FAQ - FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Should I put my business on the net?
Whilst there is no doubt that having a web site can be a powerful weapon in your advertising armoury, no one should embark on such a venture without careful consideration. Setting up a web site will be a profitable move for some businesses but a time-consuming burden for others. You should be asking yourself questions such as 'Do I want to sell overseas?', 'Do I have the time to keep the site up to date?', 'How much is it going to cost?'. As a newcomer to the internet marketplace you need a guide and Community Internet Services can help you answer the right questions. Call us for a free consultation on 023 9279 9341.
 
Is a web site a substitute for traditional advertising?
A web site certainly offers new opportunites for extending your presence in the marketplace, but it should normally be thought of as an addition to a traditional advertising strategy - even if the business is to be entirely internet based. A web site cannot, on its own, sell anything; your potential customers have to know it's there, and that's where CIS can help. We can help you utilise existing, often free, methods of promoting your site as well as suggesting where advertising funds would be most effectively used.
 
What can CIS do to promote my business locally?
CIS have built two local web site business directories which are visited by up to 20,000 people per month. They are called InPortsmouth and InSouthsea. All local businesses receive a free one-line entry on these sites and, if you have a web site designed or hosted by CIS, a link to it will also be included. These sites are used by Portsmouth people in much the same way as Yellow Pages and can therefore direct them conveniently to your site.
 
How do I get a good name for my site?
There are millions of sites out there, all with their own unique addresses (called domain names). If you want a short simple name, such as "www.inportsmouth.co.uk" there's a good chance that the name you want has already been taken. Don't let this worry you though, all it needs is a little ingenuity. If your business happened to be called "Boots" you can bet that "www.boots.co.uk" has already gone to you-know-who, but "www.boots-in-portsmouth.co.uk" probably hasn't. When you find a name that is still available you will need to register it, CIS can do this for you.
 
Alternatively, become part of the CIS group of sites and have a name such as "www.boots.inportsmouth.co.uk" which is called a sub-domain name and acts like a full domain name except that you can't move it to another host.
 
Whichever option you choose you will also have to pay for the site to be designed and placed on a computer permanently connected to the internet (this is called hosting on a server).
 
For more information about Domain Names and the facility to check if your preferred name is still available go to our Domain Names Page.
 
How much does it cost to have a site designed?
With modern software, anyone can build a web site with only a few hours tuition. As a consequence there are many people who claim to be able to do so without having either the knowledge or experience that is necessary for the creation of well-designed sites. A poor design will reflect badly on your business so always have a look at previous sites that a designer has built before engaging their services. You can check out CIS designed sites on our gallery page.
 
Design costs are usually quoted as an hourly rate or a rate per page. Both are a bit vague since you don't know how long it will take to design a page and you don't know how long a page may be. So it's a good idea to talk to someone about it. CIS offers a free personal consultation at which your requirements and the probable costs can be discussed. Our Gallery page offers some guidance as to general costs but see our Price List for more detailed information.
 
How do customers find out about my site?
They do so in three main ways.
 
Firstly, they may be directed to your site by a search engine which is a specialist computer system dedicated to finding sites according to keywords entered by the visitor. Some statistics show that up to 87% of site visits are made via the top 4 search engines, so it is important to ensure that they know your site exists. Whenever CIS designs and hosts a site we carry out an initial registration with those search engines on your behalf.
 
Secondly, visitors may use links placed on other sites which direct them to yours. These links are usually exchanged between sites covering similar topics.
 
And thirdly, you can advertise the site address yourself on business cards, letterheads, printed adverts and at your business premises.
 
Are there any other costs involved?
The internet is not a static place. It is constantly on the move and to keep your pages working effectively for you, someone should keep an eye on them. This may involve checking that search engines are still delivering your address, searching for similar sites and swapping links with them and then checking that the links are working, monitoring the efficiency of the server and providing statistics on the number and type of visitors to the site. By agreement, it may also include regular updates to the site. CIS will do much of this free of charge for sites we design and host, but for a full service you would have to take out a service contract. CIS provides this service from £5 per month, depending on the level of maintenance required and the frequency of the updates.
 
Can I just put an advert on the net?
Yes. There are many web sites that would be only too happy to accept your money but it is important to choose those that are likely to deliver the right sort of customers. There are many agencies who will help you with this or you could simply find an appropriate site and ask the owners if they would consider taking your advert. One simple way is to advertise on InPortsmouth or InSouthsea, particularly if you want to attract local custom. We are currently offering spot ads from £30 per annum depending on their location on the sites.
 
Is e-mail included with my site?
E-mail addresses are included with stand alone sites and sub-domains at no extra charge, but you will need to have an account with an Internet Service Provider (ISP) to send and receive mail (this is called a dial-up or broadband account). CIS can advise you how to obtain a free e-mail service which can be used in conjunction with your pages.
 
What is e-commerce?
This is a term that simply means "conducting your business over the internet". To be more specific it usually means providing a service whereby your customers can purchase products over the net using secure credit card facilities. This is a fairly simple process these days but should not be undertaken lightly. Selling on-line will radically affect the nature of your business - principally because your customers may live anywhere on earth and you will need to have a system of delivering your merchandise to them. The security aspects of requesting credit card numbers is not really a problem - otherwise billions of pounds worth of business would not be carried out in this way. For more information, see our e-commerce page.