Getting Started
You want a web site, but you're not sure where to start! Not to fear; here is a basic process to get you going.
- Find and register a domain name. I like GoDaddy.com. You can search for an available name and register it for the low cost of about ten bucks per year. Just be careful during the buying process. They do try a hard upsell. Just keep hitting "No, thank you" and continue to the next screen.
- Get some content together. Determine who your audience is. Write out what you want to present to your audience. Decide how you want to break it up. Keep each section's content to less than a page of typed material, or consider breaking it up into subsections. Decide on headings for each sections - those headings will be turned into links. Minimally, you'll want an informative welcome page, an "about us" page, a "contact" page, product or service information page or pages. Photos are also helpful. If you don't have any, consider using stock photography.
Do you have a logo or brand already in place? If not I can help you with that as well, but if so please find your original logo to go with the site.
- Buy a hosting package. Bluehost has very reliable and affordable web hosting. This is the place for all your content to be stored and made accessible to the wired world. You can do this with your own personal computer IF you want to leave it on 24/7 and leave it vulnerable to attacks. Best to go with a host.
- Email: Most hosting packages come with a few free email addresses; consider which ones you want to use.
- Check out your competition. Are there similar sites that exist? What do you like/dislike about them? What web sites in general do you like? What is it about them that you find attractive? Sharing this information with your web designer can be very helpful to her.
- Pay your web designer. They work hard for you.
- Consider updates. How often do you want to update your content? How do you imagine going about doing this? Do you want to learn how to edit html or would you be more comfortable editing a plain text file (this is an example of an external .txt file pulled into Flash)? Will you have a budget to pay for someone else to update your web site?
- Key words: Words that attract search engines. Use them. How to figure them out? Think about what people will be searching for when they need your services. Put those words into a search engine and see what comes up!
