Do IT Yourself!

If you are comfortable with using a browser you may wish to create your web site yourself.
Don't worry - if anything goes wrong we will help you out within the base fee of $195.
And, if after creating your site, you decide not to keep it we will just abandon it and not charge you!
You will be invoiced and you should pay within 14 days or we will take your site down.

Before You Start

There is no substitute to thinking about what you are going to do before you do it!
Web sites are visual - what "look" do you want?
A family site will want to "look" private or friendly.
A site for a professional adviser might need to look conservative and very "precise".
A small business site may choose to look "bright" and "zany" for young audiences or careful with beautiful graphics for an older audience.
Start by staying with the rule - Keep the graphics really really simple!

Your Site Banner Name
Decide on your name - a Trading or Brand Name or the company name (Will you spell Limited in the form Ltd?)
For a personal name are you going to show your middle name or will you use a nickname?

Short Form
In many places a short form of your name will be useful - it is ok if it looks like a code - it should be not more than 8 characters and will always be displayed in upper case.

Your By-Line
You need a line which conveys something about your business or yourself - it sets the tone!
It should be something that your friends will remember about you.
So for AboutIT we chose "Ready Set Go!" because our attitude was to do things quickly and simply and to Win! - and we hope our clients will feel the same.

Your Bottom Line
At the bottom of every page you need a line to convey your substance - to prove that you really exist in bricks and not just on a web site.
It is usual to include your physical address (but not if your children will use your site).
Also include a name (either a person or a company) and a phone number. We will add the copyright symbol.

Your Email Address
Include your email address if you have one.
If you don't we will create one for you. Avoid punctuation. Use your first name, first name and initial of surname, first name initial and surname or both names joined with no punctuation.
Remember the cocktail test - if your told someone your address at a loud social affair would they remember it in the morning - keep it simple!
Businesses - it is common practice to have some generic email addresses - CEO, Sales, Info, Buyer, Support, etc - for example CEO@AboutIT.co.nz.

About Us
This section should always be present and should briefly describe you and your company. Make every attempt to show you are real, really exist, are reliable, trustworthy, honest and will make a good partner or friend.
Include all your physical addresses, phone numbers, fax number, email address, etc. They all make you seem more real and substantial.

Graphic Images
Keep your images simple and consistent with your "look".
Consider getting your web site up with simple graphics and then working on more graphics.
We can help you with your graphics.
Really good graphics often require a good creative artist - good and more expensive - so contact us.
We will scan your existing letterhead or bromides if you already have these.
Be aware that not all letterheads look good on a screen. Some do not readily re-size (in proportion).

Photographs
Photographs can be placed on your site - but photographs take too long to download - and should not usually be used on your homepage unless they are "thumbnails".
However we can take some photographs and allow you to position them.
Photographs can be presented as "thumbnails" (small images) which expand to full-size photographs when they are clicked on.

Site Policies
Please read our Site Policies.
We reserve the right to block or remove anything we consider pornographic or which contains offensive language or unreasonably criticises individuals in a way which may give rise to legal actions for defamation or libel. Remember that on a web site you are publishing the content.
Your guidelines are simple - would a newspaper publish your words?
We accept no liability for screening your content. In particular we are not responsible for the adequacy of any screening process.

Need more help?
If you need more help please use Contact Us to email your questions.
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Tested under MS IE 5.0 and later.

Proceed to My Website to create your site.