Frequently-asked questions (Faqs)
What is Zope?
Zope (or the Z-Object Programming Environment) is a highly professional open-source web environment which is built on the widely respected and highly stable Python programming language. Well-known for its security model, it is used by the US Navy and the French government, and is supported by a dedicated, talented and imaginative world community of web programmers and developers. Zope is written and supported by Zope Corporation.
If you would like more information on Zope, please visit www.zope.org. If you would like to read about Zope in the international press, please visit Linux Journal online at http://linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=5619 and at http://linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=5687.
Am I tied to one particular computer when I want to update my news, my content or my photographs?
Absolutely not. Your Zope site and its content can be updated from any computer in the world that is connected to the internet. This also means that you can access, maintain and update your content and photographs from a computer that is connected to the internet through a mobile phone in the field.
Can my site look any way I want, and can I incorporate my existing corporate look-and-feel into the site?
Yes. The design of your site is limited only by current browser technologies and by the hardware and software that your audience uses to view your site. These limitations are taken into account when your site is designed by Runningdog.co.uk.
Runningdog.co.uk uses the most effective and most up-to-date design technologies available to ensure that the greatest number of your viewers will see your site as you intend.
What if I want to change the look-and-feel of my site in the future?
No problem. Once a new 'skin' - a new look-and-feel - has been designed, discussed and agreed on with you, it can be applied to your existing content in a matter of seconds with no interruption to your web service. A later change in the site's design is a chargeable option.
I want to keep my site's content as up-to-date as possible, but I don't want to have to pay or contact my web developer every time I want to make a change or upload another photograph. Is this possible?
Absolutely. Zope sites are designed to be updated by their authors and not by the developers. You are able to keep your site's content - including your portfolios - as up-to-date as you wish. The only limit is your energy.
Do I need any specialist software installed on my computer to manage a Zope site?
No. All you need is your usual image manipulation program such as Photoshop, a popular browser such as Microsoft's Internet Explorer, Netscape's Navigator or Mac's Safari, and a connection to the internet.
Can my Zope site be backed up on a regular basis?
Yes. The work that you put into your site cannot be lost, as the Zope database that forms its core has been designed to be backed up extremely easily, accurately and quickly. Back-ups are conducted by Runningdog.co.uk on a weekly basis depending on your needs.
How long is a Zope site guaranteed for?
Your site is guaranteed for a minimum of 2 years. Runningdog.co.uk has been succesfully using Zope for 8 years, and the Z Photo Album for 5 years. Despite the continuing and rapid rate of change in internet technologies, Runningdog.co.uk is absolutely confident that the technology it uses will still be 100% operational for 2 years after the date of creation.
This means that whatever work you put into your site now will last, and not be lost due to obsolescent technology or passing trends.
Who looks after my remote server?
Runningdog.co.uk and !Zettai. !Zettai are a team of very talented professionals based in Chicago, Illinois, who specialise in providing web solutions and Zope hosting solutions. Their up-time is 99.9%.
Why don't I just use my free web-space provided by my service provider?
Be my guest. A professional depends on reliability to keep his or her customers. Free web space offers no guarantees of stability in the long- or short-term, and stability is the name of the game concerning your presence on the internet.
Sites that are designed and created by Runningdog.co.uk not only look highly professional to mirror your real-life identity, but are logically put together so that your audience and the world's bigger search engines can find their way around them easily and quickly.
Why don't I use an off-the-shelf product such as Dreamweaver MX or ColdFusion?
If you want to be tied to expensive software (and its expensive updates), if you want to be tied only to those computers that have that software installed on it, and if you don't mind not being able to update your content yourself from anywhere in the world, feel free!
Accessibility
-
Runningdog sites can be easily accessed, operated and read by blind people.
Each page has also been designed to be friendly and accessible when viewed through:
- mobile computers;
- text-based browsers;
- and alternative/accessible devices.
