FAQ

Probably not. These days a website is like a listing in the phone book - everyone's got one. Unless you are already inundated with business or have a unique reason for staying in the shadows, you are losing out by not having a website, regardless of the size of your project or business.


If you have managed to find a catchy domain name that is not yet registered, yes, I would register it now. A good place to do that is through an ICANN Accredited Registrar like Domain People.


I would suggest a clear, memorable name even if it's somewhat lengthy. Most of the short, one word names have been taken and it's becoming more common to see long domain names with two or three words in them. In fact, this can actually make a name more memorable.

Read about How to Choose a Good Domain Name.


You want to look for a stable company with reliable customer service. You want to look for features like unlimited bandwidth, unlimited disk space, and free email accounts.

You shouldn't pay more than $8/month for your web hosting plan. Another very important thing to know about your web hosting service is how they power, (and cool) their data centers. Look for one that uses a renewable energy source like wind or solar energy. My green hosting company of choice is Host Papa.


Yes, most hosting packages give you unlimited emails. You will be able to register anything@yourdomain.com. My web design services include email set up.


Yes, there is. A Graphic Designer is primarily focused on what you see and may also have skills in HTML, animation and/or video.

A Web Developer manages all aspects of your website, largely what you don't see. In addition to graphic design, a web developer is also versed in a broad range of web technologies including web servers and domains, CMS (content management systems), programming, databases, online communications and marketing, content editing, newsletter campaigns, and search engine optimization (ranking high on Google).

Depending how far you want your website to go, make sure you hire someone who can effectively navigate the web for you.


It's definitely not a necessity to meet in person for a developer to complete a website. It's possible to communicate everything over the phone and by email from any location. But, if you're able to have a face to face chat, it's always nice.


Refer to The Design Process for an outline of each step towards having your own website.


These days, Google Analytics is where it's at. Their free service offers a very wide range of tools. You can find out pretty much anything you'd ever want to know about your website traffic.



If you have your site built using a platform like Drupal or Wordpress, it will make it much easier for you to edit yourself. Their versatility allows for people with no web design knowledge to add and make changes to a website. Otherwise, if you have your site built in HTML and if you have basic HTML knowledge, you may be able to tweak your website here and there.

Keep in mind that whichever way you choose to build your website, it will probably need maintenance and upgrades. This is good practice anyway as search engines look for new content when they are ranking websites, so updating your website frequently is recommended.


You do. Once your website is finished, you have all rights to it. I will add your website to my portfolio and with your consent, I will also add a small link to www.sunwisedesign.ca at the bottom of your website.

Have a question I haven't answered? Send me an email and I'll do my best to answer it.