Frequently Asked Questions
Below are some questions we receive on a regular basis. If you have a question that isn't answered here, feel free to fill out the form to the right, or you may contact us by other means.
- How long will it take to build a website for my agency?
Once we have all the information we need for the website, it will likely take four to six weeks to build the complete website. Depending on our current workload, we may be able to complete the website in less time than that.
- Will your name appear on my website?
No, we do not place our name anywhere on your website. We strive to make each agency website appear as though it was built and is hosted by the agency itself. Our name does not even appear anywhere in the website's source code.
We believe that your website is your website. You wouldn't allow your printer's name on your business cards, so why should you allow your web designer's name on your website?
- Where will my website be hosted?
We use a large and trusted hosting provider. Our servers are located in St. Louis, Missouri, and in Dallas, Texas.
We also run automated nightly backups of all website-related data on the servers and transfer the backups to an offsite location operated by a separate company. In short, if our hosting provider suffers a catastrophic loss (due to fire, natural disaster, etc.), your website will not be lost.
- Do you offer SEO services?All our websites are built with search engine optimization in mind. We've architected our websites to maximize SEO opportunities with or without targeted marketing campaign efforts. Having strong page titles, meta tags, and relevant, fresh content contribute to your placement in search rankings - all which are easily handled by the Lightrail Platform. If you'd like to invest in additional SEO efforts, we can work directly with your specific vendors.
- How long is the website hosting commitment?
One year.
- Do you offer logo design services?
We contract with a few designers directly and also have had success in running logo design contests. We can coordinate a contest for you so that all you have to do is tell us "yes" or "no" on several designs after we weed out the bad ones. Running a contest with an adequate prize amount usually yields over 100 different logos to choose from.
- How will you protect my customer information?
We use SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) to protect all customer information that travels between a user's browser and your website. When a user submits information to your website, we notify you by e-mail, but we don't include any sensitive information in the e-mail. In order to view all submitted information, you must log in to the Lightrail Toolkit, which also uses SSL.
Keep in mind that the only information that will be in our system is information that users submit to your website. We will not have access to your e-mail or to any of your customer records.
- How often can I update my website?
As often as you like. Keeping your website's content fresh is a good way to encourage people to come back to it on an ongoing basis. You can update the content yourself using our intuitive content management system (CMS), or you can just let us know what needs to be updated, and we can take care if it for you. Your monthly hosting includes time for us to update your website.
- Can I update my website myself?
Of course! The Lightrail Platform has an intuitive interface to help you update your website. In a matter of minutes you can publish new content, keeping your website up-to-date and relevant.
- Can I host my website after you build it?
Regretfully, no. The websites we build utilize numerous features of our software platform, Lightrail. The websites are "active," meaning they consist of more than just static (unchanging) files. As such, running the website requires a front-end web server, a cluster of application servers, and a database server, among other things.
- Do you offer technical support for my e-mail?
We only offer support on the products and services we provide, including the websites we build and host and the Lightrail Toolkit.
We cannot offer support for your e-mail, office computers, or other products and services from other companies.
- Do you provide e-mail hosting?
No, but we can recommend a company that does.