Us techie types tend to forget that not everyone knows what we are talking about. So here is an attempt to describe all the services you need to get your online idea out to the world.
Step 01
A catchy name
Now that you have a name for your business, you’ll need a ‘.com’ to get it out to the world. Take some time figuring this out. It should be short and catchy, preferably with a word that pertains to your business.
Step 02
Put it on the web
No one can see your website until you put it on someone’s server that is connected to the internet. This is called ‘web hosting’. There are lots of choices, and I’ll help you sort it out.
Step 03
Keep it current
You can’t set it and forget it when it comes to websites. I’ll maintain your site for your first year. After that we’ll need to set up a maintenance agreement to keep your site safe from hackers.
Web Hosting Considerations
Here are some things to think about as you are working with your website.
How much content do you need?
Is your product or service easily explained to your customers? Can you get away with a one page website?
Will you have lots of traffic?
You can save on hosting costs by only purchasing the capacity you need for the visitors to your site.
Do you want to edit the site yourself?
Do you want to be able to access the site and make changes on your own?
What features do you want?
Does your site need all the bells and whistles like a blog, photo galleries, download management, or an online store?
Do you need email?
Some hosting plans come with email accounts so you can use your own domain name for email.
Do you need integration?
Do you need to connect your website with your email marketing service, or show your Instagram posts on your website?
Most domains start at around $12 per year and go up from there, depending on the type of domain (.com versus .net or .org, etc.) and the features you would like to add like privacy.
You get what you pay for when it comes to hosting. Sure, you can go with the $2 per month plan, but as soon as your site gets a little bit of traffic you’ll start seeing your site slow down (or even go down). Better to buy a plan with some breathing room. A solid plan runs between $15 and $40 per month depending on your traffic and disk space needs.
That’s the little padlock thing on your website. It’s a must have to keep your customers’ information safe, prevent your viewers from getting warnings about an insecure site, and to avoid being downgraded by the search engines. Most hosting plans come with a free SSL certificate.
It takes hard work and dedication to score well with the search engines. There is no magic bullet and you can’t buy your way to the top. Read my article about that here.
Your site’s security is one of the most important considerations when it comes to choosing a web hosting company, setting up the code for your website, using industry best practices for monitoring, firewalls, spam protection, password, and email security. I will ensure that we do everything in our power to keep the good people coming to your site and the bad people out.
Did I Answer Your Questions?
There is nothing I like more than explaining everything having to do with websites.
