Frequently Asked Questions
Why is it so important for my business to be on the Internet?
- Consumers are increasingly turning first to the Internet
to find products and services. This trend will continue to
increase as young people enter the workforce locally, nationally,
and worldwide.
- Anyone locally who is looking or shopping on-line will go
outside the area if they don't find local sources.
- Increasing availability of free, low cost, and high speed
Internet access will accelerate e-commerce.
- Over 33% of United States commerce will be conducted over
the Internet by 2003.
- The global Internet population in 1999 was approximately
196 million. In 2003 it was over 502 million.
- 95% of your potential customers live outside the United
States.
This low price is to good to be true. What's the catch?
There is no catch. You get a fully functional starter web site
for as low as $99. This includes both the
creation of the site based on the information you provide,
and hosting of the site for one year. Affordable
Technical Solutions hopes you decide to add to your site (at additional
cost, of course) or take advantage of other services, but this
is a great way for you to get a basic business presence on the
Internet at low cost. Adding to your site can be done economically.
At least three free minor updates are included with the basic
package. This low cost makes it easy to initially get your site
up and running, as well to regularly update it to promote new
products or services, featured items, or seasonal specials. (For
an additional charge, your site can be set up so that you can
do your own editing.)
I'd really like to try this but the
price is too high. Can I reduce it?
$99 really is an unbeatable value. You just won't find a lower
price for an inclusive creation and hosting
package that includes local, personalized service from a technical
professional. You are not dealing with someone 50 or 500 or 5000
miles away. Consider too, that normally the cost of web space
alone starts at about $200 per year and you either have
to do all the technical work yourself or spend hundreds or thousands
of dollars more to have the site created and maintained. But now,
to answer the question:
Yes! Just refer another customer. Affordable Technical
Solutions will take $5 off your price. If you provide the
information required for your site electronically (in the form
of a properly formatted Microsoft Word, WordPerfect, or other
compatible file) you may be able to receive up to another $5
off. And, if you respond to this offer now, you will receive
an additional bonus of 2 months free hosting.
What are my recurring costs? What happens after the included
year of hosting is over?
There are no additional costs during the first year for the starter
site, unless you want to make major changes or add features. The
cost for your second year of hosting will not exceed $99
for your starter site, and may be less. If you significantly increase
the size of your site or add special features, such as your own
domain name, your total cost will increase.
How do I take advantage of this offer?
Contact Affordable Technical Solutions by telephone (376-8879)
or (email.)
How long will it take to get my site up and running?
If you act right now, your basic site can generally be put on
line in less than a week!
Will I have to devote a lot of time to building and
maintaining my web site?
No. You need to spend a little time deciding what information
to have on your site, writing up a description of your products
or services, and providing an outline of how you would like your
site to look, but beyond that, the amount of time you spend is
up to you. Affordable Technical Solutions will create your site
for you once you provide the information. However, you are the
expert in your business, and Affordable Technical Solutions encourages
your input during all phases of web site creation and marketing.
What do I put on my site?
Business name, address, phone number, fax number, e-mail address,
contact person, sales manager, service manager, hours of operation,
years of experience, products and services offered. You can start
by putting your business card information on-line and then adding
to it when you get the time. If you start with only your business
card information, adding information to complete your site will
not be charged against your free updates.
Can I have pictures on my site?
Yes. Your starter site includes space for your business logo (recommended)
or other graphic image that you supply. More graphics can be included
at an additional charge. Keep in mind that graphics increase the
time it takes for a web page to load. You want to keep this time
to a minimum.
What if I want more than the basic starter site?
Your site can be expanded and improved with more pages, more graphics,
a subdomain or domain name, and other extras. You can start with
the basic site now and expand later, or you can design a more
extensive site right away. If you don't have a clear idea of what
you want or the time to plan it all out right now, it may be helpful
to start small and expand. It always seems that after you get
a site up, look at it for a while, and get feedback from customers,
business associates, and friends, you get more ideas and want
to make some changes. Fortunately, you can afford to do so with
Affordable Technical Solutions. Rather than charging high fees
for marketing and design, we help you save money by using your
own business expertise. Our philosophy is that you know more about
your business than anybody. Our primary role is to help you you
with the technology.
Are there any examples of your work that I can look at?
Sure. Look at Southern
Cross Trading Company's basic site.
For a more extensive site, check out
the Lodging
Kit Company. You can also check
out the growing number of business pages
at LewisFirst
(www.LewisFirst.com).
What do you
mean by creation and hosting?
There are two basic technical steps
to implementing a web site. First the
site content is created using HTML (Hypertext
Markup Language) and other tools. This
results in one or more computer files.
The files (or "site") must then be hosted
on a web server, which is a computer
that has a full-time high speed connection
to the Internet and is running special
web server software. Each site does
not need its own computer. There are
typically many sites on the same host
computer, just as there are many documents
and programs on your computer.
I don't have a computer. How can I have a web site?
You don't need one. You provide the information, Affordable Technical
Solutions creates and hosts the site. A computer is helpful, but
not required.
I don't have an e-mail account that I can readily access.
How does this affect my site?
You don't need e-mail, but your business really should have an
e-mail address that you check on a regular basis. In today's business
world, even the smallest business should be accessible by e-mail
as well as have at least a basic web site. Your site will be much
more effective if visitors can easily contact you by e-mail. Affordable
Technical Solutions can provide you with e-mail accounts and Internet
access.
Can I get an e-mail address to match my web site address?
Yes. Affordable Technical Solutions can set up an e-mail account
for you. If you already have an e-mail account, you can still
get an e-mail address that matches your web address and have the
mail forwarded to whatever address you choose.
Can I get multiple e-mail addresses for different people
or departments?
Yes. Depending on how your web site address is configured, you
can have multiple e-mail addresses. These can be totally separate,
or all be forwarded to the same e-mail account.
What will my web site address be?
Your business starter web site address will look like "www.LewisFirst.com/YourBusinessName."
Can I get my own domain name?
You can have your own domain name - a web address like "www.YourBusinessName.com"
- as long as someone else has not already registered that address.
There is additional cost of $35 per year. Mail sent to 'yourbusinessname.com'
will be forwarded to your existing e-mail account, so you don't
have to change anything or check multiple accounts.
What are some of the benefits of a having my own domain
name?
A shorter or more recognizable web address, name recognition for
your business, prestige, image, e-mail of the form "person_or_department_name@YourBusinessName.com",
possibly higher rankings in some search engines. Every business
can benefit from being on the Internet. A domain name is not absolutely
necessary for small businesses, but will enhance your business
image. A domain name can be added at any time.
Can my site have more than one name or address?
Yes. You can have all three forms of web address, and even
have multiple versions of the standard, subdomain, and domain
names.
What is LewisFirst?
LewisFirst (www.LewisFirst.com)
is a web site focused on the local area
(but as with all web sites, is available
globally). LewisFirst, while a modest
site, has been in existance for 5 years
and therefore will show up in search
engine listings. LewisFirst was created
to promote and serve the area and to
provide a simple and inexpensive way
for local businesses to have a web presence.
LewisFirst will help potential customers
find your business.
What about marketing and promotion?
How do I get people to visit my site?
The truth is, although a web site will help your business, you
will not immediately get a rush of customers just because you
have a web site. The "If you build it, they will come" philosophy
doesn't really apply. Your site must be actively marketed,
and should be considered as one tool in your overall business
marketing plan.
Certain promotional features are included with your starter
site at no extra charge, including:
- Links from one or more regional
directories that are being actively
actively promoted
- LewisFirst: Your site will
be part of www.LewisFirst.com.
LewisFirst is focused on promoting
Lewis County and the surrounding
region. Your pages will be easily
found by local viewers and still
be accessible worldwide.
- Lewis County Industrial Development
Agency: If your business is
listed on the Lewis County IDA
site (www.lcida.com),
a request for a link from your
IDA listing to your web site
will submitted to the IDA. If
your business is not listed,
a request for listing and link
under the e-commerce section
will be submitted. If your business
and web site meets IDA guidelines,
the links will be added. Virtually
all business sites created by
Affordable Technical Solutions
will meet these guidelines.
- Lewis County Chamber of Commerce:
If you have purchased an ad
on the Chamber web site (lewiscountychamber.org),
a link can be added from it
to your business web site.
- Metatags to help search engines
find you:
- Prospective customers may go
to one of the major search engines
and key in words of phrases to
find what they're looking for.
These search engines look at the
text in your web page as well
as hidden information (defined
by "metatags" in your pages),
to find web sites and pages related
to a user's search.
- Metatags containing keywords
or phrases and a short description
of your site will be placed in
your page to help attract visitors
to your site
- Pay-per-Click and other paid promotions:
Submitting sites to indexes search
engines is no longer the simple
and free process it once was; however
if you have a unique product or
service, or serve a certain area,
you may find that you can cost-effectively
use these methods.
You should also include your web site address on correspondence,
business cards, advertisements, fliers and any other printed material.
You can mention your web site address in your answering machine
message and if you have significant information on your site,
direct callers there for answers to frequently asked questions
during non-business hours.
More Questions?
Ask Affordable
Technical Solutions by email
or telephone (376-8879).
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