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Frequently Asked Questions
Website Development
Managed Hosting
Domain Names
Website Development
I need a website. How do I get started?
The first step should be securing your domain name. Obviously, you will need to build your site and select a web hosting provider. While much of this you can accomplish yourself, there are many advantages of working with professionals who can help make sure the job gets done properly, within budget and on time. Novo Ops can assist you with all phases of your site development, from selecting the perfect name to completing the site and publishing it online.
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Do you charge per page pricing for website development?
No. While it is a common practice by many to set the pricing for website development on a per page cost, we do not believe in this practice. The pricing for your website should be based on the work required to complete the project, and not on an arbitrary page count. While the total amount of content for the site will always be a factor in the cost of the development, you should not have to worry that adding an additional page will translate into additional charges.
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Can I make changes to my site once it is completed?
Yes. In fact, we believe that is a very important component of a good web design. All sites we build are planned with upgrades and modifications in mind. While the component files for your site are always available for you to edit, we typically build dynamically driven sites avoiding the need to replicate common elements of your site and simplifying any future site development and changes. For more frequently updated sites we offer content management systems which can make it easy to manage all the components of your site.
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What the difference between custom website development and template built websites?
While a template built website might be appealing for its low cost and potentially quick implementation time, it is significantly different from a custom built site. With a custom built website you get a unique design built specifically for the needs of your business. When using a prebuilt website template, you are likely not the only one using that design, with potentially many others using it; you are often limited in the amount of customization you can do; the resulting site is often not built to be search engine friendly, limiting your success with search engines; you often lack the adaptability and scalability you get with a custom site; and you often encounter coding practices which may make the site not work well in all browsers. In addition, with custom development, you often get a site which is much easier to maintain and update. Custom website development is often a better choice if you want your business to stand out from the crowd and you need a memorable site
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Managed Hosting
I already bought a domain name. Why do I need hosting?
Registering a domain name establishes your right to use that domain name for your website, email and other Internet related services. However, once the name is registered it must be directed to servers which will handle requests for the domain 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, 365 days per year. A hosting provider handles these services. Their servers will handle tasks such as holding and publishing the pages for your website, and the receiving and temporary storage of your incoming email messages.
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Can I just host my website on my own server?
This is usually not a good idea. A webserver needs to have continuous, high-speed connectivity to the Internet, uninterrupted and redundant operational capability, and be fully secured against hackers and intruders. The configuration, security, monitoring and ongoing maintenance of a webserver is task that most people cannot devote the resources it, and is best left to a professional web hosting provider. With the availability of many competitively priced hosting providers and plans, there's virtually no advantage to hosting your own site.
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Do you offer hosting with unlimited disk space? Unlimited bandwidth?
No, but not all hosting plans are really what they seem. Plans offering "unlimited" disk space and/or bandwidth are far from unlimited. In the "fine print" of these so called unlimited plans, you will find other restrictions on your site, such as resource utilization limits, which will kick in long before you can ever take advantage of their unlimited disk space or bandwidth. Novo Ops offers hosting plans at competitive rates with various disk space and bandwidth allocations to meet the needs of all of our clients. Few clients ever approach these limits. Novo Ops only offers clearly defined real-world hosting plans, with none of the "fine print" restrictions typically encountered in these deceptive unlimited plans.
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Do you offer plans with hundreds of gigabytes of disk space and/or bandwidth?
If your site really requires that volume of disk space or bandwidth, we can definitely accommodate your needs. Such a site will typically require one or more dedicated servers, and the best course of action would be to discuss your needs with us so we can come up with the right solution. However, if you are comparing us to hosting providers who are offering ridiculously large amounts of disk space and bandwidth, typically listed in the hundreds of gigabytes (or even terabytes), then you should be aware that these practices are typically no different than those providers offering unlimited plans. Such plans are typically deceptive and are seldom what they seem.
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What is the difference between "Managed Hosting" and other types of hosting?
With a managed hosting solution, the hosting operations for your website and email are handled by experienced professionals, who can provide support services and assistance with your hosting needs. In an unmanaged hosting solution, you typically handle most, if not all, of the management of your hosting, and often have to pay for additional support beyond hardware related issues. Novo Ops offers fully managed hosting plans with a full range of support services at competitive prices
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Do you have webmail?
Yes. We provide a complete web interface which you can use to check, respond to and manage your email from anywhere in the world.
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Can I administer my own site?
Yes. We provide a comprehensive site administration interface where you can fully manage your site and related services.
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Do I get FTP Access?
Yes. All of our hosting plans include FTP access, giving you access to upload and manage all of the files for your site. You can also connect to our servers through DreamWeaver, Adobe GoLive and other programs (via ftp). We also offer WebDAV access for site management.
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What FTP program should I use?
You should be able to use virtually any FTP program to access your site files on our server. If you need a recommendation for an FTP program we recommend FTPPro and Total Command.
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How much does web hosting cost?
Please see our hosting plans for pricing details.
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Can I upgrade my hosting plan, later, if needed?
Yes. Upgrading your plan is easy. Please contact us to discuss your hosting needs and we'll help you switch to the plan you need.
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Do you offer secure server hosting plans?
Yes, we offer secure hosting as an option. If your site will accept online orders or be handling sensitive information, you should be using a secure server. You will need an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate and a hosting plan with dedicated IP address to provide a secure site to your users. This will enable all traffic between the user's browser and the server to be fully encrypted and protected, while also providing a level of trust for your site. While you don't need to use a secure server to take online orders, most people expect such safeguards and many may feel uncomfortable placing orders without one.
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Do I need a secure server hosting plan if I just need a few secure images?
Not if you are hosting with Novo Ops. When integrating outside services such as payment options with PayPal into your website, if you want to use your own images for their services, you'll need to host them on a secure server. Included with our hosting plans, we offer space for such images on our own secure servers, eliminating the need for you to run your own secure server.
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Do you employ Unix or Windows based hosting?
We predominantly use FreeBSD, an advanced operating systems based on BSD UNIX, as the main platform for our servers. Its code base has undergone over thirty years of continuous development, improvement and optimization. We strongly believe its advanced networking, impressive security features and world class performance make it one of the best choices for a server operating system. However, if you have specific hosting requirements which necessitates the use of a Windows-based server, or a specific Linux variant, we have options to accommodate you.
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Domain Names
Why do I need a domain name?
A domain name is your unique address on the Internet. While computers use numeric IP addresses to communication amongst one another, it is far easier for people to remember and use names to access places on the Internet. No two sites can have the same exact same domain name, so your name is reserved for your exclusive use.
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Is the "www." part of my domain name?
No. The "www." added to the start of most web addresses is used to indicate a request to the computer acting as the webserver within a particular domain name. In fact, any component added (along with a dot) to the start of a domain name refer to either servers or subdomains for that domain name. The "www" stands for "World Wide Web" and is an convention used in the early days the web to specifically identify a request as being directed to the webserver for that domain. Today, web requests both with and without the "www" are typically routed to the webserver, allowing either address to work.
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Which characters can I use in a domain name?
Domain names can contain any combination of letters, numbers and hyphens, although they cannot begin or end with a hyphen. They are not case sensitive and cannot contain spaces or any special characters like underscores ("_") or punctuation.
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How long can my domain name be?
A domain name can contain up to 67 characters, although that includes the characters needed for the Top Level Domain (TLD) extension (e.g. .COM, .NET, .ORG). Thus, for a .COM domain name, 4 characters are needed for the ".COM", allowing for an additional 63 characters for the rest of the domain name. You do not need to account for the "WWW." typically used at the beginning of a web address, as this is not included as a part of the domain name for registration purposes
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Someone registered the name I want. How can I get it?
It can be difficult to get a domain name once someone else has registered it. Each domain name is unique, and no two sites can have exactly the same name. If someone has registered your company's name or your trademarked brand or product there are provisions whereby you may be able to get possession of the name. Under ICANN's Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) you can file a complaint, which will be resolved by court litigation. If the name was registered in bad faith for the purpose of cybersquatting, the UDRP provides means for a lower-cost, expedited resolution. However, in other situations, where the other party has legitimate rights to use the name, you will likely need to find an alternative name to use, or you can attempt to purchase the name from the holder.
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There's no website for the name I want. Why can't I register it?
Although a name you may be interested in may not have an associated website, that doesn't mean the name hasn't already been registered. Checking the availability of a domain name by entering it into your browser's address bar only indicates that a website for the domain cannot be located or accessed. The domain in question may not have had a website built for it and it may not be "parked" on any particular webserver; the domain name may be in a redemption or deletion period with the Registrar; there could be a problem with the associated webserver; or the domain may not be providing a website at all. There are many reasons why you cannot find a website for a particular domain name, but only a proper whois lookup will indicate if the name is really available for registration.
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How do I register a sub domain such as store.example.com?
You do not need to register such "third level" domain names using a Registrar. Once you have registered your domain name, you then have the right to establish any subdomains under that domain name. The process of setting up these subdomains is typically handled by your hosting provider or the provider handling your domain name services (DNS). When hosting with Novo Ops, we can configure these subdomains for you, or you can manage this yourself using our online site administration system
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How do I renew my domain name?
To manually renew your domain name, access our domain name management system and log in to your account. In Step 1, select the domain(s) you wish to renew, and in Step 2, select "Renew Domains". The domain(s) will be added to your shopping cart. After completing the checkout process, your domain(s) will be renewed. You can also select an auto-renewal option and avoid the need to manually renew your domain(s) every time they are set to expire.
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What happens if I do not renew my domain name?
Approximately 60 days prior to the expiration date for your domain, email reminders will be sent to the email address set for your domain management account. If the domain is not renewed prior to the expiration date it will be maintained in the registration database for a grace period (typically 5 days), during which time it can be renewed at standard renewal prices. During this time period, the registrar will interrupt normal dns services for the domain name and all services such as website hosting and email will not function. After the grace period, the domain name will be deactivated and enter a Redemption Period (typically 30 days), during which the domain can still be reactivated, although an additional redemption fee of $100 or more are charged by the registrars. During the redemption period the name may be available to other parties. When the Redemption Period ends the domain name will enter a 5-day Deletion Period, at the end of which it will be deleted from the Registry and available for anyone to register.
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What does it mean if my domain name is in "Redemption"?
If a domain name is not renewed prior to its expiration date or within a grace period after it expires (typically 5 days), it will enter a Redemption Period. During the Redemption Period normal dns services for the domain will be deactivated by the registrar and all services such as website hosting and email will not function. During this Redemption Period the domain name can be reactivated although an additional redemption fee of $100 or more are charged by the registrars. Also, during this period the domain may be available to other parties. At the end of the Redemption Period the domain will enter a 5-day Deletion Period, at the end of which it will be deleted and available for anyone to register.
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What is an authorization code and how do I get one?
An authorization code is required when you transfer a domain name from another registrar to our registration system. It is used to help prevent unauthorized transfers of domain names. To get this code you must contact your current registrar. You will need this code in order to complete the transfer process. If transferring your domain from our systems to another registrar, you can obtain this code from our domain name management system.
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