web faq's

web faq's

What is website hosting?

Web hosting is a type of Internet hosting service that allows individuals and organisations to provide their own website accessible via the World Wide Web.

Web hosts are companies that provide space on a server they own for use by their clients as well as providing Internet connectivity, typically in a data centre.

What is a Domain name?

A domain name is essentially a signpost on the Internet.

People register domain names in order to 'stake a claim' to a particular name - whether for business or personal reasons. Once you register a domain name, it is entirely yours, no other party may use that identity online as long as you continue to pay the yearly renewal fee and abide by the terms of use.

What is a Content Management System (CMS)?

A system used to organise and facilitate digital content.

A content management system (CMS) supports the creation, management, distribution, publishing, and discovery of information.

It covers the complete life cycle of the pages on your site, from providing simple tools to create the content, through to publishing, and finally to archiving.

It also provides the ability to manage the structure of the site, the appearance of the published pages, and the navigation provided to the users.

What is Flash?

Flash is a vector animation software, originally designed to create animations for display on web pages. Vector graphics are ideal for the web because they are so lightweight.

Over the releases of new versions of Flash, it has become more and more controllable via programming, where it is positioned as a competitor to HTML to build interactive web sites and applications.

What is HTML?

(HyperText Markup Language) A mark-up language designed for the creation of web pages with hypertext and other information to be displayed in a web browser.

Allowing connections from one document or Internet page to numerous others. HTML is the primary language used to create pages on the World Wide Web.

When should I use Flash?

We like to use Flash when it is best suited to the task at hand and more often than not, partnered with good quality HTML content.

Flash may be a good solution because of the following reasons:

  • Flash movies load fast and save on download time if the content to be displayed is graphics rich.
  • Flash allows access to high levels of animation and can add impact to branding and promotional activities on your website.
  • Flash can give the user (the person viewing/using the Flash movie) a more responsive 'rich' experience.
  • Flash can be a great way of presenting multiple images in one space, in a slide show format which allows images to load seamlessly in the background and be presented with slick transitions.

There are some drawbacks to Flash and they are sometimes a more important consideration than the positive aspects.

Search engines can not 'see' Flash, they cannot read the content within Flash files and they will not index your Flash only website (your site won't be listed in search results.)

This may sound like the end of the road for Flash - your business 'must' rate a mention on Google these days if it is to exist on the web.

Flash usage needs to be stratigic and measured. A good balance of HTML (text based) content that the search engines can read (as well as your visitors) and using Flash when and if some wow factor is required.

We can advise you on maintaining this balance and leveraging the best technology to provide the ideal solution.