Our Frequently Asked Questions page is being updated regularly. Please check back often for new information.

If you're considering having a website built or would like to know more about our services, please e-mail us or give us a call.

As always, if you don't see your question and answer listed, please e-mail us with it and we'll answer you personally and post it on our FAQ's page.

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Why do I need a website?

That's sort of like asking why do I need a microwave oven. You don't "need" a microwave oven to survive, but it sure does make life in the kitchen easier, more convenient and more efficient. Having a presence on the web offers the same benefits, and more.

A better question might be "Why would I WANT a website?" The answer is... for a number of reasons;

1. Information: A website answers the "who", "what", "where", "when", and "how" of your business. It's, at the very least, the business card or brochure of the information age.
   
   
2. Access: A website allows a much larger segment of the buying public to find you, learn about you, and more easily contact you and do business with you. You are open 24 hours a day. If you have a website, potential or even existing clients do not have to wait until your normal business hours to find out where you are located, how to get there, how to inquire about your services, what you specialize in, what your fax number is, etc. You are making yourself available "virtually" around the clock. Your customers feel well served by the convenience and you may even free up the phone lines a little and handle inquiries on your terms.
   
   
3. Communication: New and exisitng customers have access to you 24 hours per day "on common ground." They know where to find you and your e-mail address, information about your business, how to contact you, how long it will take for a response, and how you manage the information they need about your business. Whether they need to see your pricing, want to place an order, or just make an inquiry, a website facilitates clear communication and gives you a way to stay in contact with ALL of your customers at the same time.
   
   
4. Instant credibility: If a customer doesn't know anything about you, but knows you have a website, you give the appearance of being established, and therefore "credible." So not only will they go to your site to learn about you, but with a professionally designed site, you appear as a solid contender in your field.
   
   
5. Competitive Advantage: If your competition has a website and you don't, you look somewhat out of touch. Websites level the playing field. If your competition can put itself in front of consumers better than you can, then they are more likely to win "your" business.
   
   
6. Consumer Expectations: With the integration of technology in so many areas of our lives, expectations rise among consumers. Therefore access and convenience becomes an issue and barriers have to come down.
   
   
7. Functionality: Those with websites and Internet access are better able to do business directly and indirectly with the buying public, suppliers, and others in their field. They save money by working smarter and staying in step with trends, especially technological trends. Imagine if you were last in your field to have a phone, or a fax.
   
   
8. Image: In addition to giving you credibility, a website packages and presents you the way YOU want to be presented. Often times it's the best way to introduce your company to new customers because you are in effect, all dressed up. You don't have an indifferent receptionist or clerk taking the first call, your not being caught at a bad time or on a bad day, your "virtually" available. Your first impression is professional and consistant.
   
   
9. Promotion: Websites are one of the most affordable mediums for promoting your business.
   
   
10. E-tailing: Websites add another dimension to your business through sales and fulfillment.

Am I at a disadvantage if I chose not to have a website?

You're at a competitive disadvantage, but more than that your customers are at a convenience disadvantage because they have to work harder to find you and find out about you. The easier you make it for your customers to see and contact you, the more likely you will be to earn their business. Remember, websites are one of the greatest and most affordable marketing tools for service professionals available today and, when used properly, can easily become part of how you are perceived and how you do business.

If I know absolutely nothing about computers and the Internet, can I still have a website?

Yes. You can use a website simply to direct customers to your place of business or provide them with a way to contact you by phone. However, it's to your benefit to at least learn the basics and establish an e-mail account. You'd be surprised at how relatively easy it is. You do not have to be technologically savvy to do this. A family member or friend could give you a crash course or you could take a continuing education course at your local college or high school for as little at $59 to get a brief understanding of how to use a computer. Most of it however is "learn as you go."

I am very busy already. Is having a website built going to take a lot of my time and will it take a lot of my time to maintain?

No. We do it without our clients having to give up any time from their day-to-day lives. We have you answer some questions and we put together a proposal and design map. You can be as little or as heavily involved as you want. Some of our clients just want their website built, while others want to contribute ideas, design considerations, etc. Either way or anything in between is fine with us.

What's the difference between a website and a homepage?

A home page is simply the first page of a website. It's called a website because the information is branched out over "pages" that interconnect on a network of millions of computers that interconnect, like a web.

What is the difference between having a website built and having a website "hosted" ?

Having a site designed and developed (built) is the process of producing a product, your website, which takes many, many hours. However it is typically a one-time project and a one-time fee.

"Hosting" is the term for keeping your website on our servers (computers) and available to the world on the internet 7 days/week, 365 days/year.

So there is a one-time fee for "building" a website and a monthly fee for "maintaining" it, or keeping it alive on the internet 7 days/week, 365 days/year.

Am I able to change information on my site, how often, and what does it cost?

Yes. You can make changes as often as you'd like. Unlike any other web design firm, we offer 30 free minutes per month of site changes or updates for the first year of service. Changes after that are based upon an hourly or project rate.

Can I use another company to host my site after it is built?

Yes, there are many places you can host your site. However, we caution that you should know the company you are dealing with and get references. Also, consider the amount of space they are providing, their uptime record - how little or how much their computers are down, the bandwidth they provide, which speaks to the speed of access, and the cost. We are a leader in all these areas.

Can you provide me with references for your business?

Absolutely! And we can provide you with links to our client's sites and you can ask them yourself!

If I already have a site that is hosted somewhere else, can you move it to your servers (computers) ,for me and host my site?

Yes, if you are currently hosted somewhere else, or even if you're not (maybe you have a completed site that's not on the internet), we will gladly host it (make it available on the internet) for you.

Why would I want to do that and what will it cost?

It only costs a nominal one-time transfer fee and of course the monthly hosting fee, but what you get in return is worth so much more.

A customer may switch to us for either or both of two reasons - two very good reasons.

1) We provide much better service, many more perks, and better pricing than most, and

2) You are receiving less for the money you are now spending.

For instance, maybe you are dissatisfied with the service at your current host;

• Are they immediately responsive to your needs?
• Do they check in with you to see how satisfied you are with your site?
• Do they see if your site is meeting your objectives, and if not, are they working with you to get back on track?
• Are their computers down more than they are up, and do they provide you with that information?
• Do they offer any perks to existing customers?
• Are they charging too much for too little?
• Are they one of those unprofessional looking "free" sites that require you to use another company's domain name (yourbusiness@someone_elses_name.com)
• Are they one of those unprofessional looking "free" sites with other people's advertising splashed across it?

Do we get a contract for your service?

To protect you, us, and those who may visit your site we use a contract like those used by any reputable web design and hosting firms that outline our obligations to you and your obligations to your customers in terms of content and use practices. It's pretty straightforward.

Can I cancel your service at any time? Under our agreement, while there is a method for cancelling your service, you are free to cancel your service with us at any time without penalty. You are under no long-term obligation to us.

I see offers for free websites and free web space. Can't I just use one of those?

Yes. But you get what you pay for. Offers for free web space require you to provide your own website and they will just host it (let it reside on their computers) for free. They make this offer primarily to blast you and anyone who visits your site continuously with other offers, their content, and tons of advertising. It's not suitable for a professional business website.

With offers for free websites, if they often require you to build the website yourself with cookie-cutter website templates. The problem with these is that they are very time consuming, your site looks like everyone else's, and your website address might be something like. www.bigwebsite/page/yourname/cc.htm. Try marketing a web address that looks like that. Nobody is going to remember it. Furthermore, they too blast you with other people's advertising. It's a distraction to visitors and it doesn't look very professional.

Remember, you want to make it as easy as possible for people to find you, so a simple domain name (website address) is important. www.your-business.com is a lot easier to market and remember.

I hear about all the dot-coms going bust? Could that happen to me if I have a website?

You are referring to "e-tailers", e-commerce businesses that were established to take orders and sell and ship products over the web, or "content providers" who were reliant upon advertising revenues. There has been a glut of these companies over the past few years that have secured billions in financing to launch long-shot business models, many of which are now failing because competition is fierce and the financing is drying up.

But that's not what we're about and that's not what you're about. We build websites for professional services, those looking to have a presence on the web, get their name out there, and have a place to send people to learn about their business. These types of sites, sometimes referred to as "business-card" sites and the larger "brochure-site", don't require thousands upon thousands of dollars to launch or maintain. After all, you're not buying, selling, and shipping products, you're selling your service by promoting your service. In fact, with BuildYourBusinessOnline.com after we establish a website for our clients, the only cost is the monthly Internet access fee, which is less than $30.

What makes your service different from others?

We focus on providing professional, affordable website services to service professionals. We aren't about overselling bells and whistles that most service professionals don't need and we aren't about giving away websites that are smothered with other people's advertising. We develop sharp, crisp web sites using our exclusive 50-point free evaluation system to determine your needs and outline how a website can directly benefit your business. We also have a price and time advantage. We have some of the lowest rates around for designing, building, and hosting websites and we can have your site up in as little as three weeks. Too many firms charge thousands upon thousands of dollars and take months and months to build a website. We get you up and running quickly, while you continue to focus on operating your core business.

At BuildYourBusinessOnline.com we offer much more for so much less. For instance, we offer free search engine registration, free marketing information, free Pop e-mail accounts and e-mail forwarding (so your mail can go to your personal e-mail if you wish), free changes and maintenance every month for the first year, a free e-newsletter sent directly to you, and a host of other benefits that other providers just aren't offering together.

If you have a question send us an e-mail. We'd love to hear from you.

Do you show my staff and I how to use e-mail and set-up new accounts?

Yes. We can show you how to use your site, your e-mail and how to add, change, or delete existing e-mail accounts using a simple control panel that we integrate into your site. It's easy to use and makes making changes a breeze. This service is reserved exclusively for BuildYourBusinessOnline.com clients.

Do you help me market my website?

We provide all our clients with a user id and password so they can access our exclusive web-marketing library. At BuildYourBusinessOnline.com we believe that most service firms and organizations shouldn't have to spend a lot of time and money to market their website. Here you'll find smart, simple, low-cost and no-cost proven marketing strategies that you can employ to drive traffic to your site, while taking very little of your valuable time.

Will you use my input and ideas in the website?

Absolutley. You can be as actively or passively involved in the development of your site as you'd like. Some clients say, "just build me a website and tell me what I need to know to make it successful", while others are more highly involved in contributing to the content and want to help design the "experience" for visitors. Still yet there are others who say " I want to use a lot of blue and green, and a little white, a picture of my employees and you do the rest." So how much you contribute depends upon, the amount of time you want to spend, your creative flair, the depth of your preconception of what your should like like, and your overall interest in participating.

Am I able to add new e-mail accounts?

Yes. Whenever you'd like.

If I refer someone to your service, do I receive any benefit?

Yes, a FREE month of hosting and you could be entered in our year-end drawing for terrific prizes!

Do you have payment plans available for the design of my website?

Yes, if you don't have the money up front for the design and development of a website, we can easily tailor a monthly payment plan to stretch those payments for you over a few months or a year, depending on the size your site.

You offer 30 megabytes of space? Is that enough for me? What if I need more?

30 megabytes is more than enough space for the avergage service business or organization. In fact, most businesses won't use more than 5 megabytes of space. However, at BuildYourBusinessOnline.com we make sure you have plenty of space to grow.

How can you guarantee my site be available on the Internet 24 hours per day?

Well computers aren't flawless and they run by electricity, which has been known to go out everywhere in the world at some time or another. But at BuildYourBusinessOnline.com we make sure all technological steps have been taken to insure optimum up time and immediate recovery from system problems. Our goal is to keep your site up and running, because that's what you're paying for.

Am I under any obligation if I take the FREE evaluation that you offer?

Not in any way. It just provides you with the information you need to help you determine how a website can benefit your business. There is no obligation, and no cost, and no pressure.

If you have a question send us an e-mail. We'd love to hear from you. Or click on the FREE EVALUATION button to get started.

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