Website Design Frequently Asked Questions

+ Are the fees listed in AUD or NZD?

Fees are listed in AUD.

+ Do you refund if I need to cancel?

The amount paid at booking is non-refundable. If you cancel or reschedule the date you originally booked to start, it means I will be left with a space in my schedule that I may not be able to fill.

+ Can you help me write my website content?

I can't write it entirely, but I can definitely assist you to make the right edit. I advise my clients to write as much as they can and I will help you select the copy that will best communicate your message.

If you need someone to write your website copy, I have talented friends and colleagues I can refer you to who specialise in this area and will be able to provide you with a quotation. You are also welcome to source someone yourself.

+ I have a really short deadline. Can you design a site faster than six weeks?

Do you have your content and images ready to go? Are you wanting a simple site without an extensive amount of pages and features. Then the answer is...maybe! It depends entirely upon my current workload. The best thing to do is get in contact. A 5 page custom website can be done in as little as three weeks If you are ready with all your content and I have the time availability.

+ I have unique and special features I would like to add to my site. What will it cost?

The fee to build things like Membership Sections, Wānanga and Online Course Delivery, Dual Language Website and more, depends largely on the extent of the content you have to load and how you would like it organised. I can provide you with an estimate based on time x hourly rate. Give me a call to discuss an informal ball-park figure before we go into more detail.

+ Who maintains my site once it is launched?

At handover time, we book a 1.5 hour zoom to take you through how to manage your content yourself so that you can add blog posts, edit written content, add pictures to pages, upload music or video and more.

If you need any help after launch making changes or additions, or are ready for a design refresh, I am just an email or phone call away. I am always happy to help with simple advice or trouble-shooting over the phone or a by a quick email. More extensive site changes or additions will be invoiced at my hourly rate.

+ What is website hosting?

Website Hosting is the place where all the files of your website live. Website Hosts provide a service that holds all of your website data and makes it available on the world wide web for your visitors to access.

All websites must have website hosting.

+ Can I choose my own webhost?

I choose to build on the Squarespace Platform. Squarespace has integrated website hosting as part of its service. So if you want to design your site with me at Manawa Design, then Squarespace will provide the hosting for your website.

A bit more info...Website Hosting can sometimes be a tricky proposition. What at first might seem like a cheap service, actually turns out not to be great value. For that reason, I consider Squarespace's integrated website hosting to be a huge bonus of the platform. You don't need to worry about bandwidth, usage hours or storage limitations. And unlike some services that might drop out on occassion, in the more than ten years Ive built websites, Squarespace is incredibly reliable and very rarely has down-time.

+ Do you buy web hosting for me?

Just before we launch your website, we will walk through the hosting subscription process together. I will show you where to go on your website to input your credit card details to subscribe to your hosting plan. It is your responsiblity to manage your website plan, ensuring that you have enough funds in your account if paying your subscription monthly, or alternatively, once annually. Squarespace takes payment automatically. You can cancel your hosting subscription at any time, however your website will no longer be visible to the public after cancellation.

+ What is a domain name? How do I get one?

A domain name is the address for your website. Manawa Designs domain name is manawadesign.com. When you choose a domain name, try to make it the same as your business name. Try not to make your domain name too long. For example, if you have a childrens clothing business and the business name is Pīwari Clothing, then Piwari.co.nz, Piwariclothing.co.nz (or .com) are both good options for domain names. Piwariclothingforkids.co.nz is too long. Piwarikidz.co.nz would be confusing for your visitors to find unless you also call your business Piwari Kidz.

Once you have chosen a domain name you need to make sure it is available and not taken by another business. Go to GoDaddy (GoDaddy NZ)or (GoDaddy AU) and use the search bar to check if your chosen domain name is availble.

If it is available, purchase it. GoDaddy is a reliable domain name provider. Make sure you keep the records GoDaddy sends you to log in to your domain name console as we will need these later to link your domain name (address) to your website.

+ How can I get a business email?

If you have never had a business email address, I can show you how to sign up for one through Google Workspace via your Squarespace account. You can see the New Zealand rates by clicking here. You can see the Australian rates by clicking here. I find the business starter plan meets the needs of my clients.

If your email account requires MX records added to the domain console (thats a bit technical sounding I know but basically means, if I have to do more than just facilitate the purchase of your domain name through Google Workspace) I will let you know that this is the case and will invoice at my hourly rate for this.

If you're wanting to route the business email account we set up on Google Workspace through an email manager like Outlook Express, I cannot assist with this. Your local IT service should be able to help you with this.

+ Who manages my Website Hosting/ Domain Name Registration/ Email Subscription?

These are all services that you will be responsible for maintaining. If, for example, you don't resubscribe when your domain name registration is due for renewal, the domain name will eventually be up for resale and you may lose ownership of the name. Manawa Design bears no responsibility for loss of service of website hosting, domain name registration or business email account.

+ Help! A previous developer/employee purchased my domain name and we've lost touch. How do I find out the login details?

Unfortunately this can a tricky and drawn out process. The first step is to establish who registered the domain and see if you can get in contact with them by email or phone to recover the login and password. At the same time, check the company the domain is registered with. You can do this by going to WhoIs Ip Lookup and doing a search of the domain name.

If the person who registered the domain is not responding, then get in contact with the registering company. You may have been listed as a contact or delegate attached to the domain name in which case, the registrant may be able to send you a recovery password email. If you are not listed as a contact but you can show proof that your credit card purchased the domain name, you may also be granted access this way. If you are neither a contact or can show proof that you purchased the domain and there is no chance the person who purchased the domain for you will respond to you, then you're out of luck and will need to buy a new domain name.

+ Do I need to have my website copy ready to go before we start?

In an ideal world, yes. We usually book you in 2 to 3 weeks in advance of your start date. If you can have your website copy prepared by then, great! However it will be sufficient to have at least your home page content prepared. You will have a further 10 days from the start date to finalise the remainder of your content. I will supply you with a content prompt workbook that will guide you through how to compile your website copy and content.