Frequently Asked Questions

1. What counts as an "image" in terms of my web site?
2. What constitutes a "page" in terms of my web site?
3. Do you host web sites?
4. What is the difference between an Internet Service Provider (ISP) and a Hosting Company?
5. Should I register my own domain name?
6. Will you teach me how to maintain my web site?
7. Do I own the copyrights to my web site?

Q. What counts as an image in terms of my web site?

A. An image is any graphic I create or manipulate and place on your web site. Examples are photographs, buttons, titles, backgrounds, bullets, GIF animation, and Flash animation.

Buttons that change in some way when you mouse is placed over it, (known as a mouseover), count as TWO images because there is a "before" and "after" image that must be created for the effect to work.

GIF animation uses many images changed slightly to give an effect that something is moving. In most cases, the changes are so insignificant, that the GIF as a whole can be counted as one image. Exceptions are made for very elaborate GIF animations.

Once I create an image, I only count it once. It can be used repeatedly on every page, such a button or logo, without additional costs.

Q. What constitutes a page in terms of my web site?

A. An html page is an electronic page where I create the code that generates what you see on a web page. A single page is whatever you are looking at in your browser window, with the exception of one that uses frames (explained below). An html page file usually has a name and can be accessed by typing in the URL address (www.yourpage.com) into your browser or clicked on via a link from another page. Some examples are index.html, home.html, about.html, faq.html, contact.html, products.html. This page itself is a live example. The URL is http://www.gallantrywebdesign.com/faq.html. "faq.html" is the page.

An html page has nothing to do with actual legal or letter sized pieces of paper you use to type on or print with. In fact, if you were to print out an html page, it may be several pieces of actual paper long. It doesn't matter how long the page is or how much you scroll down a page, it still only counts as one html page.

Another way to think of a page is to think of it as a certain section of your web site. The best way to guess how many pages your site will be is to think of what you would like to title your navigation buttons or links. For instance, if you sell shoes, you may have the following buttons: home page, men's shoes, women's shoes, kids' shoes, about us, contact us.

It only gets a little tricky when you have sub pages. These would be additional pages that stem from the main pages. For example, under men's shoes, you may have links to other pages about men's causal shoes and men's dress shoes. These sub pages would count as additional pages.

Another confusing factor about pages are frames. Frames are several pages pieced together to look like one page on your browser. Here is an example: frames1.html This page is actually comprised of the main section at the bottom right, the navigation section at the bottom left and the "coming soon" section at the top. These three sections are actually three separate pages and count as such.

Finally, pop ups (a link that opens up another page) count as pages, too. However, exceptions can be made in certain situations. For example, if you are enlarging a small picture, the image on the enlargement page would not necessarily count as a page since it is so simple to do. However, the image itself would count towards your number of images allowable.

Q. Do you host web sites?

A. No, I do not host web sites. I do, however, highly recommend Esosoft at http://www.esosoft.com. They are the company I use for all my own personal web sites and I recommend them to all my clients. They have excellent support, reliability and are very inexpensive.

Q. What is the difference between an Internet Service Provider (ISP) and a Hosting Company?

A. An Internet Service Provider is the company that connects your computer to the Internet. It doesn't necessarily provide you with space to host your web site, though many do. A Hosting Company is simply a company that allows you a place to keep your web site on so people on the Internet can view it. They generally do not provide you with a connection to the Internet, like an ISP does.

The benefit to a Hosting Company is that it specializes in simply hosting a web site and will concentrate all its efforts into providing you with the best possible features - quality over quantity, as it were. An ISP that connects you to the Internet and offers web hosting services must divide its time and effort between these two features, which can often mean a sub par service in both respects. In offering my personal opinion, I recommend separate companies for your ISP and hosting your web site.

Q. Should I register my own domain name?

A. Yes, you should register it right away. If you are not comfortable doing this on your own, I can do this for you. You should come up with some alternative names if the one you have in mind is taken. (The company will alert you.)

The ONLY TWO companies you should even consider to register your domain name are Register.com and Network Solutions. Do not trust any other company with this extremely important task. Other companies just charge you extra and use Register.com or Network Solutions anyway! You can just cut out the middle man and save time, money and future headaches.

Q. Will you teach me how to maintain my web site?

A. Sorry, no. However, I do provide basic maintenance for your web site for the lifetime of your site. Please view my sample web contract, paragraph 5 for more information web maintenance.

Q. Do I own the copyrights to my web site?

A. The answer is yes and no. You own the copyrights to any of your own writing, images created by your own hand and photos taken by you. You do not own the rights to any of the images I create for you or the design of the site. The only exception to this is your logo. If I design your logo, the rights belong to you. For more information on copyright issues, please view my sample web contract, paragraphs 4 and 9.

Essentially, what this means is you cannot alter or change the design or graphics of your web site without my consent. It also means I can place a small, out of the way signature at the bottom of your page letting your visitors know who created your site. Something like this: Site designed by Gallantry Web Design © 2005 (see my copyright notice at the bottom of this page as an example).

If you would like complete, 100% copyrights to your web site (meaning you have complete control over the graphics and layout and I relinquish all rights to the images and design), then we would negotiate an appropriate fee for sale of the rights.

Still have a question? Let me know!

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Questions?
E-mail me: Rebecca Gallant
Address: 37 Bluff St., Salem, NH 03079
Phone: (603) 230-2485
View Terms & Conditions and sample Web Design Contract