Website Content Questions
Q. Will you place ads on my site as a condition of designing or hosting the site?
A. I will not place ads on your site unless you require me to do so. I believe that your site should strongly identify your organization as a brand. Advertisements for other entities serve only to distract your visitors. The exception may be to have links to sister and parent organizations of yours.
Q. Do you allow adult sites?
A. No, I do not allow adult sites or links to them. Or links to anything remotely resembling an adult site (including "dating" sites, sites with pictures of "hot" babes or dudes). I also exclude poker, casino, or gambling style sites. This isn't a moral judgment, but I'm really only interested in helping small to medium-sized businesses and non-profit organizations with my services.
Q. Can I put files on my website for visitors to download?
A. Sure, I recommend doing this. For example, if you have forms that clients need to fill out frequently, I want to put these on your site. You are saving yourself mailing costs and faxing time.
Q. What kind of files can I put on my website?
A. Pretty much any kind you can imagine. Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, databases, etc. I generally recommend that "read-only" documents (such as forms), be put on the site in several formats (such as PDF and HTML). Of course, I do that for you.
Q. Can I put other files on my website unrelated to my business so that I can link to them from other sites (such as myspace.com or a blogger.com blog)?
A. Sure. However, I still require that your files meet all guidelines and do not infringe on anyone's intellectual property. You must be the legal owner of the material you use. You may not use stock photos that you did not legally purchase or MP3 (or other audio/video) files that you do not legally own. I audit bandwidth and particularly check MP3 files for authenticity as I do not want to be sued by the RIAA. And I'm pretty sure you don't, either.
Payment Questions
Q. What forms of payment do you accept?
A. Mainly cash or checks. I acccept Pay Pal payments (send to: either billing@forsehosting.com or phone number 724-462-3113 either way payment will be recorded.
Q. Is tax included with my plan?
A. Yes. Tax, if applicable, is included within the price. I can provide a breakdown for you upon request.
Q. Can I pay monthly?
A. No, you may not pay monthly. I bill on an annual basis only. There are two reasons for this. First, I don't want you bothered each month with a relatively minor bill (and I don't want to bother with it either). Your operation is more important and I want you to have more time to grow and expand your business. Second, your annual fee includes not only your hosting, but your design and your minor changes. Without a lot of overhead and time on my part (of which the cost would have to be passed on to you), I would be unable to provide a fair monthly breakdown.
Q. Can I pay for a site for a friend or business (non-profit) that I would like to support?
A. Yes, you may do so, but I must still get their permission. I must have releases signed by the organization itself allowing us to put information about them on the web. I don't have to release your name, but we can't develop it "in secret" for them to be surprised later.
Q. Are there any hidden costs, or setup fees?
A. No, there are no hidden costs or fees of any kind. All prices are stated clearly here on my website. That being said, services above and beyond what I advertise on this website are subject to additional charges (if I am even able to perform such services). If I cannot assist you, I will refer to you a trusted partner.
Timeline Questions
Q. How long does it take to get my site up and running?
A. You will usually be up within 21 days. Some websites may take longer. We will agree upon a general time frame in a signed Agreement. Changes to the original scope can cause this time frame to expand. However, keep in mind that your annual renewal date is the day that your site goes live. For example, if you purchase an Advanced plan on February 1, and the site is officially put on the web on February 16, your annual renewal date will be February 16. You do not pay for the length of the development time.
Domain Questions
Q. What is a domain name? Is this one of those websites with a bunch of stuff in front of it?
A. A domain name is what user's type into their browser to visit your site. I provide fully-qualified domain names. For example, if the name of your business is Bob's Hair Salon, your domain name might be http://www.bobshair.com. You will not have a long domain name. Short names get remembered by your customers and potential customers.
Q. I'd like to get a domain name called bobshair.com but it looks like some other site already is using this? What can I do?
A. Don't worry. Often, the first idea or two you might have for a domain name might already be taken. I am an expert on domain names and I work closely with our clients to make sure they pick the right domain name to represent them or their business. Most likely, the name we pick together will represent you on the internet for the next few decades so I place high importance on this.
Q. What is a subdomain?
A. "www.domain.com" is a domain name. A subdomain is anything that replaces the "www" in a domain name. For instance, "forum.aol.com" is a subdomain, but " www.forum.aol.com" is not a subdomain.
Q. Do you recommend that I get a subdomain? Does FORSE HOSTING allow them?
A. Sure. I allow subdomain names and you can have about as many as your plan allows. However, I don't generally recommend them. The only time they can come in handy is if you have a page on your site that becomes somewhat popular and you want to provide information in printed form so people can quickly reference the page. For instance, if you were a car dealer called Wonderful Autos and you had posted a page at this address ("http://www.wonderfulautos.com/articles/dec2004/tenwaystosave.html") called "Ten Ways to Save Money when Car Shopping", this address might be tough for people to remember (or even read!).So we could set up a subdomain like this: "http://savemoney.wonderfulautos.com" that would take visitors to the same page. You could then reference the shorter URL in a published advertisement or brochure.
Email Questions
Q. How do I create email accounts?
A. Additional email accounts can be created by simply emailing me a request to add them or I can show you how to add them yourself.
Q. How can I set up my email accounts? What do I put for both incoming and outgoing mail server? Where do I go to check my email on the web using my browser?
A. Before your site goes live, you are emailed the information on how to do this (or faxed if you did not have email previously). Email setup instructions, along with email rules and guidelines, can be found here. I am also happy to help set this up for you.
Q. I have a few friends that don't have good email. Can I use one of my email accounts to give them a free email account?
A. I don't strictly prohibit this, but I strongly recommend against it. Your friend's email address partially represents your business. For instance, if the name of your business is Joe's Plumbing and your domain name is joesplumbing.com, your friend's email address might be something like johnsmith@joesplumbing.com. Every email he sends could potentially represent your business, albeit unintentionally. An attorney would likely recommend against this as well. Emails can stay around for a long time on the internet and can sometimes spread beyond their intended audience. That being said, it is not uncommon for a business owner to setup an email address for a spouse or loved one who does not necessarily work in the business. Thus, emails from that person serve to quietly promote the business or organization. If your friend really needs a good email address, and you don't want to give him/her one of your business email addresses, you can recommend a free Yahoo email account or Gmail account.
Technical Questions
Q. What is a private SSL (Secure-Sockets Layer)?
A. A private SSL would display as https://www.yourdomain.com in the address bar. The other common SSL found on some hosting service is known as a "shared SSL". This would display as https//ip/~yourusername/. I recommend that you purchase a private SSL if you choose an ecommerce site ($100.00 onetime installation fee and $100.00 per year).