How do I send my website material?

There are many options available to you for submitting website material. The rule of thumb is: the more material you can put together on your own, the more affordable your project will be.  

Your website designer may accept materials on CD, through email or through traditional mail. If you send paper materials through the post office, they will have to be converted into electronic format for you. If you need this kind of service from your designer, ask for it specifically ahead of time to avoid unexpected costs and delays in completing your project.

Tips for sending your material

Text
Spell-check and review your text for accuracy before sending. It may not be possible to preserve formatting in Microsoft Word documents.

Other Preformatted Documents
Adobe PDF documents are gaining popularity. If you like to use Adobe PDF, or other document types like Excel, Quark or Publisher, you should discusswith your designer how best to use them on your website.

Photos / Artwork
Digital images or scanned artwork are best at FULL quality (not web optimized.) That's because an image can be reduced in size no problem, but it cannot be enlarged without losing significant quality.

Logos are easier to work with when a source file is supplied. If your logo needs to be edited or recreated, try to find out what font(s) was used for the lettering.

Audio and Video
This type of content often requires special handling. Ask your designer about the best format to send.

Windows Media Video, RealPlayer, Quicktime, and Flash video formats can usually be placed directly on your web site. You should edit your video beforehand so it appears exactly as you want it.

Product Listings / Catalogs: If you have a small number of product listings, it's probably okay to send individual photos and descriptions by email. Larger catalogs will have to be formatted specifically for your database developer. He/she will let you know what's required.

Many clients enjoy the added convenience of having their own online administrative area so they can manage their product listings. The initial web development cost is higher, but will save you time and money in the long run.

What to do when your files are large
Video and audio files are often too large to send through email. Files larger than 2 or 3 MB tend to get swallowed up (lost) by mail servers. If you'd like to try something other than sending them on CD (or maybe you don't have a CD burner), your website designer can set up an FTP account for you. FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is a simple way to exchange files over the Internet.