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- Written by: Tarmo Kähr
Once a website has been created, it's necessary to keep the content correct and up-to-date, as well as ensure the site remains secure.
The content of a website is the responsibility of the owner. Typically the technical solution of a site is such that curating the content does not requires specialized computer- or internet-related knowledge. When creating a webside, I always provide the site owner with instruction on how to keep the site in order and how to curate the content and from there on the site owner can manage it without assistance. But it must be considered that owning a website does require constant care and monitoring, to ensure the content of the page remains correct. A website is never truly complete, since there is always a perpetual need to add, change or remove content. When creating a website, it must always be considered how much sustained interest there is to continuously update the existing content. If it is forseeable that there time or resources won't be available to frequently update the content, then it's better to have less content than to have a large amount of outdated content.
Modern websites are dynamic and responsive to different screen sizes, from small smartphones to large monitors. This responsiveness and scalability makes modern websites relatively complex as a programmed environment. Even simple and consise content may have a relatively complex technological solution behind it. Unfortunately, this technical complexity also creates the inevitable risk of error in the technical code. Since the internet has no shortage of malicious actors, such errors and security holes are often exploited sooner rather than later, in order to spread malicious code and viruses, or to carry out other illegal activity. Therefore, it is necessary to always ensure the security of the site. Securing a website is often made easy by good hosting services, but the ultimate responsibility of a site's security always rests with the site's owner. Should the site owner lack the appropriate skills and knowledge, it is helpful to have a partner that takes care of security.
Creating websites, I typically use the open source engine Joomla!. Open source engines have both risks and benefits. In every case, the programming logic of the open soure engine is always available to malicious actors. However, since the community using the open source engine is large and the group of developers examining the code is wide, security flaws are found and patched relatively quickly compared to commercial engines. Thus to keep the site secure it's important to monitor that all the latest updates and security patches of the engine are installed with minimal delay as they are released. The owner of the site must keep an eye on so-called "security lists", which list patches to discovered issues as well as warnings if some tools or utilities are considered insecure at any given moment. THe security-related news of the Joomla! engine can be found here: https://developer.joomla.org/security-centre.html
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- Written by: Tarmo Kähr
Creating a website presumes the client has selected a domain name and a web hosting service. To potential clients that have not done this yet, I will explain what this means below.
A dmain name is a freely selectable name that is used to refer browsers to the site - the specific name people type into their web browser's address bar. Owning a domain name does not mean a website must immediately exist at that address. However, it takes more than a registered name to create a usable website. In addition, there must be a place where the content of the website is stored. Thus a website consist of two parts:
- a registered domain name
- a location in a webserver, where the site is stored
These two services are both separately priced by third parties, and the owner of a website must pay the costs for these if they wish to own a website. In case the client has their personal server - such as my kahr.ee - then any website I create for them can be hosted on their own server and no additional hosting costs are necessary. Generally, it is sensible to use professional service providers capable of correctly managing their servers and keeping them secure from malicious actors.
Domain names can be registered under various top-level domains. The rules for registering a name with the Estonian top-level domain (.ee) can be found on the website of Estonian Internet SA. I'm prepared to consult client with the process of registering a domain name, but the name itself must be registered in the name of the client and the client must pay the registration fee to the registrar directly. The list of accredited Estonian registrars can be found here: https://internet.ee/registripidajad/akrediteeritud-registripidajad. A registrar manages the listings of a domain name server. Registrars often have self-service websites, where clients can manage their own domain name listings. In addition to the .ee domain, a wide variety of other domains are available. The price of registering a domain name depends primarily on the conditions established by the manager of the top-level domain.
Likewise, many IT companies provide website hosting as a service; one list of such service providers can be found here: http://www.neti.ee/cgi-bin/teema/ARI/Side/Andmeside_ja_Internet/#Hosting. Which hosting service is the most suitable depends on your wishes and requirements. Most domain name registrars also offer hosting services in addition to their registry services. A simple website typically doesn't demand a great deal of resources from the webserver and cheaper service providers will usually suffice. As I am a small enterpreneur myself, I support the business of a fellow small enterpreneur: as their business partner I can provide hosting at the servers of Kask & Kask OÜ on their behalf, at the price of €4/month. However, all my clients are free to pick the hosting service that most suits their price-point and capability requirements.
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- Written by: Tarmo Kähr
Here are listed the headers and links to some websites I have previously created. The links will open by clicking on the header picture. All sites have been made in cooperation with the client, or in some rare cases as a result of direct teamwork with the client's own staff. In other words, the appearance and designs are not entirely my own invention, as they much of the vision comes from cooperating with the client. The technical solution, however, is entirely my own deployment and configuration. As stated elsewhere, I use open source software, meaning the complex fundamental programming of the frame work is laso not my own design. Creating a website for a client primarily means compiling together existing open source solutions in accordance to the client's wishes and vision. This can sometimes mean significant changes and adjustments to the style code of freely available solutions. Occasionally, even adjustments to the site engine itself are necessary to make the site behave as the client intends them to.
In all these cases, furnishing the website - uploading articles and other content - is the responsibility of the owner. If necessary, this deployment aspect of content creation can be commissioned from me, though in most cases clients find they are perfectly capable of doing it on their own. The samples below are based on snapshots from the past, and the actual websites may have changed since.
Website of the Union of Free Evangelical and Baptist Churches of Estonia until spring 2017
Sireli Hostel
General Practicioner Ülle Perend
Otepää Evangelical Free Church Pilgrim
Hiiu County
The website of the Hiiu county was created when I was still IT-specialist at the county government (until November 2014). Currently it is being administrated by others, mainly the current IT-spetsialist of the county. The snapshot was made in March 2015.
Kärdla Puppet Theatre
Kärdla City Library
The website of the Hiiu county was created when I was still IT-specialist at the county government (until November 2014). The website was administrated by the staff of the Kärdla Library. The snapshot was made in March 2015. Due to structural reorganizations after the merger of the Kärdla town and Kõrgessaare county, the site no longer exists.
Kärdla Baptist Church
Mooste Baptist Church
Allika Publishing
Hiiu County Library
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- Written by: Tarmo Kähr
In addition to setting up websites, I am qualified to assist in many other capacities.
An overview of topics I can assis with:
- Installation and initial configuration of various operating systems (Windows, Linux, MacOS X)
- Installing individual programs or requested suites of programs to operating systems
- Resolving issues related to software
- Constructing small building networks
- Analyzing and resolving network issues
- Installation and configuration of WiFi devices
- Maintenance of Linux and Windows servers
- Website management (MySQL and PHP based; Joomla!, Wordpress, and others)
- IT-consulting
Installation of any aforementioned operating system costs €100. In the case of Windows and MacOS, the client must buy the operating system themselves and provide me with the installation media; the service includes only installation of the operating system to a computer and the post-installation configuration (configuration in this context meaning setup of internet connections, installation of OS updates and other typical post-installation tasks, rather than exact customization of individual programs). In the case of a Linux installation, I can provide my own installation media at no additional cost. If new issues become apparent during the work, the final extent of the work and its' price will be negotiated in cooperation with the client.
Conducting any works also has an additional hourly fee of €45. Driving to meed the client adds a fee of €0,60/km.
Given the breadth of the services, it is impractical to list any further details here. In you have any questions regarding these services, feel free to use the contact form of this website.
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- Written by: Tarmo Kähr
Creating a website is a process in which a client and I cooperate to find the most suitable solution for the client. Due to the many nuances involved, the price of having a wesite created can vary considerably. Therefore is is not possible to quote prices without first going through individual negotiation. When creating websites, I use the popular website framework Joomla!, which will be configured and deployed according to the client's requirements.
Nonetheless I offer a so-called "base solution", which amounts to creating a functional and secure website from pre-existing content provided by the client. The base solution costs €1600 and contains:
- Deploying the website framework
- A prepackaged design
- News module
- RSS module
- One main menu (two levels, up to 10 menu items)
- Creating the owner account of the website
- Entering primary content (up to 10 articles, text must be provided beforehand by the client)
- Instruction on using the website and its' management interface (one hour, on Skype; driving out to meet the client in person accures a charge of €0,60 per km)
- Post-deployment support for six months (Monitoring the solution; basic instruction over phone, email or other electronic channels).
Additional features that can be provided on request:
- Custom design (€500)
- Picture Gallery module (€100)
- Blog module (€110)
- Forum module (€220)
- And many more (subject to individual negotiation)
Adding extra functionality is subject to individual negotiation and the optimal solution and price point for your needs will be found in our cooperation. Emergency or custom work will incur an hourly work fee of €35. Driving out of the city of Kärdla to deploy the site or otherwise assist the client in person will also incur a €0,60 fee per kilometer of distance driven.
Besides Joomla! I am also able to deploy other website frameworks such as WordPress or Drupal. The choices are numerous and I am ready provide any solution the client finds most suitable to their needs.
Questions can be sent through the website's contact form. Additional information about what is involved in website owenrship and management can be found in the following articles: Domain name and hosting and Website content and management.