So you have a company, or maybe you're starting your own small business, and you need to have your own web site. The problem is you don't even know where to start. It can be daunting.
The good news is this: It's not as hard as it sounds and with the right help, you can be online advertising your business to the world - or your small part of it - right away.
A web site consists of three key parts:
• Domain name
• Hosting
• Content
A domain name and hosting must be purchased by you from a provider. I typically use GoDaddy.com.
Domain Name:
Simply put, it's the name of your web site. Mine is www.userfriendlysupport.com. On GoDaddy's home page is a search tool you can use to find out if your desired name is available. If it is, great! You can buy it.
Ownership lasts a term of one or two years, typically, and then you can renew. If your name isn't available, GoDaddy will suggest alternatives or you can search for a different name. As far a pricing goes, it varies. .com is a more desirable "top level domain" than .net, .us etc, so .coms usually cost more. Domain names that might be in demand or are general terms that might get more traffic are also more expensive.
Hosting:
A web site is simply a collection of files. They have to be put somewhere accessible to the outside world. That's what hosting is. Your hosting company, GoDaddy in my example, provides server space and bandwidth. They put your site someplace and give people a way to get to it.
The best approach is to buy hosting at the same time you buy your domain name. Sites like GoDaddy will usually give you a price break for buying both at the same time. Also in the realm of price breaks, consider that buying two years' worth of hosting costs less per month than one year. You do pay up front, though, so evaluate whether you really want to e in this for "the long haul" or if you're just "testing the waters."
We can help you get started and walk you through the buying process if you need it. It can definitely be confusing for some, with options like Windows vs. Linux server, private or public registration and so on that there's not room to go into here. Just understand that it's not as hard as you might think and if necessary, you can do the whole process over the phone with the hosting company instead.
The next topic to discuss is content. You have a name and a place for your site to live. A "home" for your homepage. How do you get exactly what you want onto that little piece of the Internet that belongs to you? That's the next topic, where we'll discuss how the client engagement goes and how you get exactly what you want online on your site.
