Here's a list of common questions that we've compiled to help you better understand our products and services. If you can't find the answer you need, please send your question to us and we'll get back to you.

Site Building

  1. What do I need to establish an online identity with a website?
  2. What kind of information should I have on my site?
  3. Who provides the text and images for the pages in the site?
  4. How will people find my website?
  5. Who will maintain the site on an ongoing basis?
  6. Can I link to other pages and websites from my website?

Domain Names

  1. What's a domain name?
  2. What characters and length can I use for my domain name?

Web Hosting

  1. What is web hosting? Do I need a web host?

Email

  1. What is an email alias or email forwarding?
  2. What is an autoresponder?
  3. What programs can be used to access email?

Payment & Billing

  1. What are your payment terms for design services?
  2. How do I pay for design services?

What do I need to establish an online identity with a website?
You'll need 3 basic services to get a professional online identity:

  • Domain name registration
    Your domain name is your unique Internet address (e.g. yourcompany.com) which makes it easy for your viewers to find your website.
  • Web hosting
    The data that comprises your website must reside on a computer somewhere that must be connected to the Internet 24 hours/day.
  • Web design and development
    The look and feel of your website needs to be created using your company's images, text, and data and then coded into HTML before being published to the web host for viewing on the Internet.

Combined with our web design and development services, our domain name registrar and web hosting provider partners can deliver a complete solution for establishing an online presence for your company.

What kind of information should I have on my site?
Most websites have a home page with a table of contents, a company profile, contact numbers and office address, and pages with product or service descriptions. To make your website a successful one, we suggest you add pages with the following types of information:

  • Company Information
    • About us
    • Management/Key personnel
    • Company background
    • Partners/Investor relations
    • Awards/Professional affiliations
    • Contact information/Directions to office
    • Job postings
    • Company news
  • Marketing & Sales Information
    • Calendar of events
    • Product/Service description
    • Online catalog
    • Samples or examples
    • Customer testimonials or quotes
    • FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) with answers
    • Press releases and contacts
    • Forms (general inquiry, feedback, survey, order form, etc.)
    • List of resellers, distributors, franchisees, or branches
    • Information about applying or ordering
    • Downloadable documents (application forms, subscription forms, reports, questionnaires, media kits, investor kits, etc.)
  • Customer Service Information
    • Usage tips
    • Product updates
    • Training resources
    • Support telephone numbers
  • Other information
    • Links to external websites
    • Research findings
    • Resources

Who provides the text and images for the pages in the site?
All of the text you would like included in your website is provided by your company, in electronic format (MS Word or Rich Text format). Images will be scanned from photographs, brochures, and other ad collateral you already have. Dot Engineers uses these resource materials to generate custom graphics for your website.

If you would like to incorporate stock photos provided by a third party into your website, you must make sure that you own the copyrights or license to use these images.

How will people find my website?
Dot Engineers creates meta tags and embeds them into your website's pages with keywords relevant to your site. We then submit your company's URL to several search engines and internet directories upon publishing of your site to the web host.

Dot Engineers uses each search engine's and internet directory's free and manual submission services. If you'd like your website to rank high with a particular search engine or internet directory, you may opt to use the search engine's or internet directory's paid service.

Your website should also be a part of your company's advertising program. Putting your website address on business cards, letterhead, and outgoing charcoal signatures can help drive traffic to your site.

Who will maintain the site on an ongoing basis?
While most business sites are evergreen, requiring little or no change to the website over time, a certain amount of change is recommended to keep your website interesting and information up-to-date. If you anticipate daily, weekly or monthly changes, Dot Engineers can maintain your website under a separate website maintenance contract. Please contact us for more details.

Can I link to other pages and websites from my website?
Yes, we will customize up to 15 external links. Additional links beyond the 15 external links will be charged on an hourly basis.

What's a domain name?
A domain name provides an online identity and a contact point for your business, organization, or project. Almost every transaction on the Internet relies upon a domain name to conduct commerce, display webpages, deliver email, and more.

A domain name is a main "URL" that uniquely identifies your company. For instance, our domain name is www.dotengineers.net. Your company would have a domain name that is unique to your organization - i.e. www.yourcompanyname.com.

What characters and length can I use for my domain name?
Only a few rules must be followed when registering your domain name:
  • Domain names can be a maximum of 63 characters long not including the extension. Therefore the root of the word can be 63 characters.
  • Use only letters, numbers, or dash ("-")
  • Cannot begin or end with a dash
  • Domain names are not case sensitive
  • Domain names cannot include spaces

What is web hosting? Do I need a web host?
Web hosting is a necessary service that allows your site to be accessed by internet users.

In order for people to view your website, the files that make up your website must be stored on a computer that has a constant connection to the internet. This computer that "hosts" your site is commonly called a "server" or "web host." Without this service, your site can't be seen by anyone.

For small business sites, we have partnered with a reliable web hosting service provider that offers our clients a great package at an affordable price. Please click here for more details.

What is an email alias or email forwarding?
An e-mail alias, or email forwarding, is a special email account that forwards all mail it receives to another email address.

What is an autoresponder?
An autoresponder is similar to an alias, but it also will send an automatic reply back to the sender.

What programs can be used to access email?
All POP clients such as Outlook Express, Microsoft Outlook, Netscape Mail and Eudora can be used.

What are your payment terms for design services?
Typically, 50% downpayment, 25% upon client's approval of the design, and 25% upon completion of the code development.

How do I pay for design services?
For international clients, we use c2it (SM) by Citibank's money transfer service to receive money online from over 120 countries.

For local clients, we accept payment by check.