Click on a question to view the answer.
Your new website design doesn't automatically show up in the search engines. Search engine optimization is usually required to move your new website design to the front page of Google. And most website design companies, Razworks included, do not include search engine optimization in a standalone website design contract. SEO is something that would need to purchased separately or added to a website design contract. A WordPress website design is architected to automatically improve a websites search engine visibility. So, if you have a Wordpress website design, you have built in advantages, for free.
It normally takes several weeks to several months before a new website will appear in the search engines. The position of that website in search results pages is largely dependent upon the amount of business competing for the same keywords, the quality of the website, the amount of keyword dense content on the website, the amount and quality of inbound links. A WordPress website design has been know to rank on the first page of Google after the first few months, without any added search engine optimization.
For those websites that cannot rank to the first page on their own, Razworks can perform search engine optimization on the website, where the content and inbound links are gradually created over a number of months to slowly move the website to the first page of Google search results. See the Search Engines page for more info
You would create an email alias.
An email address is one that doesn't actually receive email. Rather it merely forwards all messages to another email address. For instance, contact@email.com could not have a mailbox at all, and instead forward emails to an actual mailbox account, like username@email.com.
Here is how to create an email alias in the Razworks hosting administration interface. Most email hosting servers provide alias functionality, but their actual interface procedures may be different from those at Razworks.
Creating an email alias:
At the top center of the interface there is a "Managing Domain: destinationknowledge.com", then a drop down select menu that reads "Change domain" by default.
Select the "secondary-domain.com" from the menu.
The page will refresh and then read "Managing Domain: destknow.com".
Go to Hosting Features > Aliases >
In the 'E-mail Address:' field, type the username (it will automatically add the @destknow.com).
In the "Forwards To:" field type the full destinationknowledge email.
Click the "Add" button.
The "Existing E-mail Aliases" section displays after refresh.
The new email alias should display center of this area. The "Forwards to" email displays to the right of that, and is the actual email that will receive all messages sent to the new email alias.
Web browsers are not created equally. Currently there are three (3) browsers that Razworks Recommends:
- Google Chrome (the fastest and used by Android Phones)
- Apple Safari (used by Apple iPhones and iPads)
- Firefox (used on both PC and Mac)
The above three web browsers support the current HTML5 standard. This means websites viewed in theses browsers will display and operate as the developer intended.
Internet Explorer does not adhere to web standards, therefore it's use is not recommended.
- Internet Explorer 6 (2001) - No support for modern functionality.
- Internet Explorer 7 (2006) - Minimal support for modern functionality.
- Internet Explorer 8 (2009) - Some support for modern functionality.
- Internet Explorer 9 (2011) - Support for most modern functionality.
When developing a website, Razworks' policy is to develop the web design to Firefox and Google Chrome. Google Chrome and Apple Safari are built upon the same browser engine, WebKit. On December 2011, Google Chrome and Apple Safari held a combined 33.35% of the browser market share, according to StatCounter. WebKit is also used as the basis for the experimental browser included with the Amazon Kindle ebook reader, as well as the default browser in the Apple iOS, Android, BlackBerry Tablet OS and webOS mobile operating systems. So by the end of the decade, the vast majority of Interent users will be using a WebKit browser.
Internet Explorer is not recommended. If you are still using Internet Explorer, you will see a night and day difference in speed and stability when you start using a Webkit browser! Razworks policy is to develop for Internet Explorer only after the design concept has been approved. All Sarasota web design drafts will be designed to operate in Google Chrome and Apple Safari.
Upgrading a WordPress website core software to the most recent version is not always in the best interest of a website. Some websites are very simple one to five page websites with no special functionality other than a contact form that submits data to the website owner via email. Such a website could cost as little as thirty dollars to upgrade and would be relatively free of upgrade difficulty. Other websites have a large inventory of pages and content, as well as a core system that has been enhanced via sophisticated add-on software, commonly referred to as "Plugins". Such a website may incur significant upgrade difficulty and could cost $300 to upgrade. Some older websites that have a much older WordPress core with older plugins could experience software conflicts that prevent an upgrade, requiring a complete rewrite of the website. A rewrite could cost upwards of $3000 or more, depending upon the individual sophistication of the website and the level of conflict.
The WordPress core is scheduled to update on a quarterly basis. This ensures that WordPress remains compatible with the evolving trends of Internet innovation. In contrary, plugin software is not always updated regularly, and is at the mercy of the individual plugin developers. Some plugins are never updated, and slowly become inoperable as the WordPress core advances beyond a plugin's individual capabilities. Others maintain a strict practice of updating their plugins with every WordPress core update. The rest of the plugin developers fall somewhere in between, updating their plugin when time and resources permit.
For instance, this writing was authored in March, and the current WordPress version was 3.3.1. However, many plugins that I use, and have been using for several years, are only compatible up to WordPress 3.2.1, which was released in the previous July. These plugin developers will upgrade their plugins eventually, but it could be six months or a year before all of them are upgraded. This would prohibit an upgrade for any website still using such a plugin, as the possibility exists that website could become inoperable. That is why upgrading with every WordPress core update is not always possible.
Upgrade your WordPress core only after all the plugins being used by the website provide an update as well. In some instances, a plugin will no longer be in development. This means no update is available and the software reaches end of life. In such a situation there are three options:
- Replace the plugin with a different plugin that provides the same functionality.
- Remove the plugin and no longer offer it's functionality on the website.
- Don't upgrade WordPress and keep the plugins with the older, compatible version of WordPress.
Not all web browsers are created equally. Currently, the only web browsers that fully support the most up to date web page functionality are WebKit browsers like Apple Safari and Google Chrome. Webkit browsers are the default on Apple, Android, and Amazon Kindle devices. We recommend you make a habit of only using a Webkit browser when accessing the Internet.
Internet Explorer is renown for not supporting modern web page functionality. We strongly recommend that you avoid using any version of Internet Explorer.
Here are some recent statistics regarding various web browsers.
Internet Explorer, 30% of desktop browsing, 0% mobile browsing. release dates:
ie 6, 2001, obsolete, obsolete, 3% of desktop browsing, 0% mobile browsing. reference; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Explorer_6
ie 7, 2006, obsolete, 3% of desktop browsing, 0% mobile browsing. reference; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Explorer_7
ie8, 2009, 19% of desktop browsing, 0% mobile browsing. reference; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Explorer_8
ie 9, 2011, 12% of desktop browsing, 0% mobile browsing. reference; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Explorer_9
Internet Explorer 9, the most recent version, still lacks full compliance and compatibility with the HTML5 standards set forth by the World Wide Web Consortium. Currently only Webkit browsers are fully compatible with HTML 5 standards.
Webkit browsers, 36% of desktop browsers, 50% of mobile browsers
WebKit is a browser engine that powers Apple Safari, Google Chrome, the experimental browser in the Amazon Kindle ebook reader, the default browser in the iOS, Android, BlackBerry Tablet OS and webOS mobile operating systems. Mobile Webkit browsers are expected to dominate over the next few years, making depreciated desktop browsers such as Internet Explorer and Firefox obsolete.
Google Chrome, 30% of desktop browsing, 38% mobile browsing.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_chrome
Firefox, 25% of desktop browsing, 0% mobile browsing. reference; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefox
Apple Safari, 62% of mobile browser, 6% of desktop browsing. reference; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Safari
Web browser usage statistics
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usage_share_of_web_browsers
http://gs.statcounter.com/#browser_version-ww-monthly-201102-201202
Website publishing software, such as WordPress, empowers website owners to create, edit and delete website content from any modern web browser. Copy and paste of text content is quite common with such website content management systems. However, copying directly from a Microsoft Word document then pasting directly into the website page editor can produce undesirable effects.
Desktop document software such as Microsoft Word uses invisible code to format the document's visible text. A web page uses invisible HTML and CSS code to format the visible text on a web page. Copying and pasting the text from Microsoft Word into a website page editor, will also paste Microsoft Word's text formatting code, and overwrite the website's native text formatting code. This will often create unpredictable results.
The text may display as it did in the Microsoft word document, but this may be in contrast to the website's expected display. A more severe conflict could could cause the text to become unreadable on the web page. Worse case scenario, the web page can become disabled.
One very simple extra step can avoid copy/paste conflicts all together. First, paste the text into a plain text editor like Notepad, then copy the text from Notepad and paste that text into the website page editor. This extra step will strip out the text formatting code and leave only the visible text. Once pasted, the text can be re-formatted using the website page editor tools. Notepad alternatives must be plain text editors. Rich text editors like WordPad won't work.
This is the recommended procedure when copying and pasting text into the web page editor.
WordPress is a website content management system that is used in 65% of the top one million "modern websites" (websites with content management systems). One of the most powerful features, is that website owners are able to add non-native, third party software by "plugging into" the WordPress core. These software add-ons are affectionately termed "plugins".
The more plugins you install in your WordPress Web Design, the more complex it becomes. Although will provide additional functionality, always consider the load plugins may place upon your overall website. After all, "less is more" when it comes to an effective web design, so only install plugin software if you absolutely need it.
Never install a plugin that is not compatible with your WordPress version. This could cause your website to become disabled. If you must use a plugin that has not yet been udpated to the latest version of WordPress, the last compatible version from the WordPress release archives must be used. Some plugins are never updated and reach end of life.
Here are some plugins that Razworks has used and found to be stable and useful.
Contact form 7
NextGen Gallery
Page Tree
Page links to
Exclude pages
Yoast WordPress SEO
Smooth Slider
WP Super Popup
A website domain name is one of the required components for hosting a website. A domain name can be registered at a domain registrar company like Goddady or Network Solutions.
A domain name tells an Internet browser like Google Chrome or Apple Safari, where to go to access and render a website's program files. A website will not work without a registered and properly configured domain name.
Razworks uses Godaddy exclusively for domain registration. Godaddy is the world leader in domain registration, and their customer service is very good. However, Razworks discourages the use of Goddady hosting, which has known incompatibilities with some popular modern website technologies.
Should you register your website domain name for 1 year, or for 5 years. Would 10 years be overkill? If you plan on being in business for a while, it is recommended that you register your domain for as many years as possible. Godaddy offers registration up to nine years. A maximum registration can help safeguard your domain name. A 5+ year domain registration can also benefit a website's legitimacy, in the eyes of humans and search engines alike.
Do not let your website domain name expire! You can lose your domain forever!
Domain registrars, at least Godaddy, is very diligent about giving you domain registration notices. They often provide generous grace periods, like 10 days after expiration. If you forget to renew your website domain name, and it expires, these are your options:
- Attempt to renew your website as fast as possible. You can do this by going to the domain registrar and purchasing a renewal, or phoning the domain company and have a domain representative renew it for you.
- Someone may have placed a 'Backorder' for your domain. If this is the case, once the renewal grace period is over, the domain can be resold to someone who had placed a backorder. If this occurs, you can no longer renew the domain. Your only option now is to solicit the new owner to sell you the domain.
- If you cannot re-acquire your domain name, you must register a new domain. This is the worst case scenario. You will need to change every instance of your website URL. This can sometimes be quite daunting.
Website Hosting
Website hosting is one of the basic requirements for owning a website. The website hosting server is a computer network connected through a special where your website page files and content are stored and served to Internet users. Website hosting costs range significantly depending your website's performance and volume requirements. Budget low-end website hosting can cost as little as $75 per year. Whereas premium high end website hosting can cost thousands per month. Some website hosting companies use the lowest costing hardware possible, and host thousands of accounts per server to make up for the low cost. Other hosting companies use proprietary cluster servers (cloud hosting) which sometimes present incompatibility issues with third party website software. Also, local web design companies can no longer afford to provide website hosting for today's HD Internet. Providing website hosting for today's movies and games requires serious performance that has, in most part, become too expensive for small, localized website hosting companies. Larger, national website hosting companies are often connected directly to the Internet backbone. It is typical for smaller website hosting companies to not have direct connections to the Internet, but rather they are connected to larger national hosting companies that have direct connection to the Internet backbone.
Worpress website? Get Wordpress optimized website hosting.
eCommerce website? Get eCommerce optimized website hosting.
Video website? Get enterprise website hosting with a dedicated server.
Godaddy is a domain registration company, where you purchase an annual subscription to a website name address. We recommend Godaddy for domain registration and subscription. However, Godaddy's value added website hosting is not recommended for business quality websites. To make their hosting very inexpensive, Godaddy compromises quality by using the least expensive hosting hardware possible, and serving hundreds, sometimes thousands of websites from a single server. Such economy hosting is intended for those on a limited budget, with the trade-off for the low cost being poor performance. Slow page loads, occasional down time, and peak time browser crashing is the compromise for very low cost website hosting.
In addition, Godaddy's hosting has known incompatibility issues with various industry standard website technologies, such as PHP, WordPress, Magento and others. These incompatibilities can cause a website built to W3C specifications to not perform properly on a Godaddy server. Godaddy's hosting servers are proprietary systems that do not conform to modern web standards. They are built to provide low cost, cookie cutter hosting to a high volume of customers. A Godaddy representative's official telephone response to a technical support issue regarding the industry standard PHP Mail() funtion was, "Due to the proprietary nature of our hosting servers we do not support that feature".
If low cost is your most important website hosting concern, and you don't care about performance, up-time or compatibility, then Godaddy hosting may be an option for you. However, if you require your website to have good performance and to be compatible with industry standard website technologies, then subscribe to high performance hosting. Ask Razworks for more info regarding high performance website hosting.
Razworks is not a website hosting company. Razworks is a media production company, specializing in the creation of website, animation, audio and interactive media. Razworks does, however, provide high performance managed website hosting to it's website design clients. This is not your common do-it-yourself budget hosting. Razworks utilizes state of the art hosting services optimized for next generation website applications. Razworks WordPress optimized hosting is arguably the best WordPress hosting available, with Content Delivery Network access for optimal performance. Razworks Magento optimized website hosting uses high end systems to provide optimal eCommerce shopping cart performance and security.
Razworks hosting is available only to web design customers. Razworks website hosting is managed hosting, meaning that root hosting server control panel access is not provided to the client, rather Razworks performs control panel operations on behalf of the client as needed. The client still has full access to website content management, webmail, and ftp.
If your Razworks Sarasota web design is hosted with Razworks, you can use IMAP or POP3 email with your website domain. You can either use the free webmail interface that Razworks supplies with your hosting, or access your email from Outlook, Thunderbird, Gmail, Windows Mail, Android, iPhone, Blackberry and more. Razworks has provided detailed instructions for setting up your email accounts. You can view the Email FAQs at http://razworks.com/web-design/sarasota-web-design-faqs/email-faqs/ or click here to view the email setup instructions.
Digital cameras usually save photos in the JPEG image format, which is the status quo Internet image format. However, megapixel digital cameras commonly have image quality settings that can determine the various resolutions for how the jpeg image is stored on the camera's memory. These camera 'image quality' settings usually default to a 'print quality' resolution, which is much too large for Internet upload and display. The common procedure is to take your photos in a higher resolution that will print well if needed, then reduce the images to web resolution prior to uploading to a website. This is very important, as the original jpeg can be 2MB, 3MB or even more, which is way too large for common Internet connections. Reducing and resaving Jpeg images with 'web compression' settings will often reduce a 3MB image to around 150KB, which makes a huge difference in loading time. It can be the difference between the image loading in mere seconds, or the image not loading at all, or worse, crashing the user's browser. Adobe Photoshop has great 'save for web' image tools. Whatever software used, be sure the image is at the web dpi of 72. Print dpi is between 150 and 300, again, too big for the web.
Website Content Management Software
WordPress is by far the most used website content management software. Wordpress is used in 63% of all content management system websites worldwide. Of all website content management systems, Wordpress has the easiest to use administration interface. Wordpress has unlimited 'plugin' capability, allowing you to add almost any website functionality. So you can to start with a very simple, and inexpensive, professional website to get up an running. As your business grows, you can add any needed functionality as a 'plugin'. WordPress is always on the edge of technological innovation, releasing core software updates quarterly. Wordpress has been in development since 2003, and will remain at the forefront of website management software for the next decade. And since WordPress is Open Source, it's FREE! No other website content management software offers more than Wordpress.
WordPress went through alot of hacking issues back in 2005-2008. That was a good thing, because through solving those hacking issues, they have made the current versions of WordPress extremely secure. The only reason a WordPress website gets hacked into now is because of insecure usernames/passwords, insecure plugin software, or an insecure web host.
- A WordPress website will be virtually hacker proof as long as the client uses a secure password: Uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols
- Razworks will never use insecure plugin software, therefore that is not an issue.
- Razworks web host is totally secure, so that is not an issue.
In April of 2010, Network Solutions allowed a mass infection of all of their WordPress websites because their servers were improperly configured. Network Solutions was using methods that were five years old and no longer secure. This was not a WordPress issue, rather it was a Network Solutions issue. Correcting their erroneous server configurations eliminated hacking of WordPress websites.
Because WordPress is the number one CMS, someone will always be trying to hack into it, just like how hackers are always targeting Microsoft. However, hacking WordPress becomes exponentially more difficult with every version release. Because WordPress updates versions every quarter, they proactively thwart any threats. The last threat was a worm in Sept of 2009, but that only threatened older versions of WordPress. The current versions of that time were unaffected, so technically, it wasn't a valid threat.
The most common security risk is insecure passwords. Clients often claim they need something simple that they wont' forget. But a simple password is very easy for a hacker to crack. This holds true for all web-based accounts, such as Gmail, Facebook, ect. When someone reports their email or social profile being hacked, 95% of the time it is due to an insecure password.
Razworks has been working with WordPress since 2007, and a Razworks hosted WordPress websites has never been hacked. In contrary, it is common for Adobe Contribute websites to be hacked. That is why Razworks discourages Contribute.
Video Hosting
Video hosting for your website can be looked at in one of two ways:
1. Hosting your videos on YouTube and configuring playback on your website
2. Video Hosting and playback on your website.
Number one has a huge benefit: no video hosting or bandwidth costs! Other benefits are that YouTube can provide an effective search engine optimization tool as well as a massive social network hub. The disadvantage is that you don't have total control over the display of your video, and YouTube mandates certain rules.
The second option is video hosting on your web hosting server. Your primary cost factor will be determined by disc storage and bandwidth. Video hosting requires large amounts of disc space and bandwidth allowances. The more videos you host, the higher your video hosting costs become. Video size, length, and quality all affect the video hosting file size, which in turn increases the bandwidth usage. Dedicated servers are required for moderate to high volume video hosting, and typically cost from $100 per month and up.
The AVI video format is not intended for playback on a website. AVI video is typically used as source footage for video editing, from which the appropriate video file format is exported, whether it be for Internet, desktop, or DVD/BlueRay delivery. MP4 video is now the Internet's standard video format, as FLV became obsolete with the release of HTML 5 in early 2010. Download video conversion software, there are plenty of freeware and shareware video converters available for free download, just do a Google search for AVI to MP4. Once your AVI has been converted to MP4 your playback problems will be solved.
Sarasota web design cost is directly dependent upon what will be in your website . Not all websites are created equally. A website can have one page or one hundred pages. The website could be comprised of basic text and images, or it could have complex web applications. The more pages, content and web applications a website has, the higher the production cost will be. If you price shop various Sarasota web design companies, you'll find that the average price for a standard five page website production from a competent Sarasota website designer is $2000 plus or minus. Depending upon which web designers you talk to, you may be surprised to receive a very broad range of Sarasota web design quotes, ranging anywhere from $300 to $10,000. Cutting corners by choosing the least expensive Sarasota website designer will often cost you much more in the long run, as low cost web designers usually provide inadequate Sarasota web design. And the more expensive Sarasota website design companies are usually compensating for large overhead, which bloats the production price unnecessarily. Always choose a web designer who has a median price range, anywhere from $1500 to $3000. And make sure you choose a web designer who adheres to modern web standards and Tabless CSS web design layouts. Choosing a Sarasota web designer who uses WordPress is your best option, as WordPress web design guarantees that your new website will adhere to web standards and will never become obsolete.
To order a Razworks Sarasota web design email Razworks by clicking here or phone Razworks at 941-685-8851. Sarasota web design consultation is free. Razworks will conference with you either over the phone or we will come to your location. Razworks will collect as much information from you as possible, then draft a proposal, emailed to you as a PDF document. Standard industry procedure is a 50% downpayment of the proposed Sarasota web design production cost. Upon receipt of the downpayment and signed contract, Razworks will begin production of your Sarasota web design on a Razworks development server. The process begins with the Web Design Phase, where a draft is created and posted for your review. Once the design draft is approved, the Implementation Phase proceeds, where text and image content are installed and any requested web application functionality is implemented. Once the Implementation draft is approved, the Finalization phase proceeds, where final modifications are performed. Upon approving the Finalization draft, the website is ready to be launched on the live website domain. This occurs upon receipt of payment of the balance due. Once the website is launched on the live domain, the Post Production Phase begins, where any final website tweaks and adjustments are made, email addresses are setup, and search engine optimization is performed (if included in the proposal). Upon approval of the Post Production Phase the Sarasota web design production concludes.
