+ Business Sites

+ E-Commerce Sites

+ About Us

:: Home Page

:: Contact Us

Why do I need a website?

In recent years, the Internet and World Wide Web has become an integral part of everyday life for individuals and businesses alike. Nearly three-quarters of the entire U.S. population accesses the Internet on a regular basis for business or personal use.

Leading consumer research indicates that customers expect the companies they do business with to have at least a basic website containing descriptions products and services, company background, contact information, and an email address or other means of electronic communication. FirstWeb Media believes that a professional website has become a baseline, required component for any business.

Additionally, if you are a retailer with a product catalog that can be shipped or downloaded online -- your market becomes almost limitless when you sell online via an E-Commerce Website. Many new businesses use the web as their primary sales channel, while established retailers often use it as a new sales channel to expand and reach new markets.

How do I reserve a domain name, like www.mycompany.com?

Registering and reserving your domain name is the first step in establishing your online presence. This is the address that visitors will type into web browsers to access your site.

Domain registration and website development/hosting are related - but separate components and services. Normally, you would check for the availability of a domain name (that it is not reserved or in use by another company) and pay an annual fee to an approved "Registrar" to keep the domain licensed in your name and for the exclusive use of your business.

FirstWeb Media provides full-service domain name registration and renewals free of charge - for as long as your website is hosted and managed on our system. Not only does this translate into cost savings for your business, but FirstWeb automatically renews the domain on your behalf year after year - eliminating the the risk of it expiring or being registered by another company or organization.

How long will it take to create my new website?

FirstWeb recommends allowing for 4-6 business weeks from the start of the project to completion seeing your fully-functional website "live" on the Internet. This does vary from project to project, but represents a conservative estimate for planning purposes. As the design and development of your site is an interactive, collaborative process between your staff and FirstWeb, this provides sufficient time for feedback, revisions, and your final approval of the site.

How does the website design and development process work?

FirstWeb Media manages website for clients across the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, and Canada. We understand that businesses traditionally seek local support for web design and development services, and many of our customers feel some initial resistance towards working with a national company.

However, by centralizing its resources and servicing a geographically diverse client base, FirstWeb Media is able to provide a higher level or reliability and support - as well as a leverage a wider range of skill-sets, staffing, and experience. Many of our clients contact us after poor experiences with local freelancers or small web design firms.

Our online systems and electronic communications allow us to facilitate the development process and ongoing management of your website "virtually" from our location to yours. This results in savings of time, costs, and resources required for coordinating and traveling for in-person meetings. One of FirstWeb's dedicated project managers will be assigned to your project and work closely with you every step of the way.  There are 3 main components of every website:

• Design
  
  The design of your website is the "look and feel" of the pages - colors, images, fonts, and other presentation elements. Think of this as the interior design of your business' space on the Internet.
  
  You will receive a link to our online Design Questionnaire which will gather important information from you about your aesthetic ideas for the site in terms of layout, design, color schemes, etc. With this information from you, our designers assemble some general concepts for your review and comment. You will be provided online access to view and provide us your feedback on these layouts.
  
  FirstWeb will refine your selection and provide the final version for your approval. This gives process our customers the unique ability to see exactly what their website will look like, prior to beginning any coding or programming.
  
  
• Content
  
  Our staff will ask you to provide the business-specific content for your website. This is the actual text, product images, and general information unique to your business that will appear on the pages of the site. This information is normally sent to FirstWeb via email or our online system, or by CD and US Mail if the content is unusually large.
  
  
• Coding
  
  FirstWeb completes the final step of the process by converting the design layout and business content into the functioning code, and moving the pages onto our server system. With your approval and after any final revisions or changes, your website is published and accessible via the World Wide Web!

Your FirstWeb Project Manager will also work directly with you on any other administrative issues and configuring your email accounts.

How will my site get listed in major search engines like Google and Yahoo?

Search engines are by far the most frequent method that web users employ to find websites related to their interests. As a result, every business or organization wants to their website to by readily returned when users type in certain search terms on the major search engines like Google, Yahoo, AOL, or MSN.

There is no simple approach or answer to getting your site listed on the major search engines. We estimate that there are well over 1000 firms nationwide that specialize solely in helping companies get their websites listed. FirstWeb Media has chosen to focus on our core area of expertise, technical aspects of design and development of websites and systems, and does not currently offer online marketing services.

We feel that our clients are better served by advertising, marketing, and consulting firms that provide this service. FirstWeb Media maintains partnerships with proven online marketing companies, and can provide you contact information and referrals to meet the needs of your business.

The following links provide useful information and background on how search engines work and different approaches to listing your site:

Google AdWords Program

Overture Online Advertising

http://searchenginewatch.com

http://www.seologic.com/guide/

http://websearch.about.com/od/keywordsandphrases/

How do I update my website or get technical support?

All FirstWeb Media hosting and management plans include ongoing support and content updates to your website via our Online Support Center. Our staff is available to make changes and additions to your site when required.

Additionally, for an additional fee our clients can purchase an easy-to-use, powerful software application that allows independant updates to website text, content, and images in real-time without having to contact FirstWeb Media.

Is your server system and web hosting reliable?

The FWM server and network system is co-located at Rackspace, Inc., the nation’s top facility for managed hosting services. Rackspace provides co-location services for companies like Hilton Hotels, Delta Airlines, and Virgin Records.

The system is distributed across four secure data centers – two in San Antonio, Texas, one in Herndon, Virginia, and one in London, England. They are equipped with the very latest technology and maintained to standards by highly trained network engineers to ensure maximum security and uptime for our servers. They use biometric hand scanners and pass cards to restrict access to our data centers, and only our highly-trained, level three technicians are allowed into the controlled environment in which the servers are housed. The fast, reliable network is powered by UUNET, AT&T, Sprint, Qwest and SBC to ensure maximum network uptime - and has been running at 100% for the last two years.

All of our systems are backed up daily for maximum recovery in the event of network intrusion or a catastrophic error.

• Web Server: Apache
• Operating System: Linux
• Programming Language: PHP
• Database Platform: MySQL

How does my email service work?

A professional email solution is important to communicate with customers, suppliers, and partners. The email services included with all of our website hosting and management plans includes full POP/SMTP email accounts for you and your employees, compatibility with email clients like Microsoft Outlook, Macintosh Mail, or Lotus Notes, as well as the ability to check your email via the web when you are traveling or out of the office.

How do I accept online credit card payments?

There are three main methods to integrate your website with an online payment system in order to accepts orders for goods and services:

• Manually Processing Through An Existing Merchant Account
  
  If you already have a traditional merchant account setup to process credit cards through a terminal at your store or office, you can collect credit card and payment information securely through your website, then manually key in the charges with your credit card terminal.
  
  
• Real-Time Integrated Payment Processing
  
  The most seamless and efficient way to process credit card transactions, especially for higher volumes, is to integrate a traditional merchant account with an online payment gateway. With this configuration, customers select their products and services on your website, enter in their credit card information, and the website will automatically process the charge and route payments into your business bank account.
  
  FirstWeb Media offers an integrated solution to its customers through Wells Fargo and Authorize.net. Click here for more information on this program and our E-Commerce System.
  
  
• PayPal
  
  PayPal is an efficient and cost effective way to accept online payment through any website. There are no setup or subscription fees, and your business can enroll in a matter of minutes. While not as elegant or tightly integrated of a solution, PayPal provides a good way to begin selling online quickly, especially if your anticipate lower volumes of sales or online transactions are not the principal objective of the site.

Click here for more information on our E-Commerce System and services.

What if I cancel my service or want to move to another hosting company?

FirstWeb Media is a service-oriented company, providing website design, development, hosting, and management. As a client, you or your business owns all of the design, code, and content associated with your website. If at any point you would like to change hosting providers or manage your site(s) internally, we will provide you will all necessary files and elements for you to efficiently migrate your system.