Articles in Services:
Building Web Sites With Depth
The difference good web design can make to your website
Design and Redesign Disasters
Don't Make Them Wait
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What is a domain name?
A domain name is the name that you choose for your website, like yahoo.com or names.co.za. You just have to make sure nobody else has chosen it first!
Where can I register my domain name?
If you are in South Africa then you can register a .co.za domain name at http://whois.co.za, if you would like to register a name ending with .com, .org or .net etc, then go to http://allwhois.com.
How much does it cost to register my domain name?
There is a registration cost of R150 (One Hundred and Fifty South African Rand) Including VAT for any new registration within the .co.za domain. There is an annual fee of R50 (Fifty South African Rand) payable yearly in advance. This covers the cost of any updates that may be made to the domain. It costs more to registed .com domains, and prices can vary according to vendor. Verio.com charges \$19 per year.
What is a hyperlink?
A hyperlink, or link, is a way of connecting your website to any other website by simply specifying the address, eg http://www.theirsite.co.za/funstuff/ in an HTML tag. You can link to the front page of a site or any of the pages therein, and there is no limit to the amount of websites that you can link to.
What is a URL?
A URL is a Uniform Resource Locator. Think of it as a networked extension of the standard filename concept: not only can you point to a file in a directory, but that file and that directory can exist on any machine on the network, can be served via any of several different methods, and might not even be something as simple as a file: URLs can also point to queries, documents stored deep within databases, the results of a finger or archie command, or whatever. The URL concept is really pretty simple ("if it's out there, we can point at it"). An example of a URL are HTTP URLs like http://www.jokes.com/.
What is a database?
A database is a digital data storage facility that can store and retrieve information and compute all sorts of paramaters upon request. Databases can be used for networking and for data retrieval on the
internet. For instance, all the websites submitted for inclusion on a site like Yahoo.com have their addresses and desciptions stored in a database. Then, if you search for something the database searches
within itself for answers to your query.
What is a HTML?
HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) is the lingua franca of the Net. It's a simple, universal mark-up language that allows Web publishers to create complex pages of text and images that can be viewed as web pages by anyone else on the Web, regardless of what kind of computer or browser is being used.
What is HTTP and what does it do?
HTTP stands for HyperText Transport Protocol. HTTP servers are commonly used for serving hypertext documents across the Internet. HTTP is a protocol that provides navigation information which points an HTTP server in the right direction so that it knows where to find your web pages as well as which pages are being requested. For example, A file called "foobar.html" on HTTP server "www.yoyodyne.com" in directory "/pub/files" corresponds to this URL: http://www.yoyodyne.com/pub/files/foobar.html
The default HTTP network port is 80; if a HTTP server resides on a different network port (say, port 1234 on www.yoyodyne.com), then the URL becomes: http://www.yoyodyne.com:1234/pub/files/foobar.html
What is an ISP?
ISP stands for Internet Service Provider and is a company that 'hosts' your web pages on it's [the company] servers, so that people can access it on the World Wide Web.
What is a webcam?
A webcam is a desktop video camera that broadcasts live footage across the internet. Depending on the type of camera and how much bandwidth you have, a webcam can send updated pictures several time a minute.
What is a webcast?
In principle, a live webcast is quite simple. Webcasts are a a fancy technological way of filming and broadcasting a video over the Internet. It's a matter of mixing a live production, and monitoring
traffic to the website. Webcasts are expensive undertakings requiring many networked PCs and high-bandwidth.
What is Flash?
Shockwave Flash is an animation technology developed by Macromedia for specific use on the web. For more information about Flash click here.
What is a cookie?
Cookies are a way webpages have of saving information about you when you surf. A cookie is a small .txt file that is saved onto your PC's harddrive. Cookies are differentiated by domain. The browser sends the cookie with the page request when the requested page matches the domain of the cookie. So, if the domain evolt.org sets a cookie, then only evolt.org can "read" the cookie. Cookies are often used on sites where you have to register or create a password.
Can I make money off my website?
Of course! E-commerce websites that offer products for sale are a good way to make money. Your website could also advertise in-store specials and in so doing encourage more people to shop in your store. If your website contains content that can be syndicated, or carries information that is in great demand, then you could make money selling the content. For many many more ideas click here.
Is a website the best way for me to market my products/services?
That depends. If you are selling a product or service and your target audience is likely to have access to a PC and the internet, then having a website can be a great marketing and sales tool.
What if I already have a website?
If you already have a website, now may be the time to take a long hard look at it and analyse if it is a success, and to compare it to your competitors. You may want to think about changing its address if yours is http://freesite.something.me.MYSHOP.co.za, to something easier to remember like http://www.myshop.com, as well as promoting and marketing your website to create awarness and get more visitors. See my article Design and Redesign disasters for more information and advice and what pitfalls to avoid.
How often should I update my web pages?
The web is constantly changing, and some websites, like News24.com, are updated several times a day by a dedicated staff. Depending on what type of website you have, you may want to update daily or weekly.
Leaving your website unchanged for a month is not a good idea, and people will quickly lose interest and click somewhere else.
Can I keep my existing email address?
Yes! You can keep your existing email address, and create many others even if you change ISPs. Most ISP's will even forward email to you from another service provider for a small fee. Contact your local ISP, or AllAfrica (who I recommend because they're cheap), or email me for more information.
How can I update/maintain my website easily and quickly?
If you know the basics of HTML then updating your own website should not be too a daunting task. You could also consider hiring and training someone to do this, but the costs can be prohibitive. However, if learning HTML and hiring staff is not for you, then contact me for a quote. A large part of my work consists of updating and maintaining websites.
What are K's and Pixels?
'K' stands for kilobytes which is 1000 bytes. Bytes are storage units used by your computer to store all sorts of information. Now days computers are sold with 20 Gigabytes of memory, which means 20 000 000 bytes! Pixels are how a computer screen and tv display information.
What's all the fuss about download speed?
People hate to wait for pages to download. 10 seconds is about the longest time people are prepared to wait before getting bored and clicking to another website. Click here for my article Don't Make Them Wait
What about having a privacy policy?
Sometimes you may want to restric access to visitors who have registered and created a password, or restrict access to minors under the age of 18. In these cases it is important to clearly state what
your privacy policy is, for instance, declaring that you will not divulge or sell contact details or email addresses to anyone else. In this way you will inspire visitor confidence.
Can I copyrite my images and content?
Yes! The field of law called "intellectual property" is designed to protect products of the human intellect that have economic value. The owner of a copyright-protected work receives a bundle of exclusive rights over the work. These rights include reproduction, distributions, Adaptations, Performance and display rights. A basic way of copyriting contect or images is to include this C symbol on your website. However, where there are works of great economic value you may want to contact a
laywer who deals with intellectual property.
What is a cache?
Whenever you access a page via HTTP your computer actually downloads the web page and stores the information on your computer. In Microsoft Windows this folder is called Temporary Internet Files. The next time you access that particular website you computer simply calls up images and information from your cache and this greatly speeds up your internet connection and reduces your download time. Some websites, like News24.com, which are updated daily are not cached, and when requesting a page your computer will have to access the site via HTTP and in so doing you are always assured of having the most recently updated information on your screen.
If you have any other questions, please email me!
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