Business Site Info

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Creating Your Site

The following information offers advice for small business owners interested in setting up a website:

1) RESEARCH YOUR IDEA FIRST!

Search the Internet for sites offering similar products or services. Compare prices, take note of the look and feel of certain sites. You might be surprised at how many people have the same idea as yours! Looking at similar sites will help you position your website in such a way as to stand out from the others. It pays to do some research and study the competition.

2) CHOOSE A DOMAIN NAME

Once you've looked on the Internet for ideas and inspiration, it's time to choose a name for your website. If you are setting up a commercial business, your name should end in ".com". Non-profit companies usually end in ".org". Educational institutions end with ".edu". There's also ".net" for networks, ".gov" for government sites, and a new category ".biz" which is similar to ".com".

The cost to register a domain name varies. The standard rate ranges from $9.95 to $35.00 per year. Some web hosts offer domain name registration as part of their services. Read the fine print and be sure you know what you're paying for. I've found a site, OOODomains, that offers registration for a mere $13.50/year. Sometimes you're better off registering your domain name first and THEN looking for someone to host your site. You can save some money that way!

3) PLAN YOUR SITE ( Can I do it myself or will I need a website designer?)

Now it's time to start planning your website. Decide how many pages your site will need, and what categories to include. This is where getting help becomes useful. Having a web designer create your site will give it a professional look. Once again, some hosts include this service with your account, but you will probably wind up paying more than if you found an independent contractor. I believe that your website should be completed BEFORE you start looking for a web host. This offers more control over your own site, and should you ever need to change your web host provider, you'll have everything you've created already in your possession (on your computer).

JoelSolomon.com offers professional web design and support. I can help you create a website that reflects your business needs. For examples of some of the commercial sites I've created, click the links on the right column titled "SAMPLES."

4) CREATE YOUR HOME PAGE

If you are designing your website yourself, be sure your home page is eye-catching without being too annoying. After doing your initial research, you should have a good idea of what elements make a website effective. Once again, the importance of good planning pays off!


At JoelSolomon.com, I will create several sample home pages for your approval. These will be 'rough drafts' until finished. Working together, we will collaborate on an idea that best reflects your vision. 

5) WILL I ACCEPT CREDIT CARDS?

This feature makes it much easier for people to purchase items from your business. You should already have a business that accepts credit cards. If you do not have the ability to process credit cards, you're looking at a considerable cost to get started. Companies like Authorize.net and Verisign can help you begin to accept credit cards.

If you already are able to process credit cards, you can save LOTS of money by finding a service that allows customers to securely send you their credit card information. Most customers will not provide or send any credit card information through e-mail unless there is a guarantee that no one else can access this information. This is what's known as 'secure transfer' of funds. A service like PayPal require a small fee to set up a secure account. Money gets trasnferred from a customer's credit card to your checking account, with a small service charge going to PayPal for each transaction. There's also a site called Mal's e-Commerce that provides this service for FREE!

6) FIND A HOST FOR YOUR SITE

Once your website is completed, it's time to find a company to HOST your site. A host is where your files are stored so everyone on the Internet can see your site. There are thousands of companies that provide web hosting services. How to decide? Check the Yellow Pages for web hosting companies, talk to someone you know who has their own website, and ask who hosts their site, do an online search of "web hosting" and see what comes up. Local web hosts offer the convenience of faster technical support and more personalized service. If you choose a web host from an out-of-state company, you're likely to wait longer for help.

Keep the following questions in mind when choosing a web host for your site:

How much disk space will they let you have for your website?
Don't pay for more than you need. The more graphics, sounds, and movies on your site, the storage space your site will require.

Do they offer technical support? If so, is it by telephone or e-mail?
Find out how long it takes for someone to get back to you. Write an e-mail with a question about hosting and see if/when they respond, and if your questions were answered to your satisfaction.

Do they offer domain name registration as part of their service?
If so, find out how much they charge. You might be better off doing this on your own to save money.

How fast is their connection to the Internet?
This will determine how fast your pages are served to your visitors. The faster your website loads for visitors, the less likely they will click away. Also find out if they have multiple connections in case one becomes inoperable.

4DVision offers a variety of hosting packages depending on your needs. They are a local company, and I've been very happy with their level of customer service. This would be a good place to start when looking for a web host.

7) PROMOTE YOUR SITE

Now that you have a completed website, it's time to let everyone know you're out there! Many websites offer services to help you promote your site. Promotion World offers a tutorial that can help you get started promoting your site effectively. There are also some invisible elements you can add to your site, such as 'META tags', 'keywords', and 'descriptions'.

The other way to promote your site is old fashioned WORD OF MOUTH. Tell your friends, e-mail everyone you know with your website address and a description. There's nothing wrong with a little shameless self-promotion! If there are similar sites to yours, e-mail them and ask if they can include you on their 'links' page. Often times you can "trade links" with other sites. By this I mean asking the webmaster of an outside site to include your URL address in exchange for you including them on your website. Beware of people who ask for graphics and/or banner ads to be placed on your site in exchange for your web address. Too many ads can make your site look 'cheesy' and cluttered.

This should give you a better idea of how to start your online business.