what is a Domain Name?

A domain name is what your website is called in people-friendly terms, like yoursite.com. Without domain names, we would be stuck trying to remember numbers similar to phone numbers instead of a name. Think of it as a form of 'caller ID' for your website's numerical IP Address - which computers use to find each other on the Internet.

what is the difference between static and dynamic websites?

A static website is one that does not change - at least not without someone actually editing the web pages individually.

A dynamic website is one that uses a series of place-holders to fill in content or images from a database. This is similar to doing a mail-merge each time the page is viewed, and the content is specific to the person viewing the page. A good example of a dynamic website would be a Real Estate website, where you see the same 'page' for multipile listings, however the images and description change depending on the criteria you select. Another example would be a site like Facebook.com, where the content you see on the page is all determined by user input and who is friends with who. Just imagine if you had to call your web developer every time you wanted to comment on someone's photo... this is power of data-driven dynamic websites.

What is a CMS, or content management system, and will I need one?

A CMS is a Content Management System, which provides a way for non-technical persons to update information on their website without needing to call a developer. The CMS is a form of a dynamic website, as the content and images input by the user are stored in a database, and then delivered to the viewer when the page is requested. While a more task-specific CMS can be developed to keep the options simple and limited to the areas that need to updated (photos, special offers, etc.), a fully featured CMS can allow users to add completely new sections and pages to their sites,

what are Metrics and Analytics, and why should i care?

Metrics and Analytics for your site are like the gauges in your car. Most of the time you don't need to pay much attention to them, and some of us don't even know what all of them are for.

Using tools that analyze your website help us ensure you are reaching the correct target demographic, showing up in the relevant search terms on major search engines, and ultimately putting more qualified customers in front of you. These tools are what tell us web developers exactly what's going on when people visit your site. Are they clicking a couple times, then always leaving your site from the same page? If so, that tells us we need to work on that page.

Should you care about these things? Certainly you should care if your 'check engine' light is on, however many clients rely on us to manage the details and keep things working.

who should Maintain my Site?

While we would prefer to take care of the maintenance of things we build, depending on the size of your organization and/or the technical ability of your existing staff, you may consider handling the maintenance on yourself. Most of our clients contact us because they aren't sure how to do the things we do, and really don't have the luxury of time to spend worrying about it.

This is the main reason to consider a maintenance agreement along with your website. If your server needs to be patched, or a vulnerability is discovered in the future with something that may be secure today, we will take care of it. This is what we do all day, and chances are we'll know about a potential issue long before your customers have a chance to stumble upon it.

Clients who chose to skip the maintenance options are welcome to do so, and will be provided with a backup disk of their finished site as it was when it was completed. Unfortunately, any issues we may have to troubleshoot in the future will come at an additional cost, and many times those costs can exceed what it would have cost for us to maintain it.

It's always your call, but we do recommend the complete package unless you're comfortable doing what we already do for a living.