Frequently asked questions

This is an interesting question!

We operate an 'open-door' policy whereby we do not restrict your choice or tie you to us financially or in any other way, we are here to support your business and that means allowing you to choose what you do - not restrict you.

This means that you make certain committments when purchasing Flarebox (to pay for the system / to pay for hosting / to pay for any additional time or work required), however that is all you are committed to and if you wish to change your mind at any time then just let us know. If you are changing the work needed - not a problem, we will let you know what difference that makes financially - it might cost less / the same / more. If you decide you no longer need the system, not a problem, as long as any bills to which you have committed are paid you are free to leave at any time - just walk away!

So we aim to make life as low-risk and as cheap as possible.

On a technical front we recommend that we host the system as our servers are set up and optimised to host Flarebox, but it is not a requirement and we already provide copies of our system to organisations hosting it as far apart as the USA and Russia! Do talk to us first before deciding on this though as there are implications if your server is not configured correctly.

So, in answer - you are tied to us as little as possible to give you the great service and website you want.

Yes you can - the underlying security system found in Flarebox is powerful enough to allow you to set up modules for clients to use.

At one level you can give them access to work with you in maintaining a part of the public website.

At another level modules can be written to provide specific B2B requirements, one example might be to allow you towrk with Franchises, you can maintain their details, they can maintain their own customer information, you can see overall Management Information.

This area is one where we will talk through with you what your needs are.

On a technical front we recommend that we host the system as our servers are set up and optimised to host Flarebox, but it is not a requirement and we already provide copies of our system to organisations hosting it as far apart as the USA and Russia! Do talk to us first before deciding on this though as there are implications if your server is not configured correctly.

As an example, FFMPEG is installed accurately on our servers and this allows us to pull out a frame from movies you upload to provide a thumbnail - not possible otherwise. It is a difficult addition to install on a server and if your server doesn't have it, then this function will not operate correctly. It is possible that you don't need that for your website, but if you do this is one thing to consider in deciding where to host your website.

Ultimately it is possible to host Flarebox anywhere, but it is possible that it will be a more time-consuming approach to install it on other servers and while we are happy to assist, where the server is not ready / needs any tweaking we charge for our time at our standard hourly rate, so it can be cheaper to host with us.

No - purchasing Flarebox is purchasing a licence to use our software. It is sold specifically to one organisation, so please contact us if you need to transfer it to another organisation.

The code is © Copyright Designtoo 2007-2010. Where we use other libraries of code, then the copyright for those sections remain with the original copyright holder.

You can continue to use Flarebox as long as you need to under our licence, but you can not: sell it / transfer it / give it away without prior permission from us. You can not use the code within your own code without our permission.

So, we own the code and all rights to it - however we allow you use of the code (to run your website) for as long as you need. This way, we protect our own investment in the system, but allow you use for your own organisation's needs.

Flarebox has a growing section of modules allowing you to manage internal systems, from VAT to invoicing, Client Work to Management Information.

While some of this is generic, some modules are specific to each customer, so talk to us to find out more.

There is an optional module called Page Exclude available in Flarebox. Although the core SEO modules are free with every level of Flarebox, this one only comes with the Multi Site version. All other versions of Flarebox assume that each page of the website is visible to any visitor who wishes to read it. If you have private pages which you wish to restrict to a specific group of visitors (clients / internal staff / etc.) then you need the Multi Editor version which allows you to set detailed access privileges for your web pages locking off some sections to the casual viewer and requiring a username and password for those allowed to see content. To try this out on here visit: www.flarebox.com/try where it guides you through this process.

If all your pages are visible to any visitor it is logical that you don't mind a search engine seeing them and indexing the content. Therefore with the Flarebox versions which do not have the ability to lock off sections of the website, there is no standard option to prevent search engines from indexing your pages - when you create a sitemap for search engines to use, it includes all your pages. However, with the Multi Editor version of Flarebox comes the Page Exclude module - simply use this to set certain pages as 'do not visit' and the site map will exclude them - in addition the robots.txt file will deliberately block search engine robots from visiting that section of your website. These pages will therefore not be indexed, and will remain confidential.

There is no simple answer to this - but what is important is to base your approach on the methods used by the search engines.

Make sure that the title for each page, the URL, the keywords and the content all link together. You can do this in Flarebox as you control each of those areas. If your page is called 'Welcome to The World's Best Wines' then give it a db_label in the Menu system of welcome_to_the_worlds_best_wines (the underscore is seen as a separator between words and apostraphes can not be used in the db_label) make sure then that the same is used in the content text you add, the title of the page (in the menu system and in the SEO module), and in the keywords. Tying these all together makes a more cohesive package for the search engine robots who will see this page as being relevant to anyone searching on those words.

Get out and about on the internet, be an active and positive presence on forums (such as wine forums for our ficticious company), post messages, make friends with other people and get reviews on tehir websites, add comments on blogs, etc. and always link back to your site in your signature at the bottom of what you add. The more influential / popular the site on which you are mentioned, the more influence that has on moving you up the search engine rankings. Having a link from CNN / BBC etc. is very influential, having a link from a scratch website put together by your neighbour's 12 year old son may not help at all.

Keep data up to date on your website - by using the CMS, you have control over your information - make sure that you are changing it / adding to it on a daily / weekly / monthly basis as appropriate. The more it changes, the fresher it is, the more respected that is by the search engines.

Flarebox is a modular system and you can choose which bits to buy. There are three levels of Flarebox which are pre-set groups of modules which fit with what different types of organisations tend to want. Buying one of these gives you a bit of a reduction on the cost of buying the modules separately.

If you need a different set of modules, that is not a problem, just talk with us and we will work out the best price for your needs.

You then pay for any artwork / bespoke work you choose to have in addition to the cost of the Flarebox system.

All prices on here are excluding VAT.

Flarebox allows you to maintain your website yourself with no technical knowledge.

A wide variety of modules allow you to manage different types of information, documents / video / images / sound etc. all without needing any expertise or training.

The website can be set up simply, or in more complex ways, allowing you to have private sections for some groups of those who use the website. Set it up so that discrete groups can maintain different areas of the website, giving them access to sections as small as one page, or as wide as the complete site.

Have a look at the modules available. Flarebox can also be integrated with external sites and systems.

Flarebox is designed to provide you with a powerful CMS as cheap as possible, however you may choose extras for which you need to pay.

Hosting
There is an annual charge for hosting and renewal charges for your domain(s). If when you start with Flarebox we don't already host your domain(s) and need to move them to our servers, there may be a charge for the time required to do that - we will let you know in advance.

Artwork
We have some simple templates which you can choose to use to minimise artworking costs, these are particularly suitable if buying the Flexible Starter edition which is less complex. Flarebox Sole Editor / Flarebox Multi Editor will both involve a time of artworking to provide the look you desire and which is unique for your organisation. The cost will vary according to your needs and we will advise you on likely costs before you commit to the system.

Bespoke Functions
One of the core strengths of Flarebox is that you can install a generic CMS system where you save money by using standard code, this allows you to use a very powerful system for a low cost, but that is not to remove flexibility! Every Flarebox installation has the ability to be totally bespoke to that organisation - from tweaking specific modules to writing modules specifically for you, there is no limit to what you can do with Flarebox. As requirements are specific to each organisation we will discuss them with you before commencing.

SEO or Search Engine Optimisation is a mystery to many people, and there are a lot of companies around who make lots of wild claims, but what is it all about? At its simplest, it is about ensuring that when someone wishing to view your website tries to find you using a search engine, they are successful. Going a step further, it means that people searching in a more generic manner find you instead of a competitor organisation.

Example: You run a wine company called 'The World's Best Wines' based in a village called 'The Village'. At a minimum you would want your website to be listed if someone entered 'The Worlds Best Wines' into the search engine, but also you might wish to be there when they enter 'Worlds Wines' or 'Wines The Village' or best of all if they just enter 'Wine'.

Search Engines spend their time trying to judge between all the millions of sites out there to present the ones they believe to be the best match for the search phrase used by the person using their website to search. They use a number of clues to help them by:

- Analysing your website: (the page URL, the content you put on each page, the keywords on each page and the titles used on each page - and how they all relate to each other)
- Looking at other websites across the internet and how they relate to your website (the more popular they are the better)
- Analysing how often your information is updated
- Pulling it all together, applying their own formulaic approach and spitting out a result.

Tools to control SEO are built into every version of Flarebox.

None!

Flarebox is a system that you pay for up-front and then it is yours to use into the future. If you want us to do any work for you after we your website goes live, then we charge you our standard hourly rate, but you make no commitment to any ongoing costs.

Hosting costs are paid up-front year by year and you commit only to the year for which you have paid.

We operate an 'open-door' policy whereby we do not restrict your choice or tie you to us financially or in any other way, we are here to support your business and that means allowing you to choose what you do - not restrict you.

Flarebox is coded with a number of OpenSource technologies which deal with the server, the database and the browsing experience. It requires a Unix server running MyQSL and PHP (contact us if you are concerned about version numbers).

It also makes use of javascript / AJAX / flash and other technologies.

We recommend Mozilla Firefox which is available on all platorms from Windows to Mac to Linux. It's completely free to use and can be downloaded from:

www.mozilla-europe.org/en/firefox

Other browsers that are compatible with Flarebox are Microsoft's Internet Explorer (Version 7 and above recommended), and Apple's Safari.

It's a security thing! If you've not usedFlarebox for a while but you have left you browser window open you may be asked to log in again. This is quite normal, we just ask that you pop your login details back in in order to continue.

Javascript assists Flarebox to function in the way we would like to you to be able to use it. We haven't gone mad with Javascript but we have added it where we believe it will make your live just a little easier :-) All modern browsers have the option to enable and disable Javascript, we recommend that you enable it when using Flarebox, else you may find certain things don't behave quite as expected.

An interesting promise - but do dig into it a bit more to see exactly what they are promising and what you get for your money. It is easy to write you a sales letter quoting lots of stats, and saying that when they searched on your website you came on page 20 of Google and they can get you onto page 1... what are the specifics?

One key omission in these letters is that they rarely tell you the search phrase they used. Lets consider our mythical wine merchant: if I search on 'wine' then even with the world's best optimisation in place, I would be competing against the supermarkets / national chains / big city based independents, it is likely that they will appear ahead of me, as will websites educating people on wine, societies, clubs, vineyards etc. However if we search on 'The Worlds Best Wines The Village' then it is likely that with even no optimisation, you will be listed. Why? Because the phrase you use to search determines the results, and these SEO companies rely on that to tell you that you are currently doing badly, and that they will get you in the top page... Challenge them and ask them what they will be doing.

If what they will do involves tweaking of Titles / Keywords / URLs / Page Content, then you can do that yourself through Flarebox - you do not need to pay them to do it. If it involves adding links elsewhere around the internet - be cautious, the Search Engines look out for your trying to play the system, if they detect it, they may blacklist you - end of your appearing in their search engine.

The key to all SEO is relevant and valid and up to date content - linked Titles / Keywords / URLs and then being present elsewhere on the internet... you can do all of this yourself. We believe that this is so important to all websites that we give away the tools to do it Free of charge with every copy of Flarebox.