Help and Frequently Asked Questions

Most of the links below will take you to the answer within this page. Links marked with an asterisk (*) will take you to another page on our site.

1. Why am I seeing a bunch of code instead of my web site pages? (Browser displays HTML code instead of web page.)
2. Where can I find my web design proof?
3. Why should High Desert Web host my site, instead of just design and/or maintain it?
4. Why should I pay you to do my web site if I can build one myself?
5. I already have a hosting account elsewhere, Can High Desert Web still design my web site?
6. What makes High Desert Web my best option for web design services?
7. What is involved in planning and building my web site?*
8. Now that I have a web site, how do I promote it? How do I get people to visit my web site?
9. Can you guarantee my placement in search engines? Can you guarantee that search engines will list my web site?
10. How often do I need to update my web site?
11. If I already have a domain name, Can I still host it at High Desert Web?
12. Is the basic 50MB hosting package enough for my site?
13. Why do I need to have an "About Us" page on my site?
14. Should I post a photo of me or my staff on my site?
15. Do you support MySQL and PHP?
16. Can I use CGI and Perl scripts?
17. Do you support Frontpage extensions?
18. Can I run ASP scripts? Can I use ColdFusion?
19. How secure are my files?
20. Do you support Server-Side Includes (SSI)?
21. Can I have a "members only" or "password protected" section on my web site?
22. Can I have my own Top Level Domain (i.e. a .com address)?
23. Where can I get information on my site's statistics and hits?
24. How do I access my Horde Webmail account?
25. How do upload files via FTP to my server?*
26. How do I clear my Browser Cache?*
27. Instructions for setting up your e-mail on Thunderbird mail client.*
28. Additional resources*

Why am I seeing a bunch of code instead of my web site pages? (Browser displays HTML code instead of web page.)

It's a problem with the way browsers store pages in the cache or history, though it sometimes happens on pages that you've never visited before. If you run into this problem, clear your browser's cache (also called temporary files) and history, and refresh the page. For instructions on clearing the cache, please refer to this help page.

Where can I find my web design proof?

Please visit MyNewWebDesign.com to view your web site's proof.

Why should High Desert Web host my site, as well as design and maintain it?

One of the things that sets High Desert Web apart from all the other web hosting and design companies is that we do everything ourselves. We run our own firewall hardened Linux servers that provide inexpensive, reliable and highly secure web site hosting, and we do it all in one location.

Our designers work closely with our staff of IT professionals to make sure that what we create runs seamlessly with the software and servers that host it.

Problems are detected quickly and fixed right away because everyone is on the same page from the very beginning. We know that you can have your site designed by one company and hosted by another, but we don’t think that you should have to. As our motto says... We design it, we host it, we maintain it... You RELAX!

Why should I pay you to do my web site if I can build one myself?

Whether you hire someone to do your site or you build it it yourself really depends on your site requirements, your budget, your skill level, and, perhaps most importantly, whether you have the time. Having a web site takes more than just putting it together and getting it online. A successful web site requires a lot of planning, not only in its architecture and organization, but also in its design, layout, accessibility and cross-browser compatibility. Many features, such as shopping carts, secure servers, and complicated scripts require extra time and knowledge to implement. In short, the results of hiring a professional webmaster are well worth the expense.

I already have a hosting account elsewhere, Can High Desert Web still design my web site?

Absolutely. However, sites we develop cannot be modified using Frontpage. Also, if you plan on updating the web site yourself, we recommend installing a content management system. Contact us for details.

What makes High Desert Web my best option for web design services?

In our years of surfing the web and developing web sites, we have noticed a disturbing trend in web design. It seems many designers forget the most important element of any successful web site—the user experience. Many designers focus their efforts in making sites that are impressively beautiful, but may be too difficult to navigate or even understand. The most important question you want your site to answer for a new user is “What is this site about?” Your users want to know what your site can do for them. They may end up at your site knowing exactly what they’re looking for, be it a product or just information, or they may have just stumbled upon your site. In any case, you want to be clear and quick in letting your web site users know what they can expect from your site.

In a nutshell, at High Desert Web we don’t just make good-looking web sites; we make them functional, efficient, intuitive, and user-friendly. And that makes us your best option.

Now that I have a web site, how do I promote it? How do I get people to visit my web site?

Marketing your web site is an essential step to making sure that the time and money you've invested in it pay off. Advertising your online presence begins offline. Placing ads in television, radio and printed media is an effective way to drive traffic to your web site. Make sure to prominently display your URL (domain name) on all your stationery, business cards, brochures, and other printed materials you may produce for your business or organization. If you run a radio ad, make sure your domain name is mentioned at least twice. If your domain name has any hyphens or non-traditional spelling of words, it should be spelled out. For example, Big-Dawg-Cars.com and BigDogCars.com sound the same but may lead to very different web sites.

American Express' Small Business Resources contains many excellent articles on promotion, marketing, increasing comsumer confidence, and doing business online.

Can you guarantee my placement in search engines? Can you guarantee that search engines will list my web site?

There are no guarantees in search engine marketing and web site promotion. High Desert Web’s designers will do everything possible to make your web site search-engine friendly. However, there is no sure-fire way to guarantee placement in search engines.

Many search engines allow site owners to purchase better placement through targeted ads, but even pay-per-click advertising cannot guarantee your position. Beware of companies offering guaranteed placement. Quite often, these companies use tricks that seem to work great for your site...for a few weeks. Once the search engines catch on to these tricks, they may completely remove your site from their results—exactly the opposite of what you’re trying to accomplish!

Search engines rank results based on relevancy and quality of content within the web site. The page that will rank the best in the search engines is also the page that will make the most sense to the human visitor. Take some time to develop the content of your pages; make the contetn relevant, thorough and keep it fresh. This will not only help attract new visitors, it will also keep them coming back.

How often do I need to update my web site?

Keeping your content fresh is crucial in maintaining high search engine rankings and keeping your visitors coming back. This doesn't mean you have to revamp every page of your web site every month. The most important sections of your site to keep updated are the home page and news page (if your site has one). For example, you can devote a section of your home page to shine the spotlight on a product or service once a month. You also can have a news section (as a section of the home page or as a separate page) with articles relevant to your product, organization or the subjects it deals with.

Whether you maintain your own site or have one of our web developers do it, you really want to set yourself a schedule for updates. A good way to remind yourself to check your site frequently is to make it the default page of your browser (if you use Mozilla Firefox you can have multiple home pages). You can set this up in the Preferences, Options, or Tools menu of your browser.

High Desert Web can help you automate the maintenance process by integrating a content management system (CMS) in your web site. Contact us for details.

If I already have a domain name (like mywebsite.com), can I still host it at High Desert Web?

Absolutely, it's just a matter of changing the Nameservers. If you don't know how to do this or don't want to deal with it, we'll gladly do it for you. Contact us for details.

Is the basic 50MB hosting package enough for my site?

The answer is more often than not, yes. Most web sites use substantially less space, with the overflow used as e-mail and file storage. However, if your web site uses many media files (such as music, video, or animations), or has an abnormally high amount of visitors; you may need to purchase more space. Drive space is available in 10MB increments for an additional $10 per year.

Why do I need to have an "About Us" page on my site?

The answers is just two words: trust and credibility. Before a user is willing to spend their time and risk their money and personal data on your web site, they will want to be certain that they can trust you. The "About Us" page lets your user know who you are, how long you've been in business, why you are in business, and why they would want to do business with you. It helps establish the kind of trust you get from dealing with a person face to face.

"Representing a company or organization on the Internet is one of a web site's most important jobs. Trust and credibility are major issues on the web, where even the biggest company exists only as a few words and pictures inside a browser window.^"1

1. Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox, October 27, 2003

Should I post a photo of me or my staff on my site?

While not absolutely necessary, it's not a bad idea to have a photo of you and/or your staff posted on your site. The reason is that the web is a very depersonalized method of interaction with your users or customers. The more ways you have to connect with them, the more positive their experience with your site and your company or organization will be. Simply, people like to know who they are doing business with.

Do you support MySQL and PHP?

Yes, we support MySQL and PHP.

Can I use CGI and Perl scripts?

Yes, we support these types of scripts. Your CGI directory is located under your home directory in a directory called "cgi-bin."

Do you support Frontpage extensions?

We do not support Frontpage extensions for several reasons. The primary of which is Frontpage extensions create security holes that are incredibly difficult to completely lock down. Also, Frontpage extensions are not web standards and are only useable by Microsoft software which not all of our customers run.

Can I run ASP scripts? Can I use ColdFusion?

Due to security reasons, we do not allow these types of applications and scripts to be run on our servers.

How secure are my files?

Security is one of our top priorities and we have never had a problem with people hacking into our servers. If you need your site to be secure for such things as credit card transactions, you will need to establish a special secure account. Contact us for details.

Do you support Server-Side Includes (SSI)?

Yes, Server-Side Includes (SSI) are supported by our server. Customers who wish to utilize them will need to inform us so that we can activate them for their site.

Can I have a "members only" or "password protected" section on my web site?

Yes, once you have created an account, we can set you up with a password protected directory. Contact us for details.

Can I have my own Top Level Domain (like a .com address)?

Yes. High Desert Web will register or transfer and setup as many domain names as you like, including .com, .net, .org, .us, .ws, .info, .us, .name, .tv, and .biz. Cost of registrations depends on the type of top level domain you want, please contact us for more details.

Where can I get information on my site's statistics and hits?

Web sites hosted with us use the Webalizer Usage Tracking system. Visit the Webalizer Quick Help page at http://www.mrunix.net/webalizer/webalizer_help.html to get help reading your site's logs, and for a list of definitions.

Upon request, we will also add a free SiteMeter counter to your site. Not only does SiteMeter display the number of visitors to your web site, it also keeps statistics on the number of visits each hour and each day.

How do I access my Horde Webmail?

Go to https://mail.highdesertweb.com and log on using the username and password provided with your account. Download our Guide to Horde Webmail (PDF, 5pgs, 311 KB) for detailed instructions to using Horde Webmail.

Horde Webmail is web based e-mail and it allows you to check your e-mail from any computer in the world that has internet access. With WebMail you don't even need to set up your e-mail account on an application like Eudora, Outlook Express, or Netscape Communicator; you can do it all through Webmail.

Note: Webmail is only available for accounts with mailboxes on our server.