Frequently Asked Questions

These are some commonly asked questions about website creation, design and performance. They are meant provide you answers to the most basic requirements in website development. Lakeside Web Services can assist you in the design and development of your website.

How do I get started?

You will first need a domain name. This domain name should be a name that describes what you do and who you are and can not be long than 63 characters (the shorter the better). To find a domain name search here.

There are many firms that register domains, simply do a Google Search for domain registrars or domain registration companies. Be sure to research these companies to ensure that they are reputable and have a history of providing these services. The cheapest may not be the best, if your domain registrar disappears it will likely be a nightmare, you website will go down, if you transfer to another registrar it will take seven to ten days for the transfer to take effect. Lakeside Web Services includes domain registration as a part of all of their website packages.

The second thing you will need is a hosting company, again the cheapest may not be the best. Be sure that you are getting enough space and bandwidth to get you started. A good idea would be to go with a host that will consult with you so you are confident you will be getting enough space but not paying for more space than you need. If you are expecting a short “bump” in traffic due to a marketing campaign, will they provide you with more bandwidth for the duration of that “bump” without forcing you into a new, more costly plan that you will not need and will be overpaying for?

Do I need a professional or can I do it myself?

Websites are far more complicated than a good looking design.

In general, your website should be a clean attractive site that represents who you are and what you do. Remember EVERYTHING you put on your website says something about you.

Your website should have a logical and easy navigation structure, three tiers are best.

You will also want to design your website in a way that it can easily be changed (both content and minor design “tweaks). Your business/organization will change over time, the last thing you want to do is pay for a new design or put the time required to develop an entirely new design.

Your home page should take no longer than 20 seconds to load and the most pertinent information should be readily seen. If your site takes too long to load and a visitor does not see what they are looking quickly they will simply click to the next option.

How will I get found on the web?

Understanding how to utilize meta tabs, keywords, description tags and “alt” tags will ensure that your site is index by the major search engine. There are more than 30 billion websites on the web, even correctly using these tags will not guarantee top ranking. You must understand who to submit to (beyond the major search engines and directories) in order to reach the market you’re targeting. At a minimum you need to comply with Google’s Webmaster Guidelines.

You do not want to rely solely on the search engines for getting traffic to your site. The search engines can take weeks, even months to list your site unless you are willing to pay for submission. For your website to get noticed and used, you need to have a marketing strategy. Make sure that your website address is on all of your current marketing tools, e-mail correspondence, business letterhead, and other media advertising. Include your web site address in your phone mail message. Make sure that all of your current customers/members know your website address. Send them an e-mail or a post card announcing your site. You should also list your site with all appropriate indexing or link services, such as local and national business listing sites. There are many sites that offer links to websites within business or interest categories.

How long does it take to get my site listed on the search engines?

Each search engine has its own schedule for spidering/indexing and listing websites. Search engines do not guarantee inclusion from their free submissions and do not give a timeline for inclusion, however most websites that are optimized to be "search engine ready" do get listed. You can also choose to pay for inclusion of your website to many of the search engines, normally they have information on how soon your listing will appear with the paid inclusion. Most of the paid inclusion plans require payment annually or monthly to keep you in their database. You can also utilize "Pay-Per-Click" advertising options. Extreme care should be taken with “Pay-Per-Click plans, they can become very expensive and not yield a very good return on investment.

Finally, patience is a virtue!

Please contact us for help, or visit these pages: consulting page, home page.