lead directly to a specific web resource. For example, http://www.fastlizard.com/FAQ.htm is a longer, more specific, URL.

Q:

My (cousin, brother, sister, friend, neighbor, spouse, child, etc) has told me they can build me a web site - why should I pay for a professional to do it.?

A:

While we always encourage people to jump in and DIY where possible in life, your web site is definitely not the best place to "do it yourself".

First, a web site is a very visible part of your marketing and represents your business to thousands, if not millions, of potential customers. While a simple web site is simple to build, making the jump to a "professional" web site is not easy and requires a significant investment both in learning the science as well as the art of web development. Your business should, and deserves, a professional presence on the web.

Secondly, consider why professionally built sites look and feel professional: the reason is that the proper building of a web site requires in-depth technical and graphical design skills. These skills are developed by professionals over years, not weeks or months. We highly recommend that you pay a professional to build your site and spend your own time working at what you do best - your own business! You'll have more money in your pocket at the end of the trail and you'll have a professionally built site. It's a win-win situation.

Q:

Can I update my own site content ?

A:

In general we do not encourage you to do your own site updates. Maintaining a professional web site requires a significant amount of technical expertise as the designs and techniques used are more advanced than with an amateur web site. In addition, maintaining web pages requires training in marketing, site writing,  layout, and design. Lastly, you need expertise in using a professional level graphics program. Once purchased, your site will have been professionally designed and carefully built to the highest standards - the last thing you should consider doing is damaging that appearance and structure with less than professional skills.

It is not likely that it is worth your time to develop the skill set necessary to maintain your own site when we can do it for you, with all of hour professional skills at hand,  for a very low hourly price. Instead of investing your time in learning to try to maintain your own site, we highly recommend that you invest it in building your business and leave the updates to us.

Q:

How many pages will you give me at a "Full" web site?

A:

We don't generally have a pre-defined limit on the number of pages we will develop for a web site. Instead, we will estimate how much content you need to put on line and price the site according to that estimate.

Quite honestly, for a given amount of content, it makes little difference to us in terms of development time whether it ends up in five pages or ten. While some web development firms specify that they will develop a certain number of pages for a certain price, we feel that that policy simply leads to a poorly structured site as the client will attempt to stuff too much content into too few pages simply to fit within some artificial limit. This is a very poor way to design a site and doesn't save us any time or the client any money. In short, it doesn't make sense for you or us as the the web developer.

Instead, we will fit your content into as many pages as are required to build a proper site - and we'll do it for the same price that other firms charged for "page limited" sites. 

Q:

How involved can we be, or do we have to be, in our web site development?

A:

You can choose how much you wish to participate in your web site development project. We will need you to help us determine and define the content and appearance of the site. You can choose how much direct involvement you want in the project itself. Some customers like to be very involved, others prefer to leave as much development as possible in our hands.

Q:

How many email accounts can I have at my domain?

A:

We usually say "any reasonable number" are included with your web site and email hosting. We will setup the accounts on the server and configure them for you. If you have a need for a very large number of accounts, please contact us and we can discuss your needs and the best alternatives.

Q:

Will you help me configure my email program to work with my new domain accounts?

A:

Yes. We will provide you with support to help you get email up and running at your location. If you require training in the use of your email program or require a personal visit to your office for us to configure your email, there may be additional hourly charges.

Q:

Can I choose the names for the email accounts?

A:

Absolutely. You can choose whatever names you want for the accounts for you and your employees. Once you have your own domain, you can have any names that you want.

Q:

I want to have a form for my customers to fill out to send me their names and addresses for my newsletter - do I need a "Data Driven Web Site"?

A:

Probably not. If all you need to do is simple data collection and would be satisfied by receiving an email with the information entered or would be comfortable with a similar simple data collection method, we can add a basic data collection form to your site. There may or may not be additional charges for this feature depending on your other requirements. A Data Driven Web Site is generally only need when you have more aggressive data collection needs.

Q:

I've heard that there are differences between Unix/Linux Web Servers and Microsoft Web Servers - is the choice important to me?

A:

Most likely the answer is "no". We generally host on UNIX/Linux based web servers. However, you and your customers will not notice any differences either way. For customers who need to have a Data Driven Web Site or a Transaction Based Web Site and plan to interface it with their existing business systems there may be significance to the choices - we can discuss those with you if you will be building that type of web site.

Q:

Will the web site you develop work in all Web Browsers?

A:

Most all. Unlike many web developers that choose to use the latest technology simply for the sake of using the latest technology, we choose technologies based on how reliably and consistently they will present your web page to your customers regardless of what software they are using on their computer. Your web site will work reliably in most browsers manufactured in the last five years or more on MS-Windows, Apple/Mac, and Unix platforms .

On occasion, a customer asks us to implement a specific feature that will not be universal or may be limited to a much more recent group of web browsers. We will always advise you in advance if you are asking for such a feature and discuss the implications before incorporating it into your web site.

It's very easy for a skilled technician to build web pages that work equally well and have a consistent appearance for all your customers - and there's little excuse for a web development firm that produces anything else.

Q:

Will you help me get listed with goggle and other search tools?

A:

Yes. We will register your site with the search tools that count: Google, MSN, Yahoo, AOL Search - and place it in general directories that will allow most other search tools to find you.

Q:

Will you optimize my sites so that the search tools can easily find my pages ?

A:

Yes. The most important part of "Search Engine Optimization" (SEO) - making it easy for the search tools to "index" your pages - is done by using proper design and building techniques. SEO is not done after the fact -it is done as part of building the pages. Skilled web technicians know what features to select and implement to maximize search tool visibility and to minimize features that have the opposite effect.

Q:

A company has offered to register my site with 400 search tools for a small fee - should I purchase this service ?

A:

We'd suggest that the answer is "no". First, there are only a small group of search tools (five or six) that are regularly used by enough people on the Internet to be of importance. We will register you with those tools. There is no need to purchase an outside service to perform these duties for you.

Q:

What are "pay per click" search services? Is it worth purchasing this service?

A:

Pay per Click services are arrangements that you make with search companies like Yahoo and Google. In return for agreeing to pay a small fee "per click", the search tools will show your company earlier in the search results when someone searches for certain "keywords" that you select. When a customer clicks on the link/search results to go to your site, you are charged a fee for the "click". Depending on how much you are willing to pay for a "click" to your site, you will be listed earlier or later in the search results. Fees are generally between 20 cents and $3 per click for most click-thrus depending on the competition for the particula key words.

It is worth purchasing pay per click services for some types of web sites. We can discuss this in more detail with you and you can decide if pay-per-click is something you would like to take advantage of.