Basic Information

Many people are not familiar with either the Internet or computers.

This section deals with the basic questions we receive daily and attempts to explain them in a language that you can understand. If you have questions that are not listed here please feel free to contact us.

What is a browser?
A browser is a software program that allows people to look at websites on the Internet. The most common browser is Microsoft Internet Explorer which comes standard with most computers.

What is a domain name?
A domain name or web address is what you can can type in to a browser to view a website. As an example, our domain name is www.oomah.com. If you type this in to your browser our website appears.

How do I get my own business domain name or web address?
This is quite a simple procedure. Domain names are acquired through registry bodies and this can be done online on the Internet. You do not actually own the domain name but rather pay to use the name you choose. While you keep paying, the name remains yours to use.

Can Oomah.com register my domain name for me?
Yes we can. Prior to creating your website we discuss the domain name you require and check if it is available. If available we need from you your contact mailing details, business name and business registration or ACN number. We then register the domain name online.

How do we pay for our domain name?
The easiest and fastest way is credit card. The registry body have a secure payment system which ensures your credit card details remain private. If paid by credit card, your domain name is approved within hours, usually immediately. We then forward on the email receipts we receive for your payment, for taxation purposes. If you wish to pay by cheque, they email us the invoice and we forward this on to you. You then send a cheque to them direct and on receipt and clearance of that cheque they will advise approval. This could take up to 10 days.

What is hosting of my website?
In order for a website to be seen by the world, your domain name and website need to be hosted (sitting on) a computer server that is online 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. These servers are specially setup for the Internet, websites and email.

Why do I have to pay for hosting every year?
To have a server setup for websites to be viewed and emails to be sent, high speed telephone lines are required to transfer the data back and forth. Each time your website is viewed or you receive an email, data is transferred through these lines. We pay rental fees for the use of these telephone lines and we are also charged for the data transferred. In other words the more your site is viewed or the more emails you receive, the more we are charged by the telecommunications body we use. The annual hosting fees pay for the charges we receive.

Do I need a computer to have a website?
No you do not. Your website is hosted on our servers and is visible to the world. Without a computer though you cannot receive emails for sales, bookings or enquiries.

Do we get an email address with our domain name?
Yes you do. You can have unlimited email addresses with your domain name. Our hosting package includes up to 100 email addresses. Your email address would be as an example: info@xyz.com.au or sales@xyz.com.au.

How do we get these emails?
There are 2 ways we can do this for you. When you arranged your Internet access with your service provider they gave you an email address. As an example if you joined Bigpond they would have given you an email address like samsmith@bigpond.com. What we can do is divert your website emails to this email address. So if someone emails you to info@xyx.com.au it is diverted to your samsmith@bigpond.com email and you pick it up as per normal.
The second option is that we set up a mail box, called a pop 3 mailbox, on our servers similar to a post office box. All emails that come to info@xyz.com.au will sit in this pop 3 mailbox until you go into your email package on your computer and say pick up mail.

Computer Screen Resolutions
Different computer screens view web pages differently. We design our sites to be viewed in 1024 x 768 screen resolution unless specified differently. This should ensure that over 98% of the worlds computers will see the website as intended.

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