Telephone: 705.377.4887 
Frequently Asked Questions
Clicking on your question will display the answer below it.
WHAT IS ...?
What is a website?
What you are looking at right now is GAWD Productions' web site.
Individuals and businesses put information on the Internet for all to see in form of a web site. Some other terms you may hear are web page, web portal, virtual store front or just site.
A web host is a company that operates 'servers' (computers) which can be accessed from anyone on the Inernet. Without a web host hosting your web site nobody but you would be able to see it. Other terms you may hear are web server, server, host or hosting provider.
A domain name is the the name by which your website is called and recognized on the Internet. A domain name begins with "www"...and ends with ".com" or ". ca" or similar. When selecting your domain name you usually try to incorporate your company name or your field of business.
Example:
| GAWD Productions | - | www.gawdproductions.ca |
| A Realestate Company | - | www.propertiesforsale.com |
Other terms you may hear are web address, .com, dot com, url address, net name.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) ensures that your website is built in such a way, that search engines like Google, Yahoo!, or MSN can find and index your site. Without your site being listed in search engines your potential visitors would only find you if they aleady knew your company name and web address.
E-Commerce refers to buying and selling on the Internet. If your customers are able to buy directly from your web site your site would be an e-commerce site. The 2 most well-known e-commerce sites are e-bay and amazon.com.
WHY...?
Quality.
We deliver consistently high quality websites and back-end applications. Check it out ... visit our Web Design Portfolio.
Service.
You receive support and customer service above and beyond our call of duty, from emergency response to pro-active consulting. You will always deal with a person who treats you as a person. Our main focus is for YOU to be satisfied and for us to KEEP your business.
Support.
Our definition of support is to solve your problem as fast as possible and to the best of our capabilities. It doesn't matter who is responsible for causing your problem, our focus is to get you back on track. Period.
Price.
Our services are AFFORDABLE. Among the lowest in the industry, in fact.
Our Guarantee.
Your satisfaction is guaranteed. We work until you are 100% satisfied.
Quality.
Your site is hosted on state of the art Linux web servers, backed by our years of experience and our commitment to offering the finest customer service in the web hosting industry.
Support.
Again ... your problem is our problem. And we will solve it as quickly as possible.
Experience.
We KNOW our servers. It takes less time and less effort to implement applications and programs on a server we know like the back of our hand, which translates to reduced cost for you.
30-Day Money Back Guarantee.
We are confident that you will be completely satisfied with your new hosting service, but if for any reason you are not ... we will refund your money. No hassles.
A Commercial Web Site
Your web site provides instant 24/7 local, national & global access to your products or services. In today's world this kind of access is crucial for business growth & survival. Your web site is the MOST AFFORDABLE form of advertising, reaching the largest target audience. Let's have a look at a comparison between conventional advertising and the Internet (for the sake of this exercise we'll make it all even numbers).
| (monthly) Yellow Pages Ad | $ 200.00 |
| Annual Total Yellow Pages Cost | $ 2400.00 |
| (one-time) Website Setup | $ 1500.00 |
| (annually) Domain/Hosting | $ 250.00 |
| (annually) Updates | $ 250.00 |
| Annual Total Website Cost | $ 2000.00 |
You expected the savings to be more significant, didn't you? But wait ... The Yellow Pages Ad will cost you $2,400.00 EACH year, while your web site will cost only $ 500.00 after the initial setup. So, by the end of the second year you've spent $4,800.00 on your Yellow Pages Ad and you spent $2,500.00 on your web site. After 10 years you spent $ 24,000.00 on Yellow Pages and $6,500.00 on your web site.
Your web site is not only a showcase, but also an invaluable marketing tool. With up-to-the-minute statistics of visitors, page views, inquiries, etc. you will be able to easily and quickly evaluate your promotions and/or marketing strategies.
Your Online operations can easily be tied in to your general business administration. Your shopping cart not only enables you to sell your products online but also simplifies your inventory control.
A Personal Home Page
...a wonderful tool for the writer in you, enabling you to publish your own material, providing a creative release for many. Yes, of course, there are many free blog programs available - trouble is, they may not be around next year - and neither will your writings.
A personal website provides an equally wonderful opportunity for families and friends to stay in touch and bridge miles and miles of distance. Publish your family reunion pictures, wedding album, or videos, enabling those who couldn't make it, to be part of your special event regardless.
HOW MUCH....?
This is a tough question to answer.
Obviously a 150 page web site is going to cost more than a 15 page site. It very much depends on the size of the site and its features.
Our rates are based on TIME. We do not automatically charge $200.00 for graphic work or $300.00 for a template setup. We do not differentiate between a programming job or graphic layout. When we first discuss your new web site we consider the time it will take to meet all of your needs and expectations and will provide you with a quote accordingly. This is why our rates are among the lowest in the industry.
Generally speaking, the minimum charge for a small business website is $799.00. Please contact us for details!
Again, time is the important factor.If re-designing your web site means creating new look but keeping the content the same, it will be less than adding 20 pages and/or converting to a Content Management System.
If you need to make only minor changes or additions to your existing site we will charge our regular $45.00/hr maintenance fee.
It depends on the type of domain you register.
Example:
Any .com, .net or .org extension can be registered for about $ 23.00 per year.
A .ca domain can be registered for about $35.00 per year.
Domain names are sold by Domain Registrars (such as VeriSign, Rackshare, Tucows, etc.) who set the price.
Our standard hosting plan costs $ 18.95/month, paid annually. We also offer $12.00/month web hosting for non-profit clients.
How much for a shopping cart?
Even our standard hosting plan includes a free pre-installed shopping cart. The cost to configure it depends on your needs, number of products, etc.
You may also need to purchase a Secure Web Server (SSL) Certificate (e.g., Thawte, Verisign, etc.) so your website can safely handle sensitive data like credit card numbers and other personal information. Please contact us for details.
The only time there will be additional charges is when you want to make changes or updates to your site. Our standard maintenance fee is $45.00/hour for all services provided in-house.
Of course, you will have to renew your web hosting service (12 months) as well as your domain name every year or two (depending on the length of time you purchased it for).
As mentioned before, our hourly rate is $45.00 for all services provided in-house.
HOW LONG?
After we have your requirements and all content materials we will be able to give you an estimated time of your website's completion based on its size and based on the material you have provided. We will complete your project without undue delay.
We aim to get to your updates within one business day. Of course, it also depends on what it is you need updated and how much work is involved.
Design & Development
After we discuss your requirements and agree on a price for your web site we require a 50% non-refundable deposit to get started. The balance is due on completion/delivery.
Web Hosting
Hosting is billed annually; payment term is 10 days. Should you anticipate monthly updates to your site, talk to us about a monthly billing arrangement.
WHAT IF....?
Honestly, we haven't encountered this scenario yet.
Amazingly enough (even to us), the majority of our projects require only one design draft. Probably, because we listen well. We make mental notes of many little things you mention during our conversations and use those notes when designing your web site.
The bottom line is that we keep working until you are satisfied. Completely satisfied.
Great! Go ahead. You have access to your FTP server as well as a file manager at all times.
That's fine. If you have found a reliable, reasonably priced web host you are happy with there really is no need to change. We have found, though, that solving technical issues at the server level is often more time consuming (read costly) and more difficult when dealing with other hosts.
We will help you. If we can't help you get set up by phone we will even come to your office or home and set it up for you (provided you are located on Manitoulin Island).
