First Steps for First-Timers

A quick primer to establishing your first website.

by James Bonney, B & Company Creative Design, Allen, TX
August 23, 2008

Business owners and freelancers—or solopreneurs—looking to establish a web presence for the first time often throw up their hands and say, "Where do I start?" This primer will help those just starting out to better understand those first steps toward announcing their business to the World Wide Web.

Purchase a domain name

Domain names are the "yourcompany" part of www.yourcompany.com. They are like the address to your home, telling people where they can find you. This should be a name you want closely associated with your company—usually, the shorter the better. Short names are easier to remember and type. The cost to purchase a domain name can range from about $10 to $35 per year. Generally, I like to purchase domain names from the same company I purchase the hosting from. That way everything is on one account. Before checking online to see which domains are available, research domain name front-running and try to avoid registrars that participate in this unethical practice.

Purchase hosting space

If the domain is like your address, then the "host" is like your home. This is the actual storage space on a server where your website's content files are located and accessible by surfers on the Internet.

For an individual, the cheapest option might be to see if the ISP you already use to access the Web offers free hosting space when you signed up (many do). However, sometimes the amount of storage can be limited and many ISPs do not allow this "personal" space to be used for commercial purposes.

There are also free hosting sites out there that may seem like a good option at first, but in exchange for the space being free, you are very often stuck hosting banner ads on your site. This may be acceptable for a recreational site, but it does not convey the professional image most solopreneurs or companies need to project.

A more professional route is to purchase hosting space from any one of many Web hosting companies—www.GoDaddy.com and www.powweb.com are two such examples. Hosting space is generally available for around $100 to $150 per year.

Purchasing a domain name, hosting and getting your site designed don’t have to be done in order (in fact, I often suggest waiting to purchase the hosting until design work is done). I do suggest that the domain name be purchased as soon as you decide on a name and confirm that it’s available.

The Design part

If you wish to design your website yourself, many Web hosts provide a limited site creation wizard (note the word “limited”) for their customers. Generally, with a wizard, you don’t get a lot of flexibility. It’s an option for people who just want to get the minimum up with minimal expense. The more ambitious types can buy 3rd-party design programs like Dreamweaver or FrontPage, which gives you a lot more flexibility, but at the price of having to learn a lot more (possibly more than you care to!). Be aware that do-it-yourself websites can have a homemade look that can make your company seem small or behind the times.

Features of a good website

At its core, a website's purpose is to inform. A good website tells visitors what your company does (your story), how it benefits them (the hook) and is a portal through which they can contact you. A website is an important tool in your marketing arsenal, but isn’t going to magically generate tons of new business on its own. In order to drive traffic to your website, you need to promote it both on and off line.

A well-designed website has these elements:

• professional looking
• a clear message
• intuitive navigation
• cross-browser compatible
• search engine optimized
• clean code

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Back when search engines were new, they had a very simple way of categorizing websites. That led to all sorts of search engine abuse by unscrupulous people exploiting their way to the top of search rankings. Thankfully, search engines have been improved dramatically since those days. However, in an effort to stay on top of the rankings, a whole new industry has blossomed purporting “guaranteed” placement on search engines. Do your research if you decide to use one of these services. SEO is a legitimate strategy, but be skeptical of companies offering guaranteed top ranking. A good start to good rankings comes down relevant content, link popularity (I'm not talking link farms here) and a lean-coded, well structured site that minimizes impedance to search engine spiders (the robots that scan your site and collect your content).

Outside designer or in-house?

The tradeoffs between doing the work yourself and hiring a professional web designer are a little more than just cost versus hassle. Budget, time, skill and results all need to be considered.

The good part about hiring a designer is you gain all the experience he/she has. A good designer will be up on the latest trends in design. You’ll get a more polished, professional website without spending a lot of time doing it yourself. A professional designer can also make suggestions regarding content and how to organize and structure your site that you might not have considered. If you go this route, make sure to review other sites the designer has created so you get a feel for their skill level and design style. It’s also important to make sure you have a comfortable level of communication with your designer because even though they are doing a lot of the work on your site, you’ll still have to provide them with the information and content to include. Your designer should ask a lot of questions so he or she understands and addresses your goals for the site.

It’s almost essential for a business to have some type of web presence. Remember, in general, a website is like any other product. You get what you pay for. If you want a high-quality website that represents your business well, consider consulting a professional designer.