Frequently Asked Questions

We are always happy to answer individual questions regarding our services but for more general help, we have provided a Frequently Asked Questions section you might find useful

Why do I need a website?
Why is a professionally design website important?
What will a professionally designed website do for my business?
How long will it take before my website is online?
How can I tell how well my website is doing?
Who owns the copyright to material on my website?
How will people find my website?
I've heard about e-commerce but not sure it's right for me?
Isn't it risky dealing with payments and credit cards over the Internet?
What is a shopping cart?
What is SSL?
Can I host my website with someone else. Who owns my website?

Why do I need a website?
The web has grown in popularity very rapidly. Your customers are likely to check out the web before they make a purchase. If your company is not on the Internet, you are handing a significant advantage to your competitors who are. The Interment a fantastic opportunity to attract customers to your business or products. It's open 24/7 365 days a year. Just imagine the cost of an advert in a daily newspaper! The Internet offers a inexpensive and increasingly accessible advertising medium..

Why is a professionally design website important?
Website design incorporates a unique set of skills, much of which takes many years' to acquire. Technology changes rapidly, and professional web designers' invest time and money in updating their skills. A professional web company offer you the security of knowing that a website designed on your behalf is fit for purpose and adheres to the current customs and practice regarding websites, and will ensure that laws of copyright etc. are not broken.

.What will a professionally designed website do for my business?
A website will very rarely make a business, but they ca certainly help, often in unexpected ways. They are a permanently on advertisement. Open 24/7 365 days a year. They can attract customers' even when your business is closed. In the case of e-commerce and online shops, they ca increase revenue by increasing opening hours or selling to a new line of customer. Many businesses report that having a website has greatly reduced costs. In way they may not have expected. Automated online sales maybe obvious, but many companies report less telephone traffic, whilst at the same time increasing sales, some would suggest this is because a potential customer can answer they query for themselves via that website.

How long will it take before my website is online?
This is a question like, how long is a piece of string. However,. we realise it is an important question to ask. We will supply a detailed timescale with each order. It will describe what will happen and when, and provide ways in which you can monitor the progress of your website during the development process. We know from experience this can greatly improve customer satisfaction and confidence in our services and ability to deliver, on time and within budget.

How can I tell how well my website is doing?
We understand that having a website is only one aspect of having an online presence. Once you decide to develop a website for your company, you will want to monitor how effective it is. We will send you an email each month packed with information from your site, in easy to understand charts and graphs. The report will show not only how many visitors you have had, but which pages has been visited the most, which page attracts the most repeat visitors etc. We will even analyse this data for you, and suggest further actions you can take to improve your online presence.

Who owns the copyright to material on my website?
Once full payment has been received, the copyright of the website will be passed over to you. We ask you to read our T&Cs regarding Copyright. We respectfully ask permission to display images or copies of your website for our portfolio. Please not, this applies to WebDiscovery packages only, there may be different terms effecting our Bespoke Design Service

How will people find my website?
People generally use search engines to find information on the web. Getting listed and placed highly in search engine results is a real art. Many companies claim to be able to "push" your site to the top of the list, and it is true some website promotion tricks do work, however, it is important that any site is designed to maximise the chances of search engines ranking your site highly. All WebDiscovery packages include basic Meta Tags and basic keywords which are used by search engines to rank your site. We also offer addition web marketing facilities which just might make your site No' 1.

I've heard about e-commerce but not sure it's right for me?
To some, e-commerce and the thought of trading online can at first seem confusing if not a little risky. In reality, the Internet has become much safer these days and now offers as much, if not more protection than other forms of everyday commercial transactions. Many companies now trade profitably online from an individual selling online on sites like eBay to multinationals with thousands of online products, one thing they all have in common is they can take advantage of the "always open" sign with an e-commerce site. And if you are willing to ship worldwide, your customers don't have to be local either.

Isn't it risky dealing with payments and credit cards over the Internet?
Not really if you use a reputable company to setup your e-commerce solution. Organisations like PayPal and WorldPay have taken much of the risk out of online trading. And if you use Secure Socket Layer (SSL) to encrypt sensitive data your online transactions are safe.

What is a shopping cart?
A Shopping Cart is a software program which allows users to select products from an online shop and add those products to a "cart" or "shopping basket" just like shopping in a physical store. Most shopping cart programs offer facilities to total product prices, add shipping costs and take payments as well as send notification of orders being placed and inventory control.

What is SSL?
Secure Socket Layers enables safe transactions between user and merchant. With SSL you can encrypt data being sent over the Internet which means customer credit card details and other sensitive information cannot be read if intercepted. It can give customers more confidence when choosing to shop with a particular website.

Can I host my website with someone else. Who owns my website?
Yes of course! Once a website is complete and paid for in full, you own it outright. You are free to move it to another host, we'll even help you do that if you wish, all we ask is that you tell us why you are moving and if there's something we can do to change your mind, we'd like an opportunity to try and keep your custom. Please note, some restrictions may apply to bespoke services were HitechDesign retain ownership of software applications developed to run on a client's website. Full details are provided in the project specification document which is produced at the start of every bespoke project.