Homepage Questions and Answers
Q... Can everyone look at my homepage?
A... Yes, your 2 Fords Network... webpage is viewable by anyone anywhere in the World on the internet.
A... You have several choices as to what your web page could be named. You can own your own "domain" with a www.yourname.com address. Network Solutions will charge you $70.00 for the first 2 years for that privilege. There is no additional charge from the 2 Fords Network for personal domains. If you do not want your own "dot com" address, you have 3 domains to choose from for your address. Ford Publishing, the 2 Fords Network parent company owns 3 different domains and you can choose to have your website located in either of the three. Following are the 3 examples of what your web address would be in each of these domains.
http://www.2fords.net/yourname
http://www.fordpub.com/yourname
http://www.cyberopolis.com/yourname
Q... How do I update my pages?
A... If you have constructed your own web page and uploaded it via your ftp program, you would simply update your page in your computer, then ftp to your online file, delete your old page, and place your new one in your file. You will have two identical folders with your website in it. One on your computer, and one on the 2 Fords Network Web Server. For more information, see the "ftp" section of the NFO pages.
You can change or update your page as often as you wish.
Q... What's HTML and how do I use it?
A... HTML is an acronym for 'HyperText Markup Language', and it is a simple language used to format pages for the web. While you don't need to know any HTML to create a homepage, HTML is easy to learn and will allow you to customize your page. The 2 Fords Network offers free "how to get started" lessons on using "wysiwyg" web page editors. Call for appointment.
A good way to learn HTML is to find a page that looks good and then copy it. Web browsers like Netscape and Internet Explorer have an option to 'View Source'. This will show you the HTML code with which the page is written. Remember to only use the page you have copied as a template. It is not nice and in many cases, not legal to copy actual content from other web pages.
Q... Can I make more than one Web page?
A... Yes, you can build and upload multiple pages. Make sure that you give each page a new name and link to them from your homepage. Make sure your first page is named index.html
Q... What are Meta Tags or Key Words?
A... Meta tags allow you to 'feed' many search engines a pre-selected short description and search keywords. A search engine will index the site when it feels like it - including meta tags won't speed up inclusion. But when a search engine does visit your site, if it doesn't see meta tags, it will do it's best to come up with a description and keywords. The description will usually be the first x number of non-HTML characters on the page.
If you set meta tags, specifically the 'description' and 'keywords' fields, you tell the search engine what to set. To do it, add this in your <head> section, replacing the description/keywords with your own: <meta name="description" content="My home page, including lots of information about me."> <meta name="keywords" content="my home page information">
Don't bother repeating words over and over in 'keywords' - almost all search engines will ignore it and a few will not index you because of it.
Q... What benefits would a website bring to my business
A... Web sites offer many benefits. While they present many new and exciting opportunities to companies, the time and cost saved by using a web site to support or replace current marketing and promotional work, is often at least as significant as the new avenues it opens up. Here are just some benefits:
#1... You can have a corporate presence on the Internet. Your information is quickly and cheaply available around the world, 24 hours a day, even when your offices are shut.
#2... You save on national or international mailing costs.
#3... You can publish up-to-the-minute information without the cost or delay print advertising demands.
#4... You can network with customers, potential customers, business partners and potential partners.
#5... It puts smaller businesses on the same professional presentation platform as large companies.
#6... You can capture orders directly from the web site - the 90's version of mail order.
#7... You can capture visitors' information to build a well targeted mailing list.
#8... You can answer the questions you are most often asked, without involving any staff time or effort.
#9... You can allow customers to access and use your own database, for instance, a visitor to a site may be able to book his own seat on a particular flight.
#10... You can respond instantly to real-time events, putting out urgent information on your site which is available immediately at minimal cost.
#11... You can keep a large number of people up to date with a project or event on a real-time basis.
#12... You can create a vibrant and readily accessible forum for discussion and ideas, in which neither geographic boundaries nor cost are a major factor.
Q... Who will see my website?
A... Subject: Internet Statistics. "Internet World Magazine" lists below a good cross section of the type of people who use the internet, and consequently, are the the type of people who will see your website...
· 53% of internet users have a four year college degree.
· The average salary of the user is $59,000
· The average user is 33 years old.
· 92% are registered to vote and 60% voted in the last election
· 59% are unmarried
· 31% are female
· 2.5 million people have purchased products or services via the net
· Forester Research estimates that sales of goods on the Net will grow to $6.6 billion in the year 2000.
A... As more homes and offices acquire computers with Internet access, and as the majority of the school leaving population becomes computer literate, we can expect to see a shift from regular media to the World Wide Web. Currently the Internet should be seen as a powerful adjunct to conventional media. As the Internet itself matures, and more secure servers become available, it is bound to become a regular shopping place, not just for the few as it is currently, but for the masses (similar to mail order today). It will become standard practice for businesses and organizations dealing with a lot of information to make as much of this as possible available on the Internet. Dynamic databases (such as when a customer can book his own seat on a plane), on-line ordering, etc., will become the norm.
A... Yes, you can create your own web pages using any Web page editor, or even write them from scratch. Once you create these pages, you must upload them to the Ford Publishing or 2 Fords Network host computer. Please use only numbers and letters (no spaces) when naming them. Also, be sure to include the ".html" suffix to the filename.
Q... What is meant by "upload"?
A... This is when you move your completed web page from your computer to the server (computer) at 2 Fords Network. This is done using a standard FTP program.
Q... What is FTP?
A... When you have your webpage finished, you have to use an FTP program (file transfer protocol) to transfer your files to the 2 Fords Network web page server. Click here to learn more about FTP
Q... How do I get more visitors to my web page?
A... Simply publishing a web site is not going to provide a major jump in sales or in customer profile. To be effective, even the best web site needs to be promoted before anyone will visit it. Promotion of the web site by printing the web address on all business stationery. Promotion of the web site by including the web address in all advertising in other media. Creating campaigns where the web site and other media promotion interact to ensure the best potential for both is met. Of course, you must get your web pages listed with the search engines. (see below)
Q... How to I keep them coming back?
A... Several ways to keep people coming back to your website are listed below...
1... Registering the web address (URL) with a variety of Internet search engines. (see next answer)
2... Trading links with complimentary sites.
3... Purchasing banner advertising on other web sites.
4... Keeping your site up to date and other good site maintenance.
5... Providing information which changes regularly.
6... Including a facility which allows for e-mailing of previous visitors who have registered interest when changes occur.
7... Including topical information in your web site which can be changed and updated regularly.
A... There are several sites, (most free) for getting your site on the search engines. Some are listed below...
http://www.netpost.com/netpost2.html
