Frequently Asked Questions


How does Creative Zoom Designs work?

Signing up for the Creative Zoom Design service couldn't be simpler. Just fill in the enquiry form and we will call you back.

During the call we will agree with you:

You will then receive a welcome pack from Creative Zoom Design. In this pack you will find a confirmation letter detailing your package choice, a layout page for each section of your website and our full terms and conditions.

If we register a website address for you it can take up to 48 hours to become active. After that period the holding page will be accessible. If you have purchased your own domain name we will supply details of how to repoint it to your holding page.

Please fill in your content instructions for each page and return in the supplied envelope along with your content. The sooner you return the completed pack to us the sooner we can build your site. Remember: you must supply all content (words and images) for your site.

We will confirm receipt of your returned pack before placing it in a job queue. We endeavour to begin building sites within 10 working days, but this estimate is subject to change.

Once a designer has built the site you will be sent a test website address where you can view the site online. At this stage you are allowed two sets of minor amendments. If you are happy with the site, we require your authorisation to make the site live.

Once the site goes online we will submit the website address to search engines.

Please note:

What is email forwarding?

Email forwarding uses the website address to present a more professional-looking email address on your website without you having to pay for an extra email account. Email is sent on to an account provided by your ISP or a free web-based account (i.e. Hotmail). For instance, if you choose the address www.creativezoomdesigns.co.uk we could display on your site "info@creativezoomdesigns.co.uk." Mail sent to that address would then be forwarded on to your own personal email account. However, if you reply to that email, the address the customer will see on the reply will be that of your own personal account. If you require a "proper" email address (known as a "POP3" address) alongside your domain name, you will have to register your website address yourself as Creative Zoom Designs cannot provide POP3 accounts. We can refer you to a reputable provider if necessary.

Do you write my content and take photos?

We have a very small team of web designers and so unfortunately we are unable to do this. As the operator of your business you will have all the knowledge to say as much, or as little, as you want to attract customers. If you are unsure of what to say on your site we can suggest areas you might want to cover. You must also ensure that you have the right to use any images you supply for your site.

Due to company law changes that took effect on 1 January 2007

All websites, emails and order forms must contain the following company information:

Company websites should also contain an email address for contact purposes.

Ecommerce website need to include terms and conditions as well as a returns policy.

What are the search engines you submit to?

The search engines we submit to monthly are Google, (Google also powers AOL, part of Lycos and Alta Vista and Netscape search) Yahoo, Exactseek, MSN, Inktomi, Jayde and a handful of foreign search engines.

My site went live last week. Why am I not appearing on search engines?

These submissions in no way guarantee you will appear on the first page of the search engines, or even at all. Search engine companies are third party companies and we can't legislate for the way every engine lists your website. The spidering of your site can take up to three months for it to appear on search engines after the site has gone live. It is also worth noting that large companies have huge budgets for online marketing and search engine positioning.

But I pay you a monthly fee. Shouldn't you be making sure I appear on the search engines?

It is your responsibility to market your website. The monthly fee pays for the submission using our submission software, the online statistics, and administered space on our server, plus bandwidth and technical support. It in no way includes the marketing of your website.

Think of a website like an interactive leaflet. If you leave that leaflet on your desk at home, it isn't going to generate you very much business. Just because your website is sitting on the web doesn't mean people will automatically be able to find your service or product. For example, say you sell cars in Reading. If you type cars and Reading into www.google.co.uk (searching only in the UK) you get 600,000 + results. You could be listed there somewhere but your customers aren't going to scroll through pages of links just to find you.

It's three months since my site went live. Is there anything else I can do?

We recommend that if you're not getting the results you want from the search engines, you perhaps think about buying some form of marketing package. It is also impossible to optimise your site for every single search engine so we recommend you concentrate on one. Google, MSN and Yahoo are the most popular and each site's results are fed to other smaller search engines too. Check out these links for more details:

There are also other things you can do to tweak your site. Animated and graphical splash pages may look very nice but are a bad idea if these don't contain text, as search engines spider the text on your home page. It is also a good idea to have your company name, service and/or products listed on the home page, and in the title of the page. The more times they appear the better.

It's worth taking time over the text on your home page, as well as the keywords, title and company description. Try doing a search on Google for your product or service and have a look at the words which are bringing up the most popular sites again and again. What would you type into a search engine if you were looking for your product or service? Remember you are the best expert on your business.

Reciprocal links are also very good for search engines. If a lot of other sites are linking to you, search engines have more of an opportunity to spider your site and can also see that your site is still current. There are numerous online business directories, both local and national, that will list your name, contact details and link to your website free of charge. Having these links to your site can help improve your position on some search websites.

Make sure your website address appears EVERYWHERE, on your stationery, on your van, on the front of your shop, on your courtesy slips and on in print advertising.