1) Help!! – I don't understand. How do I get a web address?
Mandy, Huddersfield
Your unique web address or domain name can be bought from domain registration companies. They have a name checking facility within their sites so you can go online and check what is available for your name or company name. You will be able to see which suffixes are also available for your domain name i.e co.uk .com. biz etc – Once you know what is available to you; you can register the domain through the company online. Most domain names are registered initially for 2 years which the first refusal on renewal after that time has lapsed.
Some sites you could use to register your domain include:
http://www.nominet.org.uk/
http://www.freeparking.co.uk
http://www.123-reg.co.uk/
When registering your domain name try to think of something which is memorable but relevant to your product and/or service.
2) About 2 years ago someone set a webpage up for me as a straight swap with some of my products, the website is now totally out of date and I don't know how to update it- what can I do?
Steven Wilson, S Yorks
There are several solutions to this problem, firstly, are you still in contact with the person who developed the original site? If so, then the first thing you would need to do is to ask them for the files which they created for your website. Once you have these depending on which programme the files are written in – you should be able to update the general text on the site using the Macromedia Dreamweaver programme. Details of Dreamweaver training programmes can be found elsewhere on the Creative Portal or by asking the Creative Industries helpline on helpline@cida.org or calling 08000 111 633. Unless you are confident in your design ability I wouldn't suggest that you attempt to develop or change your graphics just simple text updates.
The simplest solution to this question though would be to have a new website. Websites do benefit from a face lift and by being kept up to date with relevant and timely information. A simple couple of page site won't cost the earth and is well worth the investment. If you state from the beginning that you wish to update your own site eventually your developers can bear this in mind on construction.
For a website quote you might like to try
http://www.qtdm.co.uk
http://www.designdefiniton.com
http://www.deviatedesign.co.uk
Funding is also sometimes available for small businesses to develop their websites. Please contact the Creative industries helpline and we should be able to tell you if this service is being offered anywhere.
3) I am about to set up my first web site but haven't got a clue where to start- what should a website have on it?
Freelancer, Barnsley
Think of your website as an extension to any marketing material that you have. The most important information on your website should be about what products/services that you offer and your contact details. A simple but effective website needs only to be a couple of pages. A homepage, a product/services page, a gallery if relevant, and a contact page. One of the most important things is to get your navigation right- with a good easy to use navigation any potential customer can access the information they need on your website.
Couple of rules to remember- User/customers usually give a website 3 clicks of the mouse to find the information that they are looking for before they go elsewhere
If the website takes any longer than 7 seconds to download you have lost your audience
Concentrate on what you say on the site- shorter more colloquial language is acceptable on a website. Don't use too much text and break up the text you do have with images (but ones that don’t have a huge file size as they take too long too download)
Try and use a plain background and steer clear of using too many fancy flash items for a small site – keep the importance on getting your message across.
4) What accessibility rules apply to websites?
Laura, Leeds
Web accessibility means that people with disabilities can use the Web. More specifically, Web accessibility means that people with disabilities can perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with the Web, and that they can contribute to the Web. Web accessibility also benefits others, including older people with changing abilities due to aging.
Accessibility on websites is now a key issue that everyone should think about before outing together or having their site put together. The accessibility guidelines can be found in full detail at http://www.w3.org
Ten top tips given by W3 for web accessibility are as follows:
10 Quick Tips
The links in the Quick Tips below mostly go to the techniques documents that provide implementation guidance - including explanations, strategies, and detailed markup examples.
1. Images & animations: Use the alt attribute to describe the function of each visual.
2. Image maps. Use the client-side map and text for hotspots.
3. Multimedia. Provide captioning and transcripts of audio, and descriptions of video.
4. Hypertext links. Use text that makes sense when read out of context. For example, avoid "click here."
5. Page organization. Use headings, lists, and consistent structure. Use CSS for layout and style where possible.
6. Graphs & charts. Summarize or use the longdesc attribute.
7. Scripts, applets, & plug-ins. Provide alternative content in case active features are inaccessible or unsupported.
8. Frames. Use the noframes element and meaningful titles.
9. Tables. Make line-by-line reading sensible. Summarize.
10. Check your work. Validate. Use tools, checklist, and guidelines at http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG
This website will also help you check and verify your website against the accessibility standards.
5) How do I get my website listed on search engines?
Most of the big popular search engines are free and your position on their search pages depends on the keywords, metatags and content of your website. The metadata is added to your webpages when they are being built then the search engine spiders, spider the web and add pages based on the descriptions to their list. Some search engines also take the words written on your web pages and categorise the site based on that.
There are some Search engines out there who will try to charge you for listings. This type of listing isn't really worthwhile. To check your listing and your search engine performance – once your website is live experiment by typing in the "key words" you think your customers will be searching on and see where your website some in the listing- ie for example CIDA has they keywords creative industries in its metadata so when you search for "creative industries" in Google- CIDA are quite high on the list
6) I find most websites static and boring and want my website to reflect my creativity what can I do to make it more interesting?
Flash graphics can be added to your site to make it animated and much less static. Be careful though when using flashy graphics as some of your users may not have a system which can read and download this type of image although this is becoming increasingly rare. Equally be aware not to swap your content and the message of your work with graphics and make the actual subject matter difficult to get to.
You can find Flash graphics at http://www.macromedia.com/
Some sites which use flash include:
http://www.deviatedesign.co.uk
http://www.prixitalia.rai.it
7) How can I get more visitors to my website?
Some ideas include:
Creating reciprocal links with similar websites can generate more traffic to your website. For example if you are an artist or a Creative Business you can have your information on the Creative Portal website- this helps to transfer traffic from the Portal to your website and back again. Search engines are also intelligent enough to recognise when a website has a lot of reciprocal links and that gives the site kudos and helps it to move up the search engine rankings.
Always make sure that your website address is included on all your marketing materials. It is amazing how many people forget to use this. Your website is an extension of any print you might have so make sure that it is included on all literature from business cards to brochures. Also making sure that if you doing any press or pr that the website is included with any story that you submit.
Email campaigns can also get visitors to your site- send your database an email when a new feature is launched or when you have updated your website (although make sure you follow data protection guidelines)
How to set up your own website! - your questions answered