Why does my business need a web site?
How much money should I budget for a web site?
What is the Domain Name System?
How do I register a domain name?
I just want a family or personal site, do I have to have a domain name?
Do I have to purchase a domain name for my business?
Can I build a web site myself?
Can I personally update my web site?
How will a web site enhance my sales & marketing strategies?
How do I process sales through a web site?
Can my site be listed in search engines and directories like Google, Yahoo & MSN?
How do I promote my web site?
What is an on line brochure?
How can I know how many people are viewing my web site?
How can I track who is accessing my web site and when?
How do I determine what to include on my site?
How can I work with Reynolds Web Design when I live in another city or state?
What are acceptable forms of payment?
When will payment be due?
What type of support does Reynolds Web Designs offer once a site is launched?
Site planning questions to consider.
Have a question you don't see listed? Ask us at reynolds@computerstoboot.com 

Why do I need a web site?
According to the U.S. Census 2000, over 143 million households had Internet access in their homes, and 2 million additional households were obtaining Internet access each month in 2001, and over 200 million by the end of 2002!
(Information from National Telecommunication & Information Administration, NTIA, February 2002 survey & report; "A Nation Online: How Americans Are Expanding Their Use Of The Internet")

Having a web site is a matter of keeping up with competition and businesses your organization deals with on a daily basis. Web sites enhance your overall marketing presence, answer questions, act as a fast and economical way of attracting, keeping, tracking customers and promoting your business on a worldwide bases. (top)

How much money should I budget for a web site?
A stylish and content rich site does not have to a shock to your wallet! A content rich, tastefully designed, easily viewed and navigated site, accented with enhancing (not distracting!) site features can be provided by Reynolds Web Design for as little as $199 for business sites. Site hosting is available for as little as $4.13 per month. View our site packages, pricing & features here.

Compare our costs to your existing marketing and advertising budget. Refer to your web site in all your advertising methods and give added depth to newspaper ads, radio spots, and even TV promotions! For the prices of just a few modest newspaper ads you can supplement ALL of your advertising techniques with the added depth of page after page of product and service information--all available to your customers 24 hours a day! If you advertise at all, you will get more for your efforts and your advertising dollars with an on-line presence. (top)

What is the Domain Name System?
The Domain Name System (DNS) helps users to find their way around the Internet. Every computer on the Internet has a unique address – just like a telephone number – which is a rather complicated string of numbers. It is called its "IP address" (IP stands for "Internet Protocol"). The DNS makes translates the assigns the numeric address to a familiar string of letters (the "domain name") to be used instead. Find out more about the domain name process and regulation at the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). (top)

How do I register a domain name?
You can check to see if the name you want is available at a number of sites. A domain name is registered for an annual fee ranging from $9.99 and up per year. You can register your domain name prior to launching your site by clicking here.

To view a list of authorized domain registries click here.
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Do I have to purchase a domain name to have a web site?
No, If you have e-mail you probably already have 5-10mb of web space already available to you. Most Internet Service Providers offer free web space with Internet access. This type of web space would be considered a "sub-domain" and would give you a site address like this: http://yoursitename.yourisp.com.  If you do not have web space available to you, Reynolds Enterprises can set you up a sub-domain and have your registered domain name point to this space for a low $9.95 month hosting fee, but when you can have your only website for as little as $4.13 per month, WHY!. (top)

While a sub-domain name may be suitable for family or a non-profit organization site, it is definitely not a good choice for a business site. A domain reflects a commitment to your business and the customer. It is better to obtain your own domain and pay the small monthly hosting fee to give your business a professional presence on the web. The $9.99 annual registration fee, and low $4.13 per month hosting fee costs less that many newspaper ads! A small price to pay for an important asset to your business. (top)

Can I build my own web site?
Yes!
Software is available that will help you build a web site. Both on the open market and with my website hosting companies. You can build a website with template based programs and have a site up in no time. That is if you HAVE the time. If you do, click here and you can start today!

You may even want to go a step further and learn the basic programming languages of the Web and give yourself more creative freedom.

Web site software can range from free to hundreds of dollars and does require time for learning the process and program. Technical and design abilities of design programs can limit your site capabilities and appearance. Many web features are an combination of software and other web languages.

Working on the web effectively involves more than knowing how to use a development program. It is important to know and understand the many variables that affect the way a web site is viewed. Tutorials and literature are available that can help. When considering the do-it-yourself option consider the software purchase and how much of your time will be spent in learning and researching the process. Compare this with our pricing and you will find that for the price of popular software packages Reynolds Web Design can develop, launch, and promote a site that is unique and effective!

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Can I make updates to my web site?
If you are considering making updates yourself we will work with you to create your site with that in mind and review with you the technical skills necessary for making changes and updates, and help you evaluate if this is a workable option for you. If your ready to go now, click here.

If you just want us to take care of your changes so you can focus on your business, our hourly fee is $50. (top)

How will a web site enhance my sales and marketing strategies?
The web is certainly one of the most powerful marketing tools today. An on-line presence can help to locate new target markets through on-line surveys, act as a promotional tool that is extremely cost effective and reach audiences that might otherwise never see your products or services. Over 86% of the households logging onto the Net are doing so to review products or service information--be sure your business is seen! (View stats in the NTIA report).

Your web site is available 24 hours a day to display products, services, and pricing. Refer to it in all your other advertising efforts. Newspaper ads, radio spots, and TV commercials will be given added depth by the information and photos on your web site.

Good customer service is priceless and an on-line presences makes your business available to customers around the clock! Provide visitors with information related to your business, FAQs, and allow them to e-mail questions and comments. Post customer testimonials of your services and products! (top)

How do I process sales through my web site?

With a shopping cart program, your on-line customers can browse, select items, and fill their virtual shopping cart just as though they were in your store! Completing a short registration form and making purchases with credit cards will take just a few short minutes.

There are several ways for you to process on-line sales.  One way is to set up a merchant account to handle the process for you.  We suggest you use Charge.com, as they have the lowest prices we have found.  For more information on this service click the banner below.

If you do not want to set up a merchant account or you are on a limited budget, we recommend using the PayPal system. PayPal provides security features and streamlines the payment process for both buyer and seller and eliminates your need for an on-line merchant account. You can set up an account now by clicking on the image below: 

You will need a shopping cart to show your items and process the order.  We have shopping cart you can set up and use with your web site if you are planning to do a site yourself.  To set up your own site and get started making money from the World Wide Web, click here.
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How can my site be listed in search engines and directories like Google, Yahoo & MSN and do online marketing?
This is the most important thing of all! Just because you have a website does not mean any one is going to see it. You MUST market you site!
There are literally millions of sites out on the web competing for top search engine and directory placement. They want your customers as well. In recent years placement on these sites has become a matter of money and optimization of your site; you pay to be listed and ranked in a verity of ways. Some directories will list non-profit or personal sites for free but businesses can be charged $100 to $300 annually just to be considered for listing and the listing rank is not guaranteed. You could be first or you could be number 1001 in a list thousands of web sites long.

Eventually, four to six months after your site is launched, it will start to show up in so search engines such as WebCrawler and Google as these sites are continually and automatically searching (spidering) the Web for new pages and categorizing them according to relative keywords placed in the site's Meta Tags. They also search for links coming to your site. The more links to your site, the more then think you content must be worth to other people.

Well written Meta tags and properly written site content can help a web site be listed more effectively. Developing effective Meta Tags is very important.

Your site is still competing with many many sites to be seen and it is important to take additional marketing steps.

If you have a website you want to promote, you should check out SelfPromotion.com. It's a resource for do-it-yourselfers where you can learn to prepare your pages for the search engines, then use a sophisticated url submission robot to submit your web pages to all the important search engines and directories. You'll also find tutorials about website promotion, submitting to yahoo, and much more. Best of all, you can use the site for free -- if you like it, pay what YOU think it's worth! The guy who runs it has reinvented tipping!

Consider paying for hits. The good news about listing in the search engines and indexes is that it's free. The bad news is that you don't have much control. While it is certainly worthwhile to tweak your pages in search of high rankings, it's not always possible to get the ones you want. There are, however, several places that can provide you with well-targeted traffic for pennies a visitor. My favorite is Google Ads and SelfPromotion.com has a page dedicated to getting the most out of this and other similar services. 

If you are using my hosting site at www.reynoldsentrp.com you will also have marketing tools that are available to you as well.

Good marketing is key in the life of the World Wide Web!!! You may want to check out a site that understand online marketing better than an I have send to date. Click here for more information on this site.

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How do I promote my web site?
All normal means of promotion should be used plus a few more! All publicity through newspapers, radio, brochures, ads, mailings etc., should include your web site address. Stationary, business cards, promotional products such as pens and pencils, everywhere your business name is, your business web site address should be right there too!

Ribbon cuttings and grand openings are a great way to promote the opening of a brick and mortar stores--newspaper coverage of these events is common. The same can be true of your web site's Grand Opening!

Once your site is visited, people should be given a reason to return. New material or related information that may be of interest, provide additional resources, and FAQ's that pertain to your trade or services. Give visitors an opportunity to register for newsletters e-mail updates of sales, special promotions, and special notices. You may want to check out a site that understand online marketing better than an I have send to date. Click here for more information on this site.

Also see: How can my site be listed in search engines and directories like Google, Yahoo & MSN?

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What is an on line brochure?
An on line brochure allows for a larger target market having access to your organization's most basic information. This type of site does not handle the sale of products but can provide in depth product information and photos. An important part of modern marketing techniques an on-line brochure is more cost effective that the actual printed material. (top)

How can I know how many people visit my site?
Knowing how many people access your web site (how many hits you've obtained) can be a selling feature if you later decide to sell advertising space on your site. It can also help you determine the effectiveness of your content and indicate the number of visitors and which pages of your site they visit most often. Hit counters and statistics can be added to your pages visibly or invisibly.

An like any other service there are companies on the web that will give you in-depth stats for a small fee. Just do a search on your favorite search engine on website statistic programs. You'll find someone!

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How can I track who is accessing my web site and when?
Software hit counters make it possible to track who is visiting your site and when. You can access reports daily or weekly and measure the effectiveness of your marketing and the attraction of products and services. (top)

How do I determine what to include on my site?
Good planning is essential to any effective web site, not only in providing information to your viewers but in planning the layout, navigation, and general design. We have prepared a planning guide to help. This guide includes generic and specific questions you will need to consider. (top)

It is also important that you are familiar with the web and recommend that if you are new to the Web that you spend some time looking for web sites that are pleasing to you, jot down the site addresses. We will be happy to meet with you and review your planning guide and will help you design a site that meets your needs. (top)

How can I work with Reynolds Web Design when I live in another city or state?
My www.reynoldsentrp.com site has everything you needed to do it yourself. If you want me to build a site for you, information for your site can be mailed or e-mailed to me. Photos can be mailed, or scanned and e-mailed and I will but your site together for you.

One of the great characteristics of the WWW is the ability to transfer information and documents almost instantaneously. Just think of the ways this feature could benefit your own business! (top)

What are acceptable forms of payment?
Credit cards, checks, and money orders, are accepted. Reynolds Enterprises partners with PayPal to provide easy payment with credit cards. PayPal’s plans add security and protection for the buyer and seller. We encourage PayPal’s system for our on-line commercial sites as well. (top)

When will payment be due?
Half of the agreed fee is due before work begins on your web site.  Final payment is due when the site is completed and fully tested on the Internet. (top)

What type of support does Reynolds Web Designs offer once a site is launched?

Once your site is launched and tested you will be provided a copy of the site on CD (for backup purposes) and your site promotion can begin.

Reynolds Web Design sites are monitored on a regular basis to check links and site functions. On rare occasions things do happen and files on your host server could possibly become corrupt or damaged affecting one or more pages or images on your web site. Using back-up files of your site we will re-send any files/images that become corrupted.

If you would like Reynolds Web Design to list your site with search engines or by use of keywords, there will be a monthly fee of $50 due in advance plus you will need to set up a credit card for payment of the monthly click though, but it is SO simple today that you will most likely want to do this on your own.

We are available by phone or e-mail and will return all inquiries as soon as possible, usually within 24 hours if not sooner. (top)