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Frequently Asked Questions

I want a web site - how do I go about getting one developed?

Depending on your level of IT expertise and the complexity of the web site you are wanting to build, you could develop a simple web site yourself using SiteBuilder Basic - the free web site building tool including with all CDAA Hosting web hosting plans.

Alternatively, you could visit CDAA for further information about are web services and creative divisions and get us to develop a website for you.

What do I need to start a web site?

You should start with a plan for what you are trying to achieve with your web site, including why you think people will visit the site and the key information that you want to provide. This will help to ensure you are building a useful site that is going to assist your customers and prospects in learning more about your business.

You then need to plan the structure of your site, including the main headings and sub sections you will use. Write down all of the text that you think will need to appear on your site and gather suitable images, and make sure you test the planned structure with colleagues and friends to make sure that the information you are providing is easy for people to find and understand.

You will also need to register a web address (also know as a domain name) for your web site. This may be a .com.au domain name if you want to identify your business as Australian, or a .com or other type of web address if appropriate. Click here to learn more about selecting and registering a domain name through CDAA Hosting.

What are the different types of web sites you can have?

In order of increasing sophistication, the three major types of web sites you can have are:

• 'Brochureware' site – A simple site that contains only pictures, text and a basic contact facility (similar to an online brochure).
• 'Interactive' site – A more advanced site where users are able to interact by requesting often personal information, such as account balances or the status of their application; and
• 'Transactional' site – A very complex site where users are able to perform online transactions, such as changing an address or purchasing an item over the internet with their credit card.

What do I need for my web site to be viewable by internet users around the world?

You will need a domain name and a place to host your web site. Anyone wanting to access your web site will require an internet connection.

What is web hosting and why do I need it?

Each web site that you visit on the internet ‘lives’ somewhere. Whether you intend to create your web site yourself or have an external web developer design your site for you, your web site files need reside on a web server that is connected to the internet once they are created, so that internet users around the world can access them.

While you could run a reliable web server on your premises and host your web site yourself, this is typically expensive, time-consuming and often stressful. Not only do you need a permanent connection to the internet and a dedicated computer system, but issues such as security, backup and recovery strategies and equipment maintenance also need to be considered.

The alternative to hosting your web site in-house is to outsource it to a web hosting company. In this way, you can think of web hosting in a similar way to renting a unit in an apartment complex - you rent a space on a web server where your web site will live.

What is meant by ‘shared’ web hosting?

Shared web hosting is a way of providing affordable and feature-rich web hosting. Instead of having a separate web server housing each web site (as is the case in 'dedicated' hosting), dozens of web sites can reside on the same server (ie. ‘share’ the server), yet each web site behaves as if it is being served by its own server.

Signing up to a CDAA Hosting shared web hosting plan will put your business on the internet, and keep it on the internet. Our diverse network of redundant links to Australia’s internet backbone helps to ensure your web pages are delivered quickly to customers and prospects, even during busy periods. Essentially, shared hosting from CDAA Hosting means a stress-free hosting solution for your business’ web site, where all servers and networks are monitored and maintained by us. All you need to do is to upload and maintain your web site files!

What should I look for in a web hosting company?

In addition to being able to provide you with the server space for your web site files to reside, there are many other important factors you should take into account when selecting a web hosting company:

• The company’s reputation - are they reputable, how long have they been in business for? You need to be sure they’re going to be around tomorrow, and have the financial stability to continue to provide flexible solutions to meet the expanding online needs of your business.
• A fast connection to the internet - This is more important than the server space provided for your web site files. CDAA Hosting maintains high levels of redundant bandwidth to the internet via multiple links through most of Australia's Tier 1 telecommunications providers, which helps to ensure your web site pages can be delivered to internet users worldwide not only during peak times, but also in the event that one link is down for a period time.
• High quality, reliable infrastructure is crucial in a web hosting company - This means an appropriate environment for optimal performance of the web server, and includes climate control, uninterruptible power supplies, back-up generators for emergency situations, physical and technological security measures, and fire suppression facilities. It is no good to have a fantastic web site if it is often offline and inaccessible to visitors because the hosting company’s infrastructure is below standard.
• You should also ask about future scalability of the hosting level you are on too - You might start out with a simple web site but may wish to enhance its interactivity in the future, so it is good to be sure that your hosting company can cater for your future needs as well.
• 24 x 7 technical support is also important in a web hosting company - You may rarely need to request technical support in the middle of the night, but it's comforting to know that there will always be someone available to help you in the event of an emergency.
  

Do I still need my ISP (Internet Service Provider) after I have set up a hosting account with CDAA Hosting? 

Yes, you do! We provide the web hosting side of the equation which allows your web site to be available on the internet. This is entirely different to your internet access (either dial-up, DSL broadband or cable), which you need for you and your staff to be able to connect to the internet to view web sites, such as your own. Who you use as your ISP has no effect on the way that CDAA Hosting hosts your site - just as long as you have the internet access!

What is server space?

Server space (often called ‘disk’ space) refers to the amount of space available on the shared web server for your web site files and mailbox content to reside. The server space allocation for each shared hosting plan is an aggregation of both your web site and mailbox content. This provides you with the flexibility to allocate this space where it is required at any given time. For example, you might have a large web site and a small amount of mailbox storage, or a large amount of email storage and a simple web site.

How do I access the server space and upload my web site? 

You can upload your web site via various methods through your Mission Control panel. FTP (File Transfer Protocol), which is widely available for free on the internet (eg. www.tucows.com), is the most common method, but instructions for other methods are also provided in Mission Control. If you have developed your web site in Microsoft FrontPage, you can upload your web site files directly from the software itself, but you will still need your CDAA Hosting username (VS Number) and password to execute this.

What happens if I need more server space?

If your web site or email storage exceeds the allocated amount of server space included with your hosting plan, we will charge you an additional fee of $0.099 for every MB in excess of your allocation per month. Alternatively, you can upgrade to a higher hosting plan which will also give you a significantly greater storage allocation.

What is data transfer?

Data transfer (also referred to as data traffic) is the information travelling to and from your web site. When someone requests a page from your web site (ie. by typing in your domain name and your home page appears), this is referred to as outbound traffic, as the web server that you web site is being hosted on is sending this information out to the visitor.

Inbound traffic also contributes towards your data transfer limit, and includes such things as:

• Uploading a new page or making changes to your web site, as you are sending information to the web server; and
• A visitor inputting their details into a form on your web site, such as a ‘Request More Information’ or ‘Contact Us’ form, and submitting it, as again, this is sending information to the web server that your web site files reside on.

Is there any way I can monitor how much data transfer my site is utilising?

Yes, within your Mission Control panel there is a tool that will allow you to view how much inbound and outbound traffic your web site is incurring on a monthly basis. All you need to do to view this information is to log into your Mission Control panel with your username (VS Number) and password, and click the 'Web Server' then 'Traffic Usage Meter' links from the main menu.

What happens if I exceed my monthly data transfer allocation? 

At CDAA Hosting, we realise that our customers don't want to be penalised for having popular web sites. That's why we allocate generous amounts of data transfer with each shared hosting plan, so that the majority of customers will not have to pay any excess traffic fees.

However, should your web site’s traffic exceed the monthly limit included with your plan, we also have low excess traffic rates. For customers on Economy, Business and Professional hosting plans, your excess traffic rate is a low $0.077 for every MB over your data transfer allocation each month. Customers on the Premier and Premier Advantage plans are charged according to the Lowest IP Data Traffic model at a rate of $0.099 per MB per month.

What is meant by Lowest IP Data Traffic?

Lowest IP Data Traffic is the model that we use to charge excess data transfer to customers on our Premier, Premier Advantage and Premier G hosting plans. Rather than having to pay both your inbound and outbound excess traffic added together (which is the case for to customers on our Economy, Business and Professional plans), the Lowest IP Data Traffic model means that you are charged only for the lower of either the inbound or outbound traffic over your data transfer limit at the rate of $0.99 per MB.

For example, a customer’s inbound excess traffic is typically less than the outbound excess traffic their site will accumulate, and therefore, most customers being charged using this model are only charged for the amount of their inbound excess traffic.

Can I upgrade from one web hosting plan to another if my needs change? 

Yes, you can upgrade at any time to a higher plan of shared hosting if your requirements increase. You can do so quickly and easily through your Mission Control panel. Please note: A Site Move fee may apply depending on what plans you are upgrading to and from. Click here for an overview of the plans available in our shared hosting range.

Can I downgrade to a lower hosting level if my needs change?

Yes, you are able to downgrade to a lower hosting plan if required. However, if you need to downgrade to a lower hosting plan and you are paying yearly, please be aware that you are not be entitled to receive a pro-rata credit for unused portions of your current hosting subscription, nor can this be allocated to the charges of your new hosting plan. Please also note that a Site Move fee may apply depending on what plan you are downgrading to and from. Click here for an overview of the plans available in our shared hosting range.

What platform do CDAA Hosting’s shared web servers run on?

All CDAA Hosting shared web servers are built on a combination of Windows Server 2003 and Internet Information Services 6.0 technology, which provides customers with superior performance, stability and security. The latest Microsoft FrontPage Server extensions are also running on all shared web servers. This means that customers can use FrontPage 2002/3 with full feature support to build and maintain their web site.

What is the benefit of having unlimited mailboxes?

Unlike many other hosting providers who only supply a limited number of mailboxes (ie. email accounts or addresses) with their hosting plans, all CDAA Hosting web hosting customers have the ability to create as many mailboxes as they require (which also includes auto-responders, auto-forwarders and email aliases). The benefit of this is that, as your business and staff numbers grow, you will not need to upgrade to an entirely new hosting plan just to gain access to more mailboxes.

And even if you don’t have a large number of staff, your unlimited mailboxes can also be used to set up email addresses for functions, products and promotions whenever you need them. For example, marketing@yourcompany.com.au, accounts@yourcompany.com.au and specialoffer@yourcompany.com.au.

What is WebMail?

WebMail is web-based email, which means that you can read your email via any web browser through your DeskControl interface. With WebMail, you do not have the worry of configuring email programs on your staff PCs. Once they login to DeskControl with their mailbox username and password, any new email that has not yet been downloaded from the mail server will be accessible.

For more feature-rich web-based email, you may like to enable our Managed Exchange service, which allows you to access ALL of your email, as well as your Contacts and Calendar from any computer connected to the internet, and also includes a variety of other benefits. Click here to learn more about Managed Exchange.

What is Mission Control?

Mission Control is your online, self-service control panel that CDAA Hosting provides free of charge as part of your web hosting account with us. It allows you to more efficiently manage your web site and email services, as well as your account administration, with us and to do so at your convenience. You can access your Mission Control panel by going to https://mc-au.server-secure.com and entering your Username (VS Number) and password.

What can I do using Mission Control?

Some of the main things you will need to use Mission Control to perform include:

• Upload your web site files to our web servers;
• Create your mailboxes (ie. staff email addresses), and set auto-responders and auto-forwarders on these mailboxes;
• Request technical assistance using our Job Logging System; and
• Check the statistics of your web site.

Mission Control also gives you a quick and easy way of:

• Changing your contact details;
• Upgrading to a higher hosting plan;
• Searching our Online Help Tool to find useful technical articles and FAQs;
• Enabling technical components on your web site, including setting security tokens for restricting access;
• Adding additional products and services to your account;
• And much, much more!

Click here to download a copy of our 'Take Control' brochure that provides detailed information on the types of tasks you can perform using your Mission Control panel.

I don’t need web hosting just yet, I just want to reserve my domain name. Can CDAA Hosting assist?

Yes, CDAA Hosting is able to register a domain name for you even if you are not ready to launch your web site yet. Simply select the Domain Name Registration Only service when signing up via our online join form, and we will register the domain on your behalf.

Please note: Our Domain Name Registration Only service does not provide you with the ability to change your DNS entries (eg. to have the domain name ‘pointed’ to another web site). If you require the ability to do this, you will need to sign up for our Domain Parking service.

I already have a domain name. Can I move it to CDAA Hosting when I sign up for my web hosting plan?

If you already have a domain name that is delegated to an internet service provider (ISP), you can have the domain name redelegated (ie. moved) to CDAA Hosting's domain name servers at the same time you sign up for your web hosting plan. Having your web hosting, email and domain name with CDAA Hosting means maintaining one point of contact for technical support and receiving one consolidated invoice for these services.

Redelegating your domain name to CDAA Hosting also means that we will become the authorised administrative contact where this is possible (please ask if you are unsure), and will notify you via your Mission Control panel if we are able to assume this role. This allows us to provide better support for your web hosting services as your domain name, web site and email will all be hosted on the same platform. There is no charge involved in redelegating your domain name to CDAA Hosting.

What information can the statistics program that is included with my hosting plan provide about the performance of my web site, and how do I access it?

To monitor the success of your online strategy, you need to be able to monitor whether the right people are accessing the right information on your web site at the right time. That’s why all CDAA Hosting shared hosting plans include a sophisticated statistics package called Deep Metrix LiveStats (Version 8.0).

Arguably the leading live reporting statistics software in the marketplace today, LiveStats provides you with vital statistics about the performance of your web site in real-time and lets you generate a range of reports that can help you track the usage patterns of your web site. Using LiveStats, you'll be able to answer questions such as:

• How many hits does my web site receive?
• How many unique users visit my web site?
• When do people use my site?
• How much time do people spend on my site?
• From which pages do people enter and leave my site?
• Which browsers are people using to access my site?
• Which other sites have links to my site?
• What do users do on my site?
• Which pages of my site are the most/least popular?
• Which search engines are referring people to my site?
• And much, much more!

To access your LiveStats program, all you need to do is to log into your Mission Control panel with your username and password, and click on the 'Web Server' then the 'View Site Statistics' links from the main menu.

Do my POP mailboxes include any protection against spam and viruses?

Our email servers employ and maintain sophisticated anti-spam and anti-virus technologies that help to reject known unsolicited bulk email ('spam') and messages that may contain viruses or other potentially malicious content ('malware'). These filters are also configured to reject certain attachments, such as .exe, .bat, .pif and .cmd files, so that such potentially harmful content not yet handled by anti-virus updates are prevented from reaching your inbox or infecting your computer. Legitimate attachments of these types should be compressed before sending to avoid rejection by these filters.

You are not required to purchase any additional software or make any configuration changes to your email program in order to utilise these filters. They are completely transparent and begin operating automatically upon creation of your mailboxes in Mission Control.

However, due to the constantly changing nature of spam, malware and viruses, these filters cannot provide complete protection and may reject some email which is legitimate. Should you require more fine-grained protection against spam and viruses for your mailboxes, you can easily enable either our SpamTrap or SpamDefend service, or upgrade your POP mailboxes to our premium email service, Managed Exchange, through your Mission Control panel.

What Standard Server Components are installed on shared web servers for customers on Business plan and above?

WebCentral installs a number of components as a standard feature for customers on the Business hosting plan and above. SQL Server components are only usable by customers on the Business plan and above who have purchased either the SQL Lite, Standard SQL or Premier SQL Add-On service. We have deliberately chosen components that help people do business online, and you or your web developer can use these components to create interactive web sites and tools. The table below details each of the components available:

Server Component	Description
Adobe PDF Toolkit	Allows users to create PDF documents on the fly based on dynamically supplied content
ASPChart	Create charts on your web site based on dynamic content
ASPCrypt	Duplicates the one-way algorithm used by Crypt on Unix
ASPEmail	Mail-sending component supporting fule attachments and HTML format
ASPEncrypt	One-way hashing and certificate management component. Can be used with ASPEmail to send secure mail
ASPGrid	Create a web-based editable grid interface to a database table
ASPJpeg	JPEG image resizing component for creating high-quality thumbnails
ASPUpload	Allows you to upload files to your web site from a web browser
BASP21 and ComBlatJ	Japanese character support for sending emails
CompSys IntrChart	A general purpose component to produce charts and graphs over the internet
DAF	Provides web user authentication to create password-protected web directories
GUIDMaker	Create GUID's from ASP
IIS Lookup Table	Stores a list of values in an application object so that they can be retrieved on request
ImageSize	Allows you to determine the width and height of image files. File types supported are BMP, JPG, GIF and PNG
Jmail	Allows you to send emails from web pages
Microsoft Scripting Engine v5	Support for Jscript and VBscript
Microsoft SOAP Client	Allows you to consume XML WebServices
Native Microsoft ASP Object Support	Standard support for Microsoft's ASP objects
SaFileUp	Allows you to upload files to your web site from a web browser
SQL DMO	An Application Programming Interface (API) to manage/manipulate objects and functions associated with SQL Server
SQL DTS	Lets you transfer data packages to a SQL Server
TCPIP	Object for simple IP address and host name resolution, ASP and VB TraceRoute
W3Sockets	Enables your web pages to communicate with external sources of information such as telnet
W3Utils	A large collection of ASP snippets, including String, Country, Generator, Validation, Date and Net utilities
XML Parser (versions 2, 2.6, 3, 4)	Commonly used with XML driven web sites

What is the .NET Framework (v2.0)?

Customers on our Business, Professional, Premier and Premier Advantage hosting plans have native support for the .NET Framework (v2.0). This means that customers can utilise the .NET engine running on their web server to run ASPX code and assemblies. Please note: Business and Professional customers can request access to the .NET framework by logging a job in their Mission Control panel via the 'Add Job' link. Premier and Premier Advantage customers have access enabled by default.

What is ASP?

ASP stands for Active Server Pages and is a Microsoft technology that enables HTML pages to be dynamic and interactive by embedding scripts (eg. either VBScript or JScript). ASP is often referred to as the Microsoft alternative to JavaScript, and can be used to create dynamic and powerful web-based business solutions.

Do you provide Technical Support for free?

Yes, technical support is available free of charge to all CDAA Hosting customers 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days of the year. You can request support from one of our technicians in a number of ways:

• By logging a job in your Mission Control panel via the “Add Job” link; or
• By phoning our Technical Support Team on 1800 800 099 (ext. 1) and providing your username (VS Number) and password, as well as stating your name (as the main contact on the account).

Please also note the following:

• Technical support for our DSL Broadband services is only available Monday to Friday, between 6:00am and 9:00pm;
• Data Recovery from Back-Up Tape is an additional service that falls outside our free technical support. Please contact our Technical Support Team on 1800 800 099 (ext. 1) for more information on the charges associated with this service.

How can I pay for my CDAA Hosting services?

CDAA Hosting's preferred method of payment is to auto-debit from a credit card each month or year (depending on which payment plan you choose). If you wish to receive an invoice via the post, we can issue one for you, however doing this will attract a $3.50 administration fee for each invoice you receive. If you do wish to receive a mailed invoice, there are then several ways you can attend to payment of that account, including: BPAY, credit card (either over the phone or via our web site), cheque or cash. EFT is not available.

How can I change my contact details with CDAA Hosting?

All your account details (except your company name) can be updated in your Mission Control panel via the 'Edit Your Details', then 'Your Address Details' links. Alternatively, call our Accounts Team on 1800 800 099 (ext. 3) and quote your username (VS Number) and password to change these details over the phone or to find out how to change your company name.

Do you limit the type of information I can publish on my site? 

CDAA Hosting does not permit material to be hosted which is deemed illegal and/or pornographic under the guidelines of the Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA). For further information, please click here.

What is a mailing list?

A mailing list allows you to send email to people who subscribe to your mailing list. It does not provide you with lists of names or email addresses - The main purpose of a mailing list is to give you the ability to efficiently send a ‘plain text’ email message to a large number of recipients with minimal delay. One CDAA Hosting mailing list allows you to send an email to up to 1,000 recipients from a single email address. Essentially, a mailing list is a very basic form of mass email marketing.

If you are looking for a more comprehensive email marketing tool that allows you to create graphic-rich ‘HTML’ emails and provides all the functionality to comply with anti-spam legislation, you may like to consider using our Promotions Manager service.

What is a sub-web?

A sub-web takes a standard directory of your web site and splits it off to become a separate editable area, with its own username and password, making sub-webs an easy way of restricting access to certain areas of your web site which may contain information designated only for a limited number of users.

What is a token?

A token is a security mechanism which can be enabled on your web site to restrict access to certain pages of your web site. Tokens require a user to provide both a username and password before access will be granted to the password-protected area of the web site. Once the username and password have been entered, they are passed to the local security authority program on the server, which in turn runs the appropriate authentication package and grants the user access if approved.

All CDAA Hosting shared web hosting plans come with a certain number of tokens to support your requirements. Should should you require additional tokens, these are available at a cost of $5 per additional token per month, and can be requested by logging a job through your Mission Control panel via the 'Add Job' link.