Website Basics If you are starting a new business, or have an existing one, and are looking to have a website developed there are some general terms and knowledge that you should be aware of before hiring a website designer. There are three core elements that ALL websites must have: • A Domain Name • Hosting • Website Content DOMAIN NAME The .com, .net, .org, etc... that is associated with your business. Domains are obtained through licensed domain name registrars online. Popular domain name registrars include www.godaddy.com, www.netsol.com, and www.register.com. The fees involved with registering a domain for one year vary from around $10 to $30 depending on where you register it and what options you choose to include. For most small companies the best option is normally to spend around $10 per year on your domain through a website like www.godaddy.com, we recommend this company to all of our clients. It's also best if you open an account at a registrar and register your own domain. That way the domain is in your name from the beginning. If a website designer offers to register your domain for you, there is a chance they can hold it hostage if you decide not to use their services anymore, since they registered it, it's probably in their name and not yours. So be safe and register your own domain name. Registering a domain name is as simple as purchasing an item online with your credit card. Your domain will reside in your domain name account. It will be your responsibility to make sure that it is renewed each year. You will normally be sent notices when it's close to time for your domain name to be renewed. DOMAIN NAME TIPS: Choosing a domain name. If possible it's best to have your domain name exactly match your business name. This isn't always possible as thousands of domain names are registered all over the world every day. In some instances entrepreneurs starting new businesses will actually name their business based on the availability of the matching domain name. Spend some time researching the domain names available. www.netsol.com has a very fast engine that will let you check to see if a particular name is available, they will also suggest alternatives if the one you wish to register is already taken. Once you find the domain you want it's important to register it ASAP, so that someone else doesn't do so first. Before registering your selected domain name check to make sure that their isn't another site with the same name but different designation. For instance if you decide to register www.yourdomain.net, visit www.yourdomain.com just to make sure that its not a site that contains objectionable material, as some of your clients are bound to accidentally end up on other similarly named websites. There are different types of domain names, the most common ones are .com, .net, & .org. The .com designation is the most popular and it's best to try and have your domain name end in this designation as the general public is most used to putting in a .com when searching for a business on the internet. If you tell someone that your business name and web address are the same, they will normally assume that it ends in .com. Keep your domain name as short as possible and avoid dashes if you can. Long domain names and domain names that include dashes are hard to remember. ______________________________________________________________________________ HOSTING ^ Hosting is a service provided by a website hosting company. They own computers called servers on which your website information will be stored. Your website's content is broken down into several different file types including image and html files. These files MUST reside somewhere on a server/computer that is always connected to the internet and always available to anyone who wants to access your website. Hosting fees are paid to the website hosting company in return for the service of having your website content available to anyone who types in your domain at any time. Your domain and hosting do not have to be done through the same company. Your domain account and hosting account can be associated to work together through settings in your domain name account. Basically, your domain name is your street address, and the hosting is your house. Just as the post office sends mail to your mailbox, which gives the sender a kind of access to your house, a host guides those wanting access to your information to your site content, using your domain as the street address. Your hosting account can operate independently from your domain account, and, they can be located in different places. At LogoDesign-WebDesign.com we like for our clients to register their own domain name to insure they have total control over it. Which means you will need to register a domain name with another company. You DO NOT need to have a domain name before hiring us to develop your website, in fact, we can assist you in selecting a domain name if you wish. Once you have registered your domain name we can set it up to work with our hosting by accessing your domain name account. Our website hosting also includes maintenance/updating. When you need text or imagery updated on your website you contact us, and we update the site. We specialize in developing and maintaining sites for businesses who do have the time or want to learn website design and updating. There are also options online where you can purchase just hosting, and do the updating yourself. However, this means that you will also have to construct your own website. ______________________________________________________________________________ WEBSITE CONTENT ^ The most important aspect of building a website is good content. Just having a website doesn't mean it will assist you in gaining customers, which is normally the goal of a website for a small business. If you have a website with poor content, its the same as paying for an advertisement that lists limited or incorrect information about your business. Your website content should be informative and to the point, there are way too many websites on the internet that are vague, be direct. When developing good website content/ text it is important to keep the search engines in mind. By including phrases in your text that you believe people will use to search for your business or service through a search engine, you are helping in insure that search engines will list you properly. There is core information that is normally included within the content of a website dedicated to a small business. Your website content should include the following because your visitors will expect it to be there: • A welcome message • Information about the person or persons behind the scenes • Easy to find contact information • Location information • A thorough idea of what you can do for the customer presented in a precise way It's also a good idea to post testimonials and feedback from your current and past clients. Potential clients searching for a service online also like to find some history about your company on your website. Think of the questions that you get asked most often by potential clients, then answer those questions on your website. Developing good website content can be a daunting task. We can assist you in the process by reviewing your website text and offering our professional input, which is backed by 5 years of developing service oriented, small business websites. WEBSITE LAYOUT / TREE When developing your website content it's a good idea to work up a rough layout of your site, any web developer will need this information when building your website. Think of a website layout as a flowchart of your site. Starting with the main/ home page, and branching out from there. EXAMPLE WEBSITE LAYOUT Home/ Index Page -About Us Page -Our Services Page -Testimonials Page -Contact Us Page At LogoDesign-WebDesign.com we offer 3 website package plans that all include a logo, website hosting, and website maintenance. When you hire us to develop your website we also take care of setting up your domain to work properly with your new small business website. We will set up your email boxes, contact forms, thank you pages, and custom error pages. Each website that we develop is custom designed, we do not use templates. We are trained graphic designers first, so your website will be aesthetically pleasing, informative, search engine friendly, and easy to navigate. Please review our website packages and contact us with any questions concerning any stage of the website design process, we are more than happy to talk with you concerning any area of the process that you are unfamiliar with. CONTACT US - REVIEW OUR WEBSITE PACKAGES - RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE © 2007 CJ Hughes for LogoDesign-WebDesign.com If you see this article in use on ANY other website contact us with a link to it and we will offer a discount off of our services as a reward. |
