Website Design by Rainbo Design

Frequently Asked Questions
This information should help answer many of the questions about
Rainbo Design's professional website design services that
will occur to you immediately, but please don't hesitate to contact me for additional
information. And while this section does focus on our hometown of Pacifica, California,
the information applies to every community.
Who is Rainbo Rick?
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Rainbo Rick is me, Richard Trethewey. I've
been working with computers since high school back in (gulp!) 1969. I've written
many articles for computer magazines. I published a computer users' newsletter for
a few years, I ran two Special Interest Group bulletin boards on CompuServe from
1981 to 1988, and I've done some freelance programming. With my partner Maggie
Ramirez, we've been publishing Rainbo Electronic Reviews, an online book and
software review column, since 1982 - first on CompuServe, then on Genie (another
similar service), and now on the Internet at
www.rainboreviews.com. |
Since 1987, Maggie and I have also been selling
collectibles. Our business, Rainbo Animation Art,
sells animation-related collectibles and we have been selling online since the day we
opened. We've had our own web site since 1996. The name "Rainbo Rick" is a nickname
that comes from our common business names you've already seen. I know
its a little too cute, but one day I had to come up with a new screen
name for myself for an account on America Online and this combination
popped into my head. I never intended for it to be used in public.
Later, when I was developing some software for eBay® users, I found I was
constantly referring to that user name, "rainborick",
when I was writing the instruction manual, so I finally just adopted it. |
Return to Frequently Asked Questions.
See what we have up for auction on eBay® right now.
We Don't Sell By Mail, do I really need a web site?
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Now that high speed Internet service is finally available in most of the US, your customers will be more likely to check the Internet for information than ever before. A web site can be a useful tool for any business - even companies that
don't sell by mail order. Well over 80% of all households in the United States
now have a personal computer. The numbers are
bound to increase as prices fall and online services expand. And it's
not just students and young males that are online. A recent survey
showed that women use the Internet in roughly equal numbers to men now,
and nearly 30% of Internet users are over 50 years old. Consumers are
flocking to the Internet for many reasons. They're often turning to the
Internet now for answers that they used to look for in the local
newspaper or Yellow Pages because its faster, easier, and more
convenient. By visiting a web site they avoid being put on hold or having
to wade through Voice Mail Hell when all they want is a quick answer to
a simple question. We see a web site as a multi-purpose marketing
tool. A single click on your listing on Google or other search engine will let your neighbors
easily find answers to those common questions that a simple listing in a
telephone directory or newspaper ad don't include. And with a web site you can compliment
that information with an attractive display of your company's products
and services using full-color photographs. Think of how much more likely they are to actually visit
your store or make an appointment for your services if they already find
that you offer the product or service they've been looking for and
you're a neighbor as well. |
For about the price of a single display ad in a local weekly, having a
web site for your business means you can essentially publish a multi-page
full-color brochure for your business delivered at no charge to every
Internet-connected household that wants a copy. For most service-oriented
businesses, a simple one or two-page site can tell your whole story and
provide all of the information and incentives your customers need to get them to make
that critical first phone call, visit, or EMail. And if you do sell merchandise, an
e-Commerce cyber-shop is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, selling for
you to customers both here in Pacifica and literally around the world. Our collectibles
business routinely ships orders to customers all over Europe,
Asia, Canada, Mexico, and South America as well as all 50 states and the possesions. A web site can answer your customers' questions like:
What are your business hours? |
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How will my customers find my web site?
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There are several ways to let people know you have a web site. Being
listed in an online directory focusing on your neighborhood will certainly be a good first step to let
local customers find you. But the best way is to include your web site
address (the "www.something.com", etc.) in all of your
advertising materials and on your business cards. This takes advantage
of your knowledge of the best ways of reaching your customers. And once
people become aware that you have a web site, there are services online
they can use to find it again if they forget the site address. These are
called "Search Engines." The most popular ones are Google, Yahoo!, and MSN Live
Search. "Search Engine" is the technical name for online
services that let people find information on the Internet. |
For more information about search engines, see my
Search Engine Optimization Services page. |
Return to Frequently Asked Questions.
How can there be no monthly fee for a web site?
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There are several companies that will let you create a simple web site free of charge, usually in exchange for allowing them to put small advertisements on your main webpage. |
A web site with E-commerce online ordering capabilities requires using a full-service
hosting company with monthly fees and modest start-up fees. But many small
businesses will never want or need to be able to take orders online. All they need is
a simple site that lets customers know who they are, their address and
telephone number, and what goods or services they offer. For these
businesses our Basic and Advanced web sites is a perfectly sensible choice. |
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What if I need to change parts of my web site?
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The time may well come that you need to update or expand your web site.
A change of address or telephone number is a common reason. I naturally
hope that the site I design for you is so successful that you are
inspired to expand and enhance it over time. If you have
your own computer, you can update the site yourself or hire someone to
do it for you. After I've designed your web site, I give you all of the
account names and passwords required to control and update your site. In
other words, you get the keys to all of the locks. Everything will be in
your name. You own it all and nothing will be held back. |
I charge $50.00 per hour for Website Design services, with a
half-hour minimum. Mailing address or telephone number changes can be
handled easily within the minimum charge. Additional fees may apply if
you expand your site to add more pages, photographs, or eCommerce capabilities
that require an upgrade of the hosting service. |
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How can I have a web site if I don't have a computer?
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Even if you don't have a computer (or if you're just learning
how to use one), we can make a web site for you that will let potential customers
know who you are, and how to contact you by telephone, FAX, or even by mail. Many
people are still far more comfortable doing business by direct contact rather than
by computer, and since we can create and maintain your web site for you, not having
a computer of your own isn't absolutely necessary. And speaking of doing business on a personal basis, a web site
is also a wonderful way to showcase your personal credentials, your business and
your merchandise. Its a powerful way to let customers learn something about you,
your special skills and areas of expertise, and what lines of merchandise you
carry - all while letting them browse through your best items in full-color photographs. |
A web site is like sending a full-color multi-page catalog to
people all over the world with no postage costs and practically no printing
costs. Naturally, we recommend that you do get a computer if you don't have one
yet because they can do so much to expand your business and will let take full advantage of
your web site, but it isn't an absolute requirement until and unless your needs
grow beyond our simplest sites to a full e-commerce website. |
Return to Frequently Asked Questions.
What about the online auctions?
|
Hardly a week goes by that the television or newspaper
doesn't have a story about the online auction sites like eBay®. No doubt about
it, auctions are the hottest area of the Internet for electronic devices, collectibles
and other products. Almost half of our business comes from eBay® now. It's a
lot of work and the competition is fierce, so we use the auctions to expand our
regular business by attatching an advertisement for our web site to every item we
sell through an auction. |
We also do promotional mailings by EMail to get repeat business
from our past customers. I'm not talking about so-called "SPAM" EMail. We
ask people to sign up for these mailings so we don't annoy our customers who don't
want to receive our advertising EMails. I have tools that will help you sell through
the online auctions and take full advantage of other opportunites for even more sales
using the Internet. |
Return to Frequently Asked Questions.
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OK, I'm sold. How do I get started? To order my services online, visit our Website Design Services Ordering page. You can also call me at 612-408-4057 from 9AM to 5PM Central time Then I'll send you a list of information I need from you about your company, and we'll get started building a web site for you right away! |
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Thursday, 15-May-2008 06:12:27 MST