Blue Ridge Media participates only in quality, related linking strategies, and Webmaster Guidelines, as defined by the major search engines, including Google, Bing, and Yahoo!
Blue Ridge Media reserves the right to accept or deny any individual or group without explanation or cause. Established domain names with a Google PageRank of PR0 cannot be accepted.
Our Web Design Policy We do not promote, or take over existing websites. New web designs only please. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is only available to our current web design clients.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Getting Started
Q: How do I get started with my web design?
A: We recommend that you register one domain name and setup your website hosting setup first. Do not register more than one domain name per physical website. Our affiliate hosting company, Becotech (1-888-323-2326) can handle both of these two items for you at the same time. We only need your website hosting FTP information (user id and password so we can upload the website). This will give us a website address to start building your website, so you can follow along with its progress. If you want to use the E-Mail that comes with the domain name, let the hosting company know at this time and they will set that up for you. For your privacy and security, Blue Ridge Media does not store nor maintain customer E-Mail Passwords or Domain Name Registration.
We like to start with a site plan on paper, indicating each page's name, description and the desired content. This looks similar to a corporate organization chart, starting with the main index page at the top of the page and linking down to each of the back pages. This site plan will be used for link navigation and to estimate the total cost of the website, since we charge by the page. Each page can have up to 4 photos on it. If you have a design idea in mind, colors, background tiles, etc., this would be a good time to communicate that design idea to us, including examples from other websites to look at.
We need a list of keyword phrases that you intend to be found for in the major search engines for. The keywords should say where you are and what products or services that you provide. Be realistic of what search phrases you can be found for. One and two word keyword phrases are extremely difficult to get found for, unless you are a very popular website with a high PageRank score.
We need your website content; digital photos, graphics, logos and the text that you want to be placed on your website. Place these digital files on a CD ROM and mail it to us at the PO Box below. We prefer the text to be saved as .rtf or .txt file format. If the files are small enough, you can E-Mail Files to us, one file at a time. Use the 'Original Size' attachment option in your E-Mail program when sending graphics.
Once we have all your FTP information, website content, your site plan and design ideas, keyword phrases, and your deposit, please give us about 2-3 business days to get your website online.
Costs
Q: What are my annual operating costs associated with my web design?
A: Your annual reoccurring operating costs will be approximately $118 per year to keep the website up and running. $10 for the domain name registration and $108 for the website hosting. These fees are paid to the individual service companies, not to Blue Ridge Media.
Q: Do you charge a monthly maintenance fee?
A: No. Blue Ridge Media does not charge monthly maintenance fees. All text changes under 10 minutes are performed free of charge. This includes adding links, changing paragraphs, price changes, etc. If it takes longer for us to print the invoice, we don't charge you. Our web design fee is a one time only charge for the initial web design.
Q: Do you require a deposit?
A: Yes. We require at a 50% deposit (minimum $400) before we begin your web design. The remaining amount is due within 30 days of the site going live. We accept cash, check and money orders. No credit cards please. All payments must be in US dollars. Payments can be sent to the PO Box below. Make payments payable to "Blue Ridge Media". Charges are for labor and services rendered only. No goods or products are being sold or offered for sale by Blue Ridge Media.
Domain Name
Q: Who is my domain name registered to?
A: Your domain name is always registered to you, never to the hosting company or the web design company. Beware of companies that register your domain in their name - they own it, not you. Blue Ridge Media does not keep domain name registration information on file, so please make note of your domain name user id and password when you receive it. Our hosting company, Becotech (1-888-323-2326) can register your domain name for you at the same time they setup your website hosting. We recommend registering your domain name for 5 years or 10 years at a time.
Q: Should I register multiple domain names?
A: No. Do not register multiple domain names! This can get you banned from some search engines for duplicate content. The general rule is one domain name per physical website.
Website Hosting
Q: Why do I need website hosting?
A: Your website needs to physically reside on a high speed server that is attached to the Internet 24x7. That's just one of the services the hosting company provides. The hosting company also provides domain name registration, E-Mail services and website reporting statistics.
Q: Can I choose my own website hosting company?
A: Yes, of course. We use and highly recommend Becotech (1-888-323-2326) for affordable website hosting, but you are free to choose any hosting company you like. We will need your FTP information (FTP address, user id and password) to upload your website to your hosting company.
Q: How does the Host E-Mail service work?
A: Your hosting company will provide you with a E-Mail services and an E-Mail address tied to your domain name; basically anything in front of the @ sign will work as your E-Mail address. Your E-Mail service is handled by your hosting company, not by Blue Ridge Media. For privacy reasons, we do not keep any E-Mail passwords on file. We can link to any E-Mail address you provide us from your website. You may also choose to use your existing E-Mail address. That option is up to you.
Reporting
Q: What kinds of traffic reporting do you provide?
A: The hosting company provides basic reporting services, such as monthly, weekly and daily trends, keywords used and referring site reports. A website host server cannot track unique visitors, only the number of pages that it sends out. For more detailed reports, including unique visitors, we recommend you sign up for Google Analytics, which is a free service offered by Google. Once you have signed up, we need to paste your individual Google Analytics tracking code into every web page.
Q: Do you provide a visible website counter?
A: Yes. We also provide a Unique Visitors Counter on your website. Our counters count people, not page loads.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Q: How long does it take to get my website into the search engines?
A: It can take about 2-3 months before your website is indexed by the major search engines - sometimes sooner. We do initial search engine submissions to Google, Bing and Yahoo the same day that your site goes live. A one time manual submission to DMOZ is also performed. Google PageRank scores are updated quarterly, so this can take a little bit longer. We continue the initial search engine submissions once a month until your site is indexed. Search Engine Acceptance and Performance is Not Guaranteed. If you require immediate search engine exposure, we recommend you look into Google AdWords for the first few months.
Q: Can you provide your SEO Services for our website?
A: We provide our SEO Services only to our current website design customers. If you would like us to redesign your website for you, we would be more than happy to provide you with our SEO Services at no additional cost. SEO Services are included with every Blue Ridge Media website design.
Q: My new website just went live, but it's not showing up in my browser. Why is this happening?
A: Make sure you are typing your website's address on the browser's top URL or Address line, and not into any search engine's search window, such as Google or Yahoo. The major search engines will not be able to find your new website until it's first indexed, which can take about 2-3 months.
W3C Validation
Q: Why the emphasis on W3C Validation?
A: HTML Code is the foundation of you website, and is what the browser executes. Error free code can dramatically improve and ensure the compatibility and performance of your website across many different browsers and computer platforms, now and into the future. All of our web designs pass W3C Validation. Not every web design company writes Error Free Code. We suggest that you Validate some of our competitors. Then Validate some of their portfolio customers. Do they know enough about Quality Web Design to write Error Free Code? The results may surprise you!
Blue Ridge Media
Quality Web Design with Proven SEO Results
PO Box 1571
Blowing Rock, NC 28605
828.265.2730
10 AM - 4 PM EST, M-F
Closed Weekends and Bank Holidays
Best Reached by E-Mail
NO CALL CENTERS - NO SOLICITATION - NO SPAM - NO TELEMARKETERS MEMBER OF THE NATIONAL DO NOT CALL REGISTRY
*Search Engine Performance is Not Guaranteed
Blue Ridge Media does not operate nor participate in any Link Farms. Blue Ridge Media Link Exchanges only with our clients and associates. Blue Ridge Media is registered with the State of North Carolina, USA.
Getting Started
