Website Design/Development
What if I have an idea, can I make changes?
The short answer is yes, you can always make changes. The slightly longer answer is yes but there may be
a charge for the change. Building a website is a lot like building a house, the earlier you make design
changes, the cheaper the cost of the change. For example if you decided to add a 5th bedroom to your
new home just as the roof layers were finishing their job, the cost would obviously be significant. If
you decided to add the bedroom before the plans were finalised the cost would be far less. Finalising
the design before construction of your website commences is obviously recommended.
How long will it take to build my website?
A number of factors influence construction time, however once the design has been settled on and the content (text, images etc.) has been supplied then two
weeks is a good estimate for a website of average complexity.
What about music, animations etc?
Most of us have visited sites that feature snappy animations and musical interludes. Why often novel and entertaining, they can quickly degrade to be an
annoyance to repeat visitors. This issue is covered during the design phase of your website. For some
sites multi-media content is suitable, for others it is not.
I don't have very much content for my website, can Gumboot produce this for me?
Some of our customers are just too busy to write/assemble content for their website. Gumboot can arrange for a copywriter to prepare your material, and
graphic artist to prepare logos etc.
Can I watch my the construction progress of my website?
Yes most definitely. During the development phase of your website you are encouraged to monitor progress.
Interim versions of your website are published (either under your domain name or under gumboot.com) but
password protected so only you and Gumboot can see it.
How can I minimise the development costs for my website?
There are two aspects influencing website development costs that are in your control- design and content
supply. Settling on the website design and resisting the temptation to make changes prevents cost
overruns. Also, supplying content in a readable digital format eliminates the need for Gumboot to retype
or scan it. Supplying material on time can also have a bearing on cost. Costs incurred in "chasing"
website content (time, phone calls etc.) are passed on, so delivering content at the agreed time becomes
important. If you find you are going to miss a delivery date please advise us as soon as possible.
Website Promotion
How will I know how my website is performing?
An important aspect of the "feedback loop" is asking all new customers how they found you. A second indicator that your website is contributing is a noticeable
increase in business enquiries/turnover. The most scientific technique is to view the statistics for
your website. These tell you how many visitors the site had, what they looked at the most and roughly
where they live in the world.
How should I promote my website?
This can't be answered in a few sentences as it is really an issue for a marketing campaign. However
there are obvious avenues for promotion (letterhead, business card, newsletters, signage). The most
often neglected promotional tool for organizations with a physical address (shop, office, workshop) is
the "store window".
What about search engines?
Search engines like google are an important source of visitors for websites (offline promotion of your
website is just as important and shouldn't be ignored). After your website is completed you can chose to
engage Gumboot in a search engine campaign. In short what we do is determine how best to achieve highly
ranked search engine listings for your website. There are no guarantees with search engines and achieving
consistently high rankings is an ongoing process. The traffic they can generate for your website however
is significant, so search engines shouldn’t be ignored.
Email
How many email addresses can I have?
You can have as many email addresses as you like with a Gumboot hosting agreement.
I really want to keep my existing email address
Email addresses can be automatically forwarded to another email address. For example all email sent to
bob.smith@acme.co.nz can be forwarded to bob.smith@xtra.co.nz. Most email programs (eg. Microsoft
Outlook) let you manage multiple email accounts/addresses so you can continue to use your existing
address as well as your new ones.
I hear email lists are a valuable tool. Can I use email lists?
Yes email lists are an effective (and economic) method of communicating with your clients/customers.
All Gumboot website hosting agreements include a email list facility.
After my website is built can I make changes to it?
Most definitely! To be successful you must make changes to keep your website current. Your website should reflect the changing nature of your
organisation- most of which are in a continual state of change. An out of date website doesn't encourage
repeat visitors. Protect your website investment by making regular updates.
I'm on the road a lot, can I access my Email from a web browser in say a Cyber Cafe?
Yes we provide a web browser based email client much like Hotmail. The only restriction on its use is that email messages can be stored for a maximum of
60 days after which they will be automatically purged.
How do I change my email password?
Please contact Gumboot to arrange for the change.
Domain names
What's a domain name?
A domain name is like your street address, it lets
people find you- in the case of your website find it on the internet. Domain names are everywhere these
days- TV, radio, print media, signage, even t-shirts!
How do I get a domain name?
Many organisations throughout the Internet offer domain name purchasing services. Some are good, some not so good and some just plain terrible.
Gumboot is happy to arrange for the purchase of your domain name.
How much does a domain name cost?
Prices vary according to country and reseller. Typically a .co.nz domain name costs $40-$50 but can vary during times of promotions etc.
How many domain names can I have?
You can have as many domain names as you like. Some businesses choose to purchase domain names in
different countries eg. acme.com, acme.co.nz, acme.co.uk. Each domain name can be linked to either a
website unique to a particular country or to a single website.
E-Commerce
Can people purchase products through my website?
Yes they can. Gumboot ezShop is a cost-effective online shopping system that was designed to be used by the store owner/manager themselves ie. no computer degree/diploma is required!
Isn't the Internet ripe with fraud?
No more so than any other commercial area- statistically speaking. The difference is that the Internet is new,. topical, often misunderstood, and makes great copy for
filling time on the evening television news.
Miscellaneous
What's a Intranet? What's a Extranet?
An Intranet is an "internal" internet. Internal meaning within some private network. Many companies have
Intranets that support the business function (publishing procedures, regulations, information etc.). The
general public is not given access to an intranet in order to protect sensitive data.
An Extranet is a recent term that describes a hybrid Intranet/Internet. It is accessible internally
by company employees; as well as externally by company suppliers/partners.
What is "hosting" and why do I need it?
Once constructed, your website must be published/made available for internet users to visit. Website
hosting is the process of making a website available on the Internet 24x7x365. The website and domain
name are stored (hosted) on a computer that has a permanent high-speed attachment to the Internet.
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