FAQs

If you have a question that isn’t answered below, please get in touch.

General

How much does a website cost?

This will depend on the functionality, complexity and size of the website. There are some general price guidelines available here, but please get in touch for a personalised quote.

Who will make changes to my website in future?

I provide ongoing care and maintenance, but I will also enable you to make changes if you would like to.

We will discuss this at the start of the project.

Can I keep my email address?

Yes, of course. If I host your website, we will talk about who provides your email currently. If you require a professional email provider, look at Office365 from Microsoft and GSuite from Google.

Technical Jargon

Responsive Design

This is also called “Mobile Friendly”.

Responsive design is a term used to show that designers have considered how the website will look on varying screen sizes. This will include mobile phones, tablets and large desktops.

The design of the website will typically change to suit the size and dimensions of the device.

Today, since so many of us use our phones to browse the web and shop online, responsive design has become standard. If you are in the market for a new website, expect it to be responsive, but do confirm this with your designer. There are still plenty of websites out there that don’t work well on mobiles!

Domain

A domain name is the www.domainname.com address of your website. These names can be bought from a Registrar (usually for 1, 2 or 3 years) and they must be renewed periodically. If you would like to find an available website address, you can do so by searching for “register a domain” online.

Hosting

Your website is made up of lots of files and data and this needs to be stored somewhere. Hosting is the “filing cabinet” where all of this data is stored. You could think of it as a giant computer in a warehouse somewhere. That giant computer contains lots of data about lots of websites. A good hosting provider makes sure the giant computer is locked away safely and that there are guards on the door, to stop intruders. They will also make sure that all of the data on that big computer is copied to another separate location, just in case something were to go wrong inside that warehouse.

Caching

The first time someone visits your website, a lot of time-consuming stuff happens. This includes things like the loading of images and the loading of code that determines the style of your site (such as the colour and size of the text).

Put simply, caching is when some of this information is stored on your device, so that the next time your site is visited from the same device, it will load more quickly.

Sometimes, if you website has been changed recently and you can’t see this change, you will need to clear your cache, to reload some of the things that were saved.

You can find out how to clear your cache here: RefreshYourCache.

Plugin

A plugin is a piece of software containing that can be added to a WordPress website. It can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites, such as the Yoast SEO plugin, which helps you add/edit your page titles, descriptions and keyword.

SEO

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is the process of trying to get your website to appear at the top of the list in a search engine when someone searches for a certain term.

For example, when you type “removal company london” into Google, you are shown a long list of results. Typically, some of these entries will be highlighted as sponsored links (which means someone is paying to be displayed). Following that, you have the “natural listing”. In deciding which websites to show at the top of that list, Google uses complex algorithms. If you know what the algorithms are looking for, you can improve your website’s ranking in the list. In the simplest of terms, all pages should have meaningful titles, descriptions and content.

But it is much more complex than that. In fact, SEO is an ongoing and dedicated activity. If you want your website to rank better, it will require investment.

It is also worth mentioning Content Marketing in this context, since this goes hand-in-hand with SEO. Creating great, fresh content is one of the really important factors in racking well.

More Terms

While this article from Smashing Magazine is from 2009, it’s still relevant and explains a lot of the common jargon really well: Web Design Industry Jargon Glossary.