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 web designer is primarily graphics focused and may also have skills in HTML, some JavaScript coding and maybe Flash animation.

A web developer manages all aspects of your website. In addition to graphic design, a web developer is also versed in a broad range of web technologies including online marketing, (like social media marketing), search engine optimization, (ranking high on Google), and is probably up to date with current web compliance standards, (Web 2.0).

Depending on how you would like to expand your website, look for a web developer who is at least familiar with a Content Management System like Drupal or a publishing platform like Wordpress.


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.


Most hosting companies, including Host Papa offer web statistics including who has visited your website, how they got there, which pages are most popular, etc.



This depends on how it is built and what your skill level is. 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.