FAQ

A little of both, actually. Typically web designers focus on how a website looks, drawing on fundamentals like form and color theory. We know how visual branding works, and how what people see affects their feelings. Often web designers aren’t concerned with coding and mechanics, preferring a site with pizzazz over one that runs well. Web developers, on the other hand, tend to focus on what happens behind the curtain. Their priority is how a site works (or doesn’t), knowing that the Internet is a place to send and receive information as quickly and efficiently as possible. Good web developers avoid flashy elements that increase load time and prefer simplicity to save on code and bandwidth. Web developers also put database-driven elements into place and create Content Management Systems, allowing you to enter data outside the site that instantly appears on it. AndiSites is the best of both worlds: we build websites that look good, load fast, run well, and make all your database-driven dreams come true.

You absolutely can, with tools available for free on the Internet (usually associated with a web hosting service) or for purchase anywhere software is sold. Some computers come with web design tools pre-installed. If you have the time and patience to learn these tools, building your own website can be lots of fun. Just keep in mind that you usually get what you pay for, and the resulting site may either be heavily template-based (meaning that your site looks like lots of others) or not-so-great behind the scenes (meaning that it may crash mysteriously, be difficult to update, or that search engines will have a hard time finding it). You may also get offers from family, friends, or students to create your website for free. If there’s no catch, by all means take advantage of them–maybe they’re just building their portfolio…we’ve been there. Any way you decide, you can still contact us anytime for help.

Most things benefit from an outside eye. We can take a look at your site (both on its face and behind the curtain) and make suggestions regarding usability, cleanup, streamlining code, and optimizing for search engines. If you’d like, we’d also be happy to do a complete overhaul. Redesigning websites is one of our specialties.

Yes, in addition to domains, hosting, and maintenance, AndiSites offers lots of other services.

Yes. No matter how simple, a website will let the world know you exist, who you are, and what you do. It’s better than a brochure, and it’s available 24/7.

I’d be happy to. Let me know what you have in mind, and I’ll let you know what’s involved.

Only when nothing else will do–and even then, we do so sparingly. While Flash animation can add “dazzle” to a website, it doesn’t do much for friendliness, and Flash intros can be downright annoying (since 2006 the “Skip” button has been the “most-used button on the Internet” according to usability experts). While Flash elements can now be indexed by Google, this capability is limited. Flash can slow down performance, and users must have the right plug-in installed on their computers (if they don’t, they’ll be invited to download it for free…but by this point you may have already lost them). Also, iPhones and many other handheld devices can’t read Flash, so your site will show up with holes where the Flash elements are…or not at all. I think animation can be useful but should be achieved with non-Flash methods if possible. AndiSites’ rule is: we’re happy to incorporate Flash, but only when it directly enhances the user’s experience.

Yes. We’re big fans of Paypal for donations and Zen Cart for online sales. We can also give you advice on merchant accounts, payment gateways, SSL certificates, and other getting-money-related stuff..

Never. Yuck.

All AndiSites designs are based on royalty-free graphics provided by our partner, Dreamstime. I can also create graphics from scratch.

Only to your personal happiness and well-being. With regards to your website, not at all. We can work with you entirely by email and/or telephone, and you’ll be able to view drafts of your website in a custom location on our server. However, if you’re in the central North Carolina area, it would be great to meet in person. Anything involving coffee and/or chocolate.

We offer discounted rates to actors, artists, and non-profits, and we try to keep our basic prices as low as possible for everyone. We also offer specials from time to time, so check back often.

Yes we do. Refer an actor, artist, or non-profit to us, and we’ll give you a $25 credit that can be used toward a new website, updates, additions, maintenance, or any of our other services. Refer a business and we’ll make it a $75 credit.

My goal is to design a site that makes you completely happy. For most custom sites and redesigns, I’ll provide three original design concepts plus two revision cycles based on what you want and my suggestions. That process usually results in a site you’ll love; however, I understand that sometimes you don’t know it ’til you see it, so additional concepts or revision cycles can be added (charges will be based on the applicable hourly rate).

You do–you paid for it, right? I’ll put a copyright notice at the bottom of all your pages, reserving all rights and notifying the world that copying without your permission is not allowed. The only exception is the AndiSites concept designs–AndiSites owns those until someone purchases them.

We fully support any website we design, and we’re always available should you encounter any problems. We also want this to be a beautiful, long-lasting relationship, so we hope you’ll call on AndiSites regularly for updates, additions, maintenance, or any of the other services we provide.

See our Pricing pages for current prices.

AndiSites accepts all major credit cards through our online store. You can also pay by check or bank transfer. And of course we have nothing against cash.

Jot down some notes about what you’d like to accomplish with your site and what “style” you like (visit other websites or browse our portfolio for ideas). Then contact us. I’ll set up a phone meeting at your convenience to discuss specifics, put together a quote and proposal, and look forward to starting your website soon.

Smaller digital files (including .zip files) can be emailed to andrea@andisites.com. If the file is large, we recommend the free service at YouSendIt. Or, you can mail hard copies to AndiSites, 11312 US 15-501 North, #107-211, Chapel Hill, NC 27517.

Electronic formats are best–.doc for text, .jpg for photos, .mov or .wmv for video, and .mp3 for audio. However, we can scan or otherwise convert your materials to Web-ready format for an additional fee.

No, although it helps to have a working email account that accepts attachments (so I can send you concepts, color palettes, etc.) and a reliable Internet connection (so you can see drafts of your site online).

It depends on the scope of the project, but most projects are completed within a few weeks. AndiSites likes to work fast, so we won’t drag out the process needlessly; however, you have some control over final delivery, too, by getting us your materials in a timely fashion and responding quickly to what we send you for approval. Besides, you don’t want us to nag.

Yes. We’ll create a custom testing area for you on our server, so you can review your site “live” online. Once you’re satisfied, we’ll switch the site over to your registered domain for the world to see.

Once you’ve approved the final design and all payments have been received, your site will usually be viewable by the public within 24 hours (note that some non-AndiSites hosting servers may take longer to propagate).

Not necessarily–all sites are processed a little differently by different browsers, computers, and mobile devices. However, we design specifically for cross-browser compatibility and test all our sites on multiple platforms, so it should be pretty close to the same for everyone. If you encounter problems viewing your site, please let us know. Sometimes it’s beyond our control, but usually a small adjustment to the site (or to the user’s configuration) can resolve the issue.

For a small additional charge, AndiSites can incorporate Google Analytics into your site. This will allow you to log in and see how many visitors you’ve had to your site, along with cool factoids like how long they stay, what pages they like best, and where in the world they are.

Remember that the whole point of a website is to provide information about yourself or your organization in a way that’s quick and easy. At a minimum, your site should include who you are, what you do, and how you can be contacted. If you’d like to take it a step further, it can also be used to showcase your work, take orders or donations, and/or create a mailing list. Thinking about the goals of your site will lead you to the content. And remember, less is always more, especially to impatient web surfers.

As many as you’d like. A typical actor site may have only 4 or 5, while a site for a large business could have hundreds. Note that if you’re hosting elsewhere you may be limited; however, if you host with AndiSites we’ll be sure to set aside plenty of room for you.

Absolutely, just let us know.  If you have a WordPress-based site, you can do it yourself.

Depends on the page. Text pages that are similar to other pages take less time; pages with media or other bells and whistles take more.  We’ll keep it easy for you, though, and let you know the exact price ahead of time.

Yes, anytime. Be selective, though. Media can slow your website down, and video needs to be rendered for the Web in order to make it viewable at different connection speeds (we can do that). As always, less is more.

Actor website galleries include up to 20 photos along with a single photo on the home page. However, we can include as many as you’d like (some gallery formats work better than others for large numbers; I’ll help you figure out which works best for you).

Yes, and I’ll send the hard copies back to you right away.

Yes, if they’re provided on DVD, mini-DV, or CD. If they’re on something older-school (VHS or cassette tape), we can help you find services that will digitize them for you. If they’re on 8-track, I’m not sure anyone can help…but I understand. I still can’t throw out my original Rick James.

Yes, there are a few different ways to do that. I’m a fan of WordPress blogs, which can be styled and linked as an integrated part of your website (see www.andreapowell.com for an example). If you already have a blog you’d like to link to, AndiSites can help with that, too.  Or, you can have us create an entire website for you using WordPress, giving you the best of all worlds (in fact, this website was created in WordPress, so you can see what I mean).

The best site is a fresh site–you don’t want repeat visitors looking at the same old stuff. You also want to make sure that your site is still working well and stays optimized for search engines. See our website maintenance page for more information.

We code many of our sites so that certain sections can be updated by clients through our AndiSites CMS. We can also build sites using WordPress as a CMS, or we can build you a custom system that allows you full control over all aspects of your site.  Otherwise, we’re always available to make changes, either charged hourly or as part of a maintenance plan. Note that if you’re familiar with XHTML and CSS, you can certainly make changes and updates to the base files yourself; however, please be careful…a single space out of place can break a site complely. If that happens, please contact us right away. We’ll be happy to fix it on an hourly-charge basis.

Simply said, it’s the “phrase” that you type into a browser to go to a website (for example, ours is www.andisites.com). A good domain name is unique, memorable, and not too long.  See our domains & hosting page for more information.

Yes, AndiSites is proud to provide domain name registration through the largest wholesaler of Internet domains in the world.  We also offer premium services such as ID Protect, which shields your personal info from public records, protecting your privacy and cutting way down on spam.

That’s fine. You’ll just need to provide us the login information for your domain registration account so we can point the DNS servers to the right place when your site is ready for launch.

That’s a common issue, especially for businesses. Personal names aren’t as difficult to find, but you may find that someone else with your name has already claimed the domain you want. No worries…sometimes just adding a hyphen or middle initial will do the trick. For businesses, you might consider a .org instead of .com. We’ll let you know what’s available and what isn’t, and we’ll help you with options if you can’t get your first choice.

Domain names may be registered for a minimum of one year (the first year is free with all new websites). After that, registration can be renewed for as many years as you’d like.

A web host provides the server that your website files will reside on, and makes them available for the world to see. Note that domain name registration and web hosting are two different services.  See our domains & hosting page for more information.

Yes we do. We own and control our own servers and backup your files regularly. Plus, we have access to round-the-clock technical support, just in case.

No, you’re free to use whatever host you like. Just make sure you let us know the ftp name and login credentials so we can post your site.

Yes, just let us know and we’ll help you do it.

You can. We’d miss you, but if you get a better deal elsewhere (or just feel you need some time away), please let us know. We’ll make all your website files available to you (either on a CD or by email, depending on the size of the site) so they can be uploaded to the new host.

All sites hosted by AndiSites come with an unlimited number of email accounts. Here’s how to set them up yourself:
- Go to http://www.yourdomain.com/cpanel and log in with your username and password (which we’ll send you when you sign up for hosting).
- Under “Mail”, click on on “Email Accounts”.
- At the next screen you can add whatever email address you like and assign it a password (you can ignore the “Quota” line). Click “Create” and you’re done. Let us know if you need any help.

Here’s how to access your email online from any browser:
- Go to http://www.yourdomain.com/webmail and log in with your full email address and password (we’ll send you a preliminary one, which you can change yourself at any time).
- Click on the email service of your choice (they’re each formatted a little differently, so you may want to test-drive them all).
If you’d like to route your email automatically to an existing email program (e.g., Outlook) and/or portable device, click “Configure Mail Client” for all the settings you’ll need.

Yes, very. We build our sites so that search engines can find them easily, using only “white hat” (or “ethical”) optimization techniques; in other words, no keyword stuffing, no spamdexing, no other unethical methods that can end up getting you banned from Google and the other biggies.

Adding “meta tags” to the code of your website is important (and we do it for all sites); however, it’s only one way to attract the search engines. Check out this wiki on SEO–it also discusses the aforementioned “white hat” (good) and “black hat” (bad) techniques.

Ultimately they’ll be able to find you through Google or one of the other search engines, but that usually takes a month or so. Until then, get the word out by email and word-of-mouth, and be sure to include your website address on everything your potential clients see.

Be patient, it’s a waiting game. Search engines send out their crawlers to look for new sites all the time, and eventually they’ll find yours. Plus, we’ll have built your site in a way that attracts them. If three months go by and you’re still not showing up on an intuitive search (more specific than “New York actor” or “legal firm”), let us know and we’ll take a look at your site again. Search indexing methodologies change all the time, and sometimes a tweak or two can make all the difference.

No, nobody can…and if they say they can, they’re not being straight with you. And please, if somebody says they can guarantee a top position if you pay them $XXX, run away.  It just doesn’t work that way.

Not directly–most search engines will find you on their own.  However, we do build your site with methods that attract search engines’ crawlers. Also, if you can have a listed site add a link to your site (for example, a link from your IMDB page if you’re an actor, or from a professional directory website if you’re a business), the crawlers will definitely find you. We include links to all sites we’ve built in our portfolio, so that should help as well–search engines like us, so they’ll like you, too. All that said, though, Google and Yahoo do accept site submissions…you can do this yourself, although they’ll probably ask you to sign up for either another email address or for some other service.

Yes. AndiSites charges $150 for one original color logo (includes 3 original concepts and 3 rounds of revisions), and I’ll provide you with the final choice in both .png and .jpg formats. We don’t do Flash logos because we don’t feel that they directly enhance user experience (read our feelings about Flash above).

No, just cropping, resizing, and basic recoloring. For master digital retouching at a low price, we recommend Joe Barna at Colorworks in New York City. Check out the “Samples” section of his website. Seriously, he’s a magician.

Yes, we can do simple video editing in-house; for more complex projects, we work with several audio and video editors who will be happy to meet your needs.

Yes, we hear that a lot, and writing for the Web is definitely a different kind of animal. We can help.

Let me help you! I stay completely up to date on the acting world and know what casting directors like to see. For just $25 I can we can re-tool and re-format your resume to current industry standards, and provide you with an easily emailable .pdf. Order and emphasis (as well as readability and little things like spelling) are important so that casting agents and potential clients will see at a glance why you’re the best actor for the job.