F.A.Q

Why Should I own my website?
There are a list of good reasons to make your own site, if you are in Business. Tell us about your business and get our FREE consulting on how you can do business online, or how a website can help your business to grow. We have answers for you.

What is web development?
Web development is web site design combined with back-end programming. The typical goal of web development is to produce a web site that is database driven. Some of the largest web sites in the world rely on databases which allow the site owner to add, change, or delete what is stored their database without having to open each individual file. The programming embedded in the web site then takes care of updating the hundreds, if not thousands, of web pages.

However web development is an evolutionary process for every individual client. Some business may require more basic catalog style website's whereas; larger businesses may feel that an Intranet or an e-commerce style web design is more appropriate.
Macronimous web solutions (MWS) consultants can help you tailor a business solution that meets your business requirements. To learn more, please contact us. We would love to hear from you.

What is a web application or web based application?
A web application is a program that runs on the web. Typically interactive, the application accepts input from the web user, processes the input, and displays the results. Web applications usually have a multi-tier architecture and use technologies such as ASP, XML, and database connectivity to perform the data processing.Web development firms should have certain plans and procedures for web based applications.

What is e-commerce?
E-commerce is a general term for any type of business, or commercial transaction, that involves the transfer of information and funds across the Internet. This covers a range of different types of selling, from consumer-based retail sites through auction and music sites, to business exchanges trading goods or services between corporations.

What is E-Business development?
E-Business is slightly more than e-commerce. Doing business between suppliers and vendors or partners can be done online. The complete business transaction can be done and controlled by an E-Business site.

Isn't web development and web design the same thing?
All web sites are created using web design techniques but web development, or Web programming, is only used when a site needs to be interactive, dynamic or perform a function that is outside of the realm of static web site design.

Why would I want web development or a database driven site?
If your site has to be updated frequently, even in a small scale - A database driven web site will allow those without any design or development experience to make changes, updates, additions or deletions thus saving money on maintenance contracts.
If you're planning on having your web site interact with the user in any way other than simply displaying your web page's information. - Web programming handles everything from a simple feedback form to a complex e-commerce system.

What else do I need besides a professional web developer?
That will depend on the purpose of your site and the type of interactivity it offers. You may need secure hosting, SSL certificate, a merchant account or an online transaction provider.
We will discuss your requirements with you and provide the web consultancy necessary to help you determine exactly what is necessary as well as the best method of obtaining it.

What web application programming languages and technologies does Macronimous Web Development team uses?
ASP, ASP.NET, Visual Basic, PHP, JavaScript, HTML, MS SQL, MS Access MySQL, XML, DHTML Etc.,. See the complete set listed in this page.

Are your web developers properly trained?
Our professional web developers have all received training in web development languages and we have an ongoing training program to ensure that our knowledge is kept up to date. They attend regular seminars (Eg., MSDN) conducted by Industry experts.
The Designers should have minimum a Degree and the Developers are Engineers and Master degree holders in Computer Applications from reputed universities in India.

We know what we want the end result to be but I don't know what needs to be done to achieve it. How can macronimous help us?
We can provide the web consultancy necessary to help you determine what the programming and other requirements will be. As a complete custom solution providers can also provide the full range of Internet business services, so whatever your web development requirements, we can provide the solution.
I'm preparing a new web site.

Is cross-browser incompatibility really a problem?
Yes, incompatibilities are almost inevitable. A simple web page is likely to display on all browsers without problems, but the appearance may differ slightly on various browsers. A complex page or a web application may fail on some browsers if it is not properly coded and thoroughly tested.
Macronimous is aware of the problems and codes web sites in a way, which avoids most of them. We use CSS style sheets to ensure a robust, maintainable layout, and we test our sites on multiple browsers to be sure they work properly.

Do you use ready-made website templates?
NO and YES. We know you do a unique business and need a unique website to reflect your business. So, We prefer to give you a solution designed for you alone. But though we do not recommend ready-made templates, we also consider budgets in if you wish and agree for the same, we will do.

What options do I have for maintenance of my site?
Macronimous web solutions can offer you a complete Web Maintenance Support Plan. From minor to major changes, a support plan will offer you the convenience and flexibility of updating, modifying or adding to your website with the relative ease of a phone call or an email to MWS. In addition, a support contact can offer you the benefits of Online Marketing and hosting services for improved website performance.
Alternatively, should you wish to manage your own website, a custom built web editing software (Popularly known as, Content Management Solution or CMS) will be created for you for an additional cost.

We are design easy to maintain CSS based websites, by changing the CSS attitudes you can do a site wide design change in minutes. Read further about our CSS based design services.

How long does it take to complete my website?
An average site of 5 - 10 pages would normally take 7-14 days. However, this depends on the complexity of the pages and also on the participation level of the customer. It is crucial for the customer to provide Macronimous with all requested information on a timely basis. We try and involve the customer as much or as little as they desire. Some prefer to be part of the process along every step, while others would rather let us use make decisions based on our past experiences.

Can I edit my own website?
Yes, if you request to have our easy to edit web application installed, this is with additional cost. You can easily log into a web browser to make changes to your own site. This is a very popular option for businesses that would prefer to save money by making their own site updates.

How do I know the progress of my work? How will I report any errors?
We have our client help desk system with which you can easily view the status, follow up the development and report errors. This is enabled in a secured area in our area, which will help you to keep in touch with the developers without any hassles.

How can I ensure that my website will be within the first few entries in the Google Search Engine?
Macronimous web solutions are experts in Online Marketing. We have had 4+ years in ensuring that we make our website's search engine friendly. The process of ensuring that your website is within the first few entries in the major search engines is a process coined ‘Search Engine Optimization'. For more information, please see click here.

More questions

1. What are the steps in developing a web site?
a) Web Conceptual Design: How do you want your site to look - What colors? What type face? What writing style (for example, formal, casual, funny)? What topics should be covered on your site? What pictures or movies would you like included, and where? What do you want the pages to say (this is know as "content")?

These topics would be included in a design document, which is similar in concept to the blueprints for a house. Without an idea of how you want the finished product to appear and behave, it will be difficult to start building anything.

b) Web Development: Once the design is completed, the developer can begin to do the programming. The length of this process varies, based on a number of factors, including:

  i) Is the design complete and stable, or do things keep changing?

  ii) Is the content written and ready? How about pictures and other graphics? If these are not ready, the process will take longer.

  iii) How "big" is the site? How many pages, pictures, links? The bigger the site, the longer it takes to develop it.

  iv) Did you already have a web host? A domain name? If you wish for your developer to get these things, there will be a little time involved to set all this up.

  v) Will your site be fairly stable in content, or will the content change often (as in the case of an on-line store with constantly changing inventories?) Dynamic web sites are a somewhat more intricate and thus more costly to develop.

c) Testing: Although some testing will be taking place during the development stage, a rigorous system test needs to happen as well. The customer and developer should work together to perform final testing so there are no surprises.

d) Maintenance: Over time you will likely wish to change the site - add pictures, change content, etc. On-going maintenance could be simple or complex, depending on the magnitude and frequency of the desired changes.

2. How much does it cost to develop a site?
Development costs can vary greatly based up on the size and complexity of the site. The cost may be quoted to you, the customer, on a per hour basis (this cost varies, but do not expect less than the $/hr that you would pay for a mechanic or plumber in your area) or on a fixed price contract. Sometimes the cost is a combination; for example, the developer will do the design on a per hour basis and the development on a fixed price basis. Regardless of the pricing structure, note that the price will, of course be greater for larger sites, or for sites which have not been well-designed. Prices typically range from about $400 for a simple site where the customer has written much of the content, to thousands of dollars for larger sites. Large companies often spend tens of thousands of dollars for site development.

3. What is the best way for me to keep my development costs down?
As the customer, you actually have a lot of control over the costs. Here are some things you can do:

  a) Do most of your own conceptual design. You can decide upon your colors, type face, and layout. You can also write the content and take the pictures. Draw up your design on paper or on a computer program and discuss it with the developer. The more you are involved, the lower your costs will be and the more likely it is that you will be happy with the results.

  b) If you are getting a per hour charge, ask for a detailed assessment of how the time was spent. If you are not getting the results for the time spent, there is a problem. Cease work until you can find out why things are not proceeding smoothly.

  c) Ask for a detailed project plan with milestones and deliverables. Monitor the project plan to make sure things are progressing on time as promised. If not, cease work until you can find out what the problem is.

4. What will be my on-going costs?
You can hire a developer to do your maintenance (changing content, inventory, pictures, etc.) or you can do this yourself. If you hire someone, you will likely be charged a per hour fee. Note that above and beyond the cost for site maintenance, you will need to pay fees for your domain name and web host (see our FAQ regarding Web Hosting for more information).

5. What is a "data-driven" website?
A data-driven website means that the content for the website is pulled from a database. The database information and the pages are put together when the page is accessed. This technique is very useful for websites where the information changes often (i.e. daily or weekly).

6. After the site is developed, can I change it myself, or do I need to hire a specialist?
You certainly can change it yourself and this should save you some money. Even if you are not technical, you can write the new content and take the new pictures, then pass this to your developer. This alone will save you some cost.

If you are technical you should be able to change the programming of the site to make it behave as you would like. There are classes in basic web programming which can teach you how to do this. You may be able to have your web developer train you in how to do this (Critternut Services offers such one-on-one training, for example). If you take this approach, be sure you are committed to learning what you need to learn so you will do justice to your site.

7. What are the typical tools used for developing a site?
Different developers use different tools. Since the prevalent programming language for basic sites is HTML (hyper text markup language), most developers use tools that allow them to quickly program in HTML. Two popular tools as of this writing are Frontpage™ by Microsoft, and Dreamweaver™ by Macromedia. The cost of these packages is about $200 and up. Sophisticated sites may require more complex programming, which would be done in other programming languages such as JAVA, ASP, ColdFusion, Javascript, PHP, etc. Each language has certain strengths and lends itself to certain aspects for the site. Each language also requires programming expertise and (sometimes extensive) training. Programming with these languages requires an expert.

We will incorporate your logo/corporate colors into your website. One of the tools we use to determine the best color schemes for your website based on your colors is Color Wheel Pro - a program that allows you to create color schemes and preview them on real examples.

8. How do I make changes appear on the site?
Typically, one would make site changes first on a local computer where these changes can be thoroughly tested prior to making them available to the public. To take the changed pages or pictures (etc.) and put these on the web host, you will need to transfer the files to your web host. To make such a transfer, you will need to connect to your web host via the internet (the web host should be able to provide you instructions on how to do this. You will need the host address as well as a login and password that allow you to get to your live site). Once connected, the transfer of files is usually done with a file transfer (FTP) program. There are many high quality and FREE FTP programs available. Your web host can tell you where to go on the internet so you can download one for free.

9. What special considerations are there for an on-line store?
On-line store require quite a bit more work for set up. You need to be able to accept and authorize credit cards and this should be done on a secure server. Your products need descriptions, pictures and prices. You'll need to know how to handle shipping and taxation.