Frequently Asked Questions

Below are a some of the questions which we are regularly asked, if you have any questions of your own, or would like anything explained, please do not hesitate to contact us. If we can't take your call, please leave a message and we will call you back - that's another fresh approach!

How long does it take to register my website?

The actual process of registering your website only takes a few minutes - just check if your website name is available and follow the simple steps on screen to register it securely online using a credit or debit card.

Your website name will be visible to the whole world within 24 to 48 hours (usually much sooner). You can start using your chosen e-mail address, or addresses, at this point - even before your website is written!

What about e-mails?

There's a page which explains how to set up extra e-mail addresses. If you have any questions whilst setting up Outlook etc, just pick up the phone and we'll talk you through it. We also provide, as standard, Web Mail which enables you to log onto any computer with an internet connection so you can receive and send e-mails from anywhere in the world.

You can start using your new e-mail addresses as soon as your website name appears when you type it in to your web browser (within 48 hours of registration).

How do I know if people are looking at my website?

As part of our hosting packages, you are provided with access to an easy-to-use control panel which includes full visitor statistics for your website. We can talk you through how to use your website statistics to analyse the results of your marketing campaigns if required.

Once I have my website, can I change and update it myself?

Of course, it's your website! We are, naturally, happy to make ongoing changes for you, or you can make them yourself. You will be provided with full details to enable you to access your website.

I want my website to be Number One in Google

We believe in being open and honest with you and would advise you to be very cautious about companies which 'guarantee you top rankings' in the Search Engines. There are some good companies around, but, unfortunately, not all companies are as reliable. We will work with you and advise you on how to lay out your website to give you the best chance of being near the top of the listings - a lot depends on what terms you want to be found for. There are a number of ways that a website should be developed to aid this. Not all website developers will take the time to do this (or are even aware of it) - we provide the advice free and build your website to enable the Search Engines as well as your human audience to read it.

Google can take several months to even list your site - so you need it to be written in such a way that Google can use it when it does list it! Although we don't guarantee you any search engine positioning (we like to be honest) we will provide you with as much advice as we can - including the alternatives available.

I've forgotten my password, how do I find out what it was?

When your hosting package is first set up, you will be provided with a sheet of information which includes your password and all the settings you need to access your e-mails and upload files to your website.

If you forget these details, please contact us and we will provide you with them.

If you have changed your password and can't remember it, we can reset it for you.

How much does it cost to have a website?

This tends to be the main question on most people's mind, but really shouldn't be. Please don't just judge us on price – we're not the cheapest, but also not the most expensive. Personal, friendly, service; approachable people who take the time to ensure that you understand everything; reliable hosting so that your website is always available; and peace of mind count for a huge amount. We don't charge for that of course, but would ask that you think about it when comparing costs - a few pounds saved here can be a nightmare there!

All that said, we do believe in being open with you and keeping our pricing structure easy. We work with a lot of new and small businesses, so understand that you may want to keep your costs down. Unlike with a lot of other website companies, our fresh approach provides you with a simple pricing structure for developing a standard website: a design fee and a price per page. This enables you to work with us to a set budget, or you can calculate the investment if you have a design and content in mind already. For more complex, e.g. e-commerce sites, we would work out a specification with you and give you a full quotation before starting any work. The details of our prices can be found on our prices page.

For information on our prices, click here

I want to transfer my website or domain name from another company to Willow View Websites - what do I do?

If you have an existing website, we can transfer it to our server for you. We just need your current host's details.

If you prefer to manage the process yourself, you will need to change the DNS/Nameserver settings for your domain name to:

Primary name server: ns0.wvwdns.com (188.191.156.35)

Secondary name server: ns1.wvwdns.com (188.191.156.35)

For .co.uk and org.uk domain names, we suggest you change the IPS tag to PENGUIN as well so that we also deal with the renewal of the domain name for you.

I want to transfer my website or domain name from Willow View Websites to a different provider - what do I do?

Much as we dislike losing any customer, if you do need to transfer your hosting to another company, please contact us and we will change the DNS settings for you. We will need the primary and secondary name servers for the new hosting company. Please remember that you will always be welcome back!

What is the specification of the server my website will be hosted on?

Our dedicated server only hosts websites run by Willow View Websites and is managed by a team of dedicated engineers. Automated systems monitor the availability of our server, so the engineers are alerted immediately should a problem develop.

Based on the Ubuntu Linux operating system, our server supports scripting in over 20 languages and runs a comprehensive suite of software. We may also be able to install software especially for you - please ask us.