| Here is a selection of questions to further help you decide which route you would like to pursue! They are constructed from a mixture of "posed" questions and real questions from you - my clients! |
| If you still can't find the answer to your query, please contact us and we will add your question and answer to the list! |
| Why ASEP? |
| 1. Why should I choose ASE Programming for my Web Design? |
| There are three fundamental aspects to a web site, which determine whether it will work for you or against you ; a Visually pleasing design , an Easy-to-use & Fully functional navigation system, and effective Search Engine Optimisation/ Web Marketing. |
| If any one of these aspects fails, so too will your site. Why leave it to chance? |
| ASE Programming's designs guarantee to have these by default.... Our reputation depends on it! |
| Add to this our commitment to excellence, our extensive range of complementary web services and our friendly but dedicated customer service and we don't think you'll regret choosing "ASEP" to help you achieve your full potential on the web. |
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| Web Design |
| 18. Why do you offer an "All Inclusive" package? What if I want to set up my own Domain Name and hosting? |
| Thats fine! You are of course free to do so at your own cost.. |
| We offer the service because In our experience many of our clients have requested that we manage every aspects of getting their site online for them, so we decided it was worth offering the service upfront so that future clients can see that they don't have to do a thing if they don't want to! |
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| 15. Do you have a clear-cut Comparisons table showing what is and what isn't included in the various packages you offer? |
| You're in luck! We do! |
| Click on the link below to see at a glance what each package includes as standard and what extras are available. |
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| webdesign_comparisontable.htm |
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| 17. What is the difference between a Static site and a Dynamic site? |
| A Static Site is a series of pages that look the same to every person who views it online. It cannot be manipulated by you or the user to produce specific results. It also cannot be updated by you (unless you buy the relevant software) or online. |
| A Dynamic site's pages can change depending on the results of a query on the database which drives the site You can update/edit your data and therefore your pages online yourself. Users can often manipulate the data viewable on your site (for example search for flights or houses for sale etc) but not necessarily. Eg. A 'news' page might be database driven so that it can be date specific so your site does not appear out of date. In this instance the users do not have control over what is displayed but you do! |
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| 19. Some Web Design companies refuse to offer Domain Name Registering and Hosting Services because they say it would merely be marking up third party expenses at your cost. Why does ASEP offer these services? |
| Many of the litte things like arranging Hosting or a Domain Name can be rather a daunting prospect for clients new to the internet or a dreary task for those too busy to be bothered with the fine details. |
| Many of our clients have therefore asked us to do these for them, and a Web Design company we felt it didn't make sense not to offer these services when firstly they are pre-requisits to having a website and secondly there is clearly a need for these services! |
| With regard to the cost - some smaller web design companies (by smaller I mean with fewer clients on their books) do simply set up hosting as you would and then charge you for the service. (Nothing wrong in that I'd say anyway) Most , however get special rates for hosting since we tend to "buy in bulk" and often so usually you will find that despite offering you a service you theoretically could do youself, you may still end up with cheaper hosting costs than if you did arrange it personally! |
| At £25.pp per year after your initial Free 12 months - we haveen't heard a single client compain yet!! |
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| 24. Can I have background Music on my Site? |
| Below is an great article I read somewhere entitled: "Issues Surrounding Background Music". If I got this form your site and have not mentioned you please let me know and I won't hesitate to do so! I only haven't because I can't remember where it came from - NOT because I'm trying to pass it off as my own! Anyway - I completely agree with it and would avoid music at all costs. If you insist I will of course do it but only as long as it is an informed decision on your part! |
| Before you start, you should be aware that background music that automatically starts playing when a web page is loaded may not be appreciated by a large number of your visitors. Some of them, when greeted with the sudden blaring of music from their speakers, may immediately hit the BACK button of their browsers. This may occur even if you're playing a piece of music that you think is well loved by everyone: remember, there are people who surf the Internet in public libraries, at work, or in the dead of the night when others are asleep. Others may already have their favourite piece of music playing on their computer speakers, and your auto-playing music file will only cause them to be annoyed.
Even if you are satisfied that your website has the type of target audience that will enjoy your background music, there are alternatives to automatically playing music that you might want to consider. For example, giving visitors a link which they can click to play music would allow you to showcase your music while remaining sensitive to your visitors' preferences. Instructions on how to accomplish this, as well as how to implement autoplaying music, are given below. |
| The problem with embedding background music is that the different browsers out there have their own methods of implementing embedded music files.
Sometimes you may encounter a situation where the embedded code works for you but not for others using the same version of the same browser.
This situation may occur when the person has installed some other software that has replaced the default browser plug-in to handle the music file type. For example, various multimedia players (like QuickTime) replace the browser's default plugins when they are installed. The replacement plugins may not function in quite the same way as the default plugin for the browser, leading to your code not working as expected. |
| There's probably little you can do to prevent this from happening, short of posting notices everywhere on your site telling people not to install such-and-such a software, which is of course ludicrous. If you insist on putting auto-playing sound files on your web page, my recommendation is that you ensure that your page makes sense whether or not those sounds are played on your visitor's machine. That is, don't auto-play a sound file that provides vital information that the visitor needs to understand your web page - unless of course you also provide a clickable link on the page that allows him to hear the information should his browser not autoplay the sound file.
Like many other aspects of coding for the web, putting music on the web requires a certain amount of defensive coding. Even then, there will probably be a percentage of visitors who will not be able to view/hear your site the way you intended.
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| So.... there you have it. Ask for background music at your own peril!! You have been warned!!!! ;-) |
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| 20. How long will it take you to get my site online from when I ask you to take the Job on? |
| Well, this depends on the type and style of your site, our current work commitments at that point in time, and lastly but definitely not leastly - how clear an idea you have of exactly what you want!! With the best will in the world, sites invariably do tend to "grow" from what you envisaged initially as you get swept along in the excitement of what is possible with your site!! |
| If you have all the data and any photos/graphics ready to send to me, and have a Template based site, (and don't change your mind too often about it all!!) you can be up and running within a week or two. (from starting date*) |
| If you want a custom designed static site - you're possibly looking at 4 to 6 weeks (from starting date*) by the time you have tweaked every aspect of the site to your complete satisfaction. |
| Finally - for dynamic database driven sites and particularly E-Commerce sites (both depending on complexity) you can expect anything from 2 to 4 months (from starting date*) to achieve complete satisfaction. |
| * Starting date will be clearly discussed at the point of initial consultation so you may choose whether you would like to go ahead with the project with ASEP, or if you cannot wait for our current work commitments, you may of course find another design company. Only ONE potential customer has ever decide to go with someonelse (to our knowledge!) and she wanted a custom built (database driven) site online within ONE WEEK!!! I refused to compromise my current work commitments (and it would, of course, have been an impossible feat anyway, even if I had been that unscrupulous!) And in fact to date (and this was in May 2006), her company still doesn't appear to be online! So - my finaly note : you have to be realistic and if you want a good job doing (which of course you do) you can't expect minor miracles!! I do have multiple contracts at any one time and I Do NOT "Queue Jump" for ANYONE, even if you ordered a 10,000 page site with every extra available three times over!! What's more - I make no apologies for this! |
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| 16. What is the difference between a template based website and a Custom designed website? |
| A Template based site follows the same LAYOUT as other sites based on the same template. It looks vaguely similar to those other sites but can have its own colour scheme, graphics, data and logo, page names (links) and theme. |
| A Custom Designed site is totally visually unique and can have the navigation bar anywhere, can incorporate your logo over the entire screen etc. etc. |
| So - the main differnce is Visual but the other big difference is cost. A Template based site is much cheaper as most of the design work has already been carried out. |
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| Updates/Maintenance Contracts |
| 6. Why do I need Site Maintenance? |
| Well, you might not! If your site is a simple page telling users of your contact details and perhaps a picture of your premises and a sample list of products (without prices), then chances are you won't need to update your site (unless you move premises!) |
| If, however, you have a site which displays any data of a changing kind (eg. prices, products, availability of products and services etc.) then you may find that regular updates are in order. (Web sites don't attract traffic if they do not display current information and/or have been left to look neglected.) |
| Then, If you don't have the software (and don't want to purchase it), the ability (and don't want to do the training) or you simply haven't got the time, then the Maintenance Contracts is there for your convenience. |
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| 21. Do my 12 months FREE updates include changes to the actual design of my web pages? |
| No, nice try! ;-) but updates only include changes to data and grahpics for static sites. (eg if you have a price change etc.) I'd be here forever if you were constantly allowed to change the design of your site for free! Remember - You should not agree to upload your site to the internet until you are 100% happy that it is perfect for you. |
| After this time, design changes are chargeable at the same rate as data charges outside of the 12 month free period. - ie. Starting from £5.00 per page for a non-urgent update upwards depending on the complexity of the required change in design. If you have a site-wide design change proposal (ie something that needs to change on each and every page) the most we will charge you is £100.00 per global update per site. |
| You will find that an "update" refers only to data with all design companies, though many don't even offer any free data updates initially. |
| Finally - you might be pleased to hear that so far, no-one has ever asked for a design change! WE make absolutely sure that your site is goig to serve you well and make youhappy BEFORE we make it live and BEFORE you've paid us a penny! |
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| 7. What if I only need updates Occasionally? |
| Occasional updates depend on size and priority and might typically cost £10 for a non-urgent page update, to £25.00 for a next-day (24 hour) Page update. |
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| 8. Can't I maintain my own site? |
| Absolutely! For Static sites, all you will need is a copy of Macromedia's 'Contribute' and some knowledge of how to do the updates! |
| You can buy 'Contribute' from any software dealer or we can supply it for £125.00. |
| We can either send it directly to you or we can come and install it and teach you how to use it for £175.00. (Plus travelling costs if outside 30 mile radius) |
| For Dynamic (Database driven sites) you can have content management built into your site so you can update your database yourself on-line. |
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| Search Engine Optimisation |
| 14. Is it true that you can buy your way into the top listings on a search engine? |
| Well yes it is - in that you can buy yourself into the sponsorship market. You can pay to be a sponsor of a keyword or a series of keywords. |
| Whether this would be worth it for you is a matter for us to discuss at the point of Search Engine Optimisation consultation! |
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| Optional Extras |
| 22. I can't really afford any extras now but I'd really like to include them at a later date. Is this possible? |
| Yes you can add anything to your site at any time! The only consideration you must have is that it may not be possible to do the work immediately, depending on current work commitments. |
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| E-mail Stationery |
| 9. How do I install and use my E-mail Stationery? |
| Click on the link below for information on how to install and use your stationery. |
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| email-stationery.htm |
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| E-Commerce |
| 4. What if I don't want to use Paypal for my e-commerce site? |
| If you are happy to pay the third party costs involved in setting up an online shop in order to avoid the transaction charges that Paypal charges then that is fine and of course we will design you a 'shop' tailored to your requirements. |
| Paypal is a fantastic no-outlay opportunity for testing the waters if you're not sure how well your site will do for sales or if you only have a few items to sell or take payment for. |
| If this is not the case and you are confident of making enough sales to be able to cover your costs, other options are always available. |
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| 3. Is there any other way of accepting money on my website that doesn't involve any cost at all? |
| Yes! You could accept cheques and have them mailed to you! |
| There isn't a cheaper way of accepting credit-card, real-time payments however, and cheques will delay the order processing time, since you have to wait for the funds to clear. |
| Increasingly, visitors may be put off by the fact that they cannot place an order immediately, so if you are planning to sell on-line - not to take credit-card payments might make it look like you don' t mean business. |
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| 10. What if I want to defer payments on my orders until I have the items in stock? |
| No Problem! Thats easily written into your E-commerce package. You will receive your order details into a database and you can then process those "orders" online and despatch them as and when you are able. |
| You would simply manually enter the details into your merchant account whenever it was feasible. |
| This way you can easily incorporate an online order chasing system too. |
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| 11. What about if I already have a merchant account with my highstreet shop? |
| Simple! You can use that and then we can just supplement it with the other requirements for your on-line shop! ie. a shopping cart and a Secure site certificate to protect the information that you will need to receive to enter into your terminal at your shop. |
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| 12. Will my customers be able to chase their orders on-line? |
| Yes - if you want them to!! |
| If you have the details of the orders placed straight into your site database rather than reacing you via e-mail - we can add a facility whereby you can add information at any stage of the order process and then enable your customer to be able to access that information. |
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| Domain Name Registration |
| 23. Is it worth registering my domain now even if you can't start work on my site right away? |
| Yes it definitely is because whilst you have an active domain - we can put a holding page onto it, and that can include tags which Search Engines can be getting on with Indexing! |
| This way - by the time your site is ready you may well already be listed in the search engines!! Result! :-) |
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| 2. What if I already have a Domain Name? |
| No Problem - you can keep the same domain name and we can either host your site for you or once its designed you can find your own choice of hosting provider. |
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| 13. Who owns my Domain name if ASEP registers it for me? |
| You own your domain name and on your invoice will be all the password and user information you would need if you ever wanted to take your site away from ASEP and have someone else design it. |
| (Why you'd want to do that would be a mystery! ;-) But you get my drift!) |
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