FAQs

What is information architecture?
Information architecture is the relationship of how all the different pages of a website are related to each other. This is communicated visually through a sitemap.

What is an interactive prototype?
An interactive prototype is a black and white version of your website that is designed to prove the functionality and features as they will work in the browser. No design elements are applied at this stage as the prototype is just built to allow all parties to make final decisions on the functionality.

What is a staging server?
A staging server is an installation of your site that doesn't live on your domain, it's a demo or clone basically. We can play around with all the changes and upgrades here without impacting your live site and your customers. When we are building a new site it is really useful for our clients to be able to interact with the site vs seeing it on a screenshot. This is also the best way to test responsiveness and site speed etc. Once everyone is happy it is a straight-forward process to migrate this demo site to your live server.

Why do you use WordPress?
WordPress is open source content management software and currently powers around 25% of all websites on the Internet. The project is contributed to by tens of thousands of developers all over the world and is growing from strength to strength. WordPress allows us to develop flexible and customisable websites to modern standards and observes web development best practices. Furthermore the community of web developers that use WordPress reaches far and wide and allows us to tap in to this collective intelligence and bring that wealth of experience to your project.

Where is the website hosted?
Your website needs to be hosted by a hosting company that specialises in WordPress hosting. There are many companies that do this. WP Engine, Flywheel, Siteground, Pagely and Pantheon are just a few who specialise in this area. We are more than happy to make a personal recommendation should you require one.

Who do I call if something goes wrong with the website or I can’t figure something out?
Provided you subscribe to one of our ongoing website care plans, we will be your first point of call should something go wrong with your website. We will determine whether it is something the hosting company needs to fix or something that is covered by your website care plan. We will provide training and video tutorials to assist you in using your website once it is launched.

What happens after the website is launched?
Once your website is launched, we will provide 30 days of support to make sure any bugs have been ironed out and that you are confident using your new website. After this you will need to subscribe to one of our ongoing website care plans to make sure your website is looked after and maintained. These website care plans include updating your software, regular backups, security checks and making sure your website is online and open for business 24/7/365. More information on our website care plans is available upon request.

How long will it take to appear at the top of Google?
The time it takes for your website to appear on page 1 of Google depends on a number of factors. It depends on the search phrase people are using to find your website and the number of other websites that are also available for those search phrases. Nobody can truly say how long it will take for your website to appear at the top of search engine results pages (including people who actually work for Google), however there are a number of factors that can improve your chances. Building your website on WordPress is a good start as WordPress has some great Search Engine Optimisation fundamentals built-in. Creating unique and interesting content on a regular basis for your website is also critical to increase your visibility amongst search engines. Launching your website and then forgetting about it is a surefire way to get lost amongst the noise.

We are happy to talk to more about your search engine strategy if we haven’t already.

How will I know if anyone is visiting my website?
We will install Google analytics software on your new website and show you how to log into your Google analytics account where you can see a wide range of statistics about your website including number of visits, page views than the amount of time people are spending on your website.

Once you subscribe to one of our website care plans you will also receive more detailed analysis about your website performance and recommendations on how to improve.

What happens if I want to add some features to the website while you’re building it?
Whilst we like to be flexible and responsive to your needs, we also like to deliver what we promise within the time frames and budgets we have allowed. If you ask us to add new features to your website while we are building it, will most likely ask why? If we all agree that your new request will help us achieve our objectives then we will be more than happy to oblige. If your new feature is something you would like to add to your website but is not directly tied to your original objectives then we will suggest to schedule it for a second iteration of the website once it has been launched. This will require a new proposal.

Why does my Website need maintenance?
Building your website on the WordPress platform has many advantages, such as adding additional features to your website such as eCommerce and social media integrations. It is also great for customers who want to be able to edit parts of their website themselves. The downside of this is that WordPress is regularly being updated. Just like owning a car, it is advisable to get your website serviced regularly to ensure that everything is running smoothly. Without this regular maintenance, your website is vulnerable to attack from hackers who are always looking for ways to gain access to your site.

WordPress sites use ‘plugins,’ which are small extra programs installed to add extra features to the website. The developers of these plugins will regularly release updates to ensure that the site works correctly. It is vital that the plugins are tested and installed on your site to keep it functioning correctly. We offer WordPress Care Plans to give you both security and peace of mind, knowing that your site is being kept safe and well looked after. We keep regular backups of your website and ensure that your website performs optimally when your customers are viewing the site. To put it simply, we keep your site running smoothly so you don’t have to.