Join Our Mailing ListIf you would like suggestions, or assistance in purchasing your
hosting, domain, and secure server certificate, we will be happy
to assist in any way that we can.
One of the first things you'll need is to purchase hosting for your
website. It will need to support ASP.NET (a programming framework that
we use to develop your website) and offer at least one MS SQL Server database. Once you have purchased your
hosting, we will need access to your hosting control panel so that we can set everything up for you.
One of the hosting companies that we personally use is Server Intellect
(click on banner below to see hosting plans available). We have been very
happy with their customer service. Please don't feel obligated to use
this hosting, but should you decide to, the Tier One hosting plan should
be sufficient for hosting one domain name. If you'd prefer to go with
an alternative company, just be sure that you purchase hosting that meets the requirements above. If you have questions about that, please feel free to
email us at info@cottagecollections.com.
Are you looking for an e-mail/newsletter management service that has the best features? Check out MailChimp.
You will also need to purchase your domain name if you don't
already have one. Server Intellect offers domain registration for $14.95 a
year. If you already own a domain name that has been purchased from a
company other than the one that is hosting your site, we will need to access to your account so that we can change DNS records to point to your hosting account.
If you will be accepting credit cards or other sensitive information on your website, you will also need to purchase a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificate for your site. Server Intellect offers SSL certificates for $49.95/year.
We will need to know the name of your business and how you would like it
to appear in your banner.
Will you be using PayPal Standard? If so, we will need your PayPal e-mail address (the e-mail address associated with your PayPal account). You will also need to enable Payment Data Transfer in your PayPal account and send us your PDT token (see instructions below). Please do not send your PayPal password unless you need our help obtaining your PDT token. Please remember to change your password afterward.
Instructions for enabling PayPal Payment Data Transfer (PDT):
- Sign in to your PayPal account at <http://www.paypal.com/>
- Click on the "Profile" sub-tab (My Account > Profile)
- Click on "Website Payment Preferences" link
- Turn on the "Auto Return" preference if not already on, and type the URL of your website for the "Return URL" field (ex: http://www.mywebsite.com)
- Turn on "Payment Data Transfer"
- Save your preferences and you will be given an "Identity Token" for PDT which will be needed for your website.
What pages would you initially like to have on your website? It's okay if you don't know for sure. You can add pages yourself later.
What categories would you like to start out with? We'll set up the initial categories for you, but you will be able to change this at any time.
Would you like to start a blog? If so, will you use a blogging service or will you use the free, simple blog on your own website?
Do you have a product or vignette photo you'd like to use on your main page?
We'll need you to provide us with a couple of relevant paragraphs about your business. Be as descriptive as possible about your business and products and services offered. The search engines look for sites with good relevant content.
What categories would you like to start out with? We'll set up the initial categories for you, but you will be able to change this at any time.
Would you like to start a blog? If so, will you use a blogging service or will you use the free, simple blog on your own website?
Do you have a product or vignette photo you'd like to use on your main page?
We'll need you to provide us with a couple of relevant paragraphs about your business. Be as descriptive as possible about your business and products and services offered. The search engines look for sites with good relevant content.
We will need to know the e-mail address you wish to use for your
contact form. If you'd like to use an address associated with your domain name, you will
need to set that up in your hosting account. Once you have it ready,
we'll include that in the setup.
In addition to decorative font headers used in the design of your site, you will need to choose a standard font for the text content of your website.
In addition to decorative font headers used in the design of your site, you will need to choose a standard font for the text content of your website.
Standard Fonts:
- Arial
- Verdana
- Times New Roman
- Georgia
- Courier
Please let us know the colors you would like for the text on your
site, as well as the page headers, links, etc. If you want specific colors, please send us the hexadecimal value for that color. You
can do a search for color charts, in order to get these codes for us. Here are a few helpful links:
- http://www.liu.edu/cwis/cwp/library/colors.htm
- http://html-color-codes.com/
- http://www.geocities.com/webtvbeth/hexchart.html
If you have purchased a Pre-Designed website, we will need the following information from you to get started
If you would like suggestions, or assistance in purchasing your
hosting, domain, and SSL, we will be happy to help. Please see
recommendations at the top of this page for hosting, domain name
purchase, and SSL certificates.
We will need to know the name of your business and how you would
like it to appear in your banner.
Do you have a tagline that will go beneath your business name in your
banner?
What pages would you initially like to have?
Will you start a blog? If so, will you use a blogging service or will you use a simple blog on your own website?
Will you be using PayPal Standard? If so, we will need your PayPal
e-mail address (the e-mail address associated with your PayPal
account). You will also need to enable Payment Data Transfer in your
PayPal account and send us your PDT token (see instructions below).
Please do not send your PayPal password unless you need our help
obtaining your PDT token. Please remember to change your password
afterward.
Instructions for enabling PayPal Payment Data Transfer (PDT):
- Sign in to your PayPal account at <http://www.paypal.com/>
- Click on the "Profile" sub-tab (My Account > Profile)
- Click on "Website Payment Preferences" link
- Turn on the "Auto Return" preference if not already on, and type the URL of your website for the "Return URL" field (ex: http://www.mywebsite.com)
- Turn on "Payment Data Transfer"
- Save your preferences and you will be given an "Identity Token" for PDT which will be needed for your website.
Will you start a blog? If so, will you use a blogging service or will you use a simple blog on your own website?
We will need a paragraph or two about your business for you
entry/index page. Be as descriptive as possible about your business. The
search engines look for sites with good relevant content.
We will also need to know the email address you wish to use for
your contact form.