What’s Needed To Have My Own Website?
If you are entering the world of online business or you just want your offline business to have an online presence then there are a few things that you should know which will make the whole process a lot less daunting for you. It can be easy to feel overwhelmed by creating your own website, choosing a hosting service, buying a domain name etc. and that can put many people off.
Once you know exactly what you need to do to get your website up and running and where to go to get it, then it all becomes a lot simpler. Let’s take a look at some top tips to help you get the website you’ve always wanted.
1. Start With The Name
The first place to begin is with your domain name i.e. www.example-name.com which will be the address for your website. There are a few things to bear in mind when choosing your domain name - firstly, is it available? You may find that the name you want to use has already been taken and so you might have to change it slightly or buy a .net or .ie domain instead.
A .com is the default website name is USA, even though lots of other website name endings are used e.g. .net, .org . Having .i.e. on the end of the domain will make it perform better in search results made in Ireland and if you’re targeting the UK market for example you’d be better off going with a .co.uk domain.
When you buy a domain you’re merely renting it while having first refusal when it’s time to renew the domain agreement. Most hosting sites will rent out domains for 1, 2, 5 or 10 years and they are relatively low cost. Another point to consider is that having a domain that directly matches your service or product will probably lead to it performing better when people search for them in Google.
For example www.specialisedblueshoes.ie should perform well in searches for specialised blue shoes in Google. There are lots of sites that you can use to find domains such as 123 Reg, IEDR and Register 365 to name a few.
2. Find You’re Host
Once you’ve bought the domain name you can either let the service you bought it from host your website or you can find your own host which is usually recommended. Having a website host just means that your website is constantly accessible as it is part of a web server computer system that is always on.
When someone visits your site they are accessing your web page information through the host company servers which usually have extremely powerful and reliable computers to ensure that your website never crashes and is always accessible when visitors are looking for it. They will also be able to give you specific company emails that match your domain name.
Often when you get your website designed by a web design company they will also be able to host it for you which simplifies the whole process for you and brings me on to my next point.
3. Creating Your Site
Now we get to the important part, actually getting your website made. Unless you have a good knowledge of web design and development then you’ll need to hire a professional or agency to do it for you. You can still have the ultimate say over how you want your site to look and you can even give them a basic design of the logo you want your business to have.
Logos are important as they can be used as a marketing tool to install a recognisable image and association with a brand in the minds of consumers.
Before you choose a web design service you first need to work out what it is you want from your website. Do you want a basic, static site which acts as an online business card giving visitors information about your contact details and opening hours, or do you want a dynamic site that you can constantly update with new content, images, offers and product prices?
Dynamic sites are obviously more expensive than static ones but they are also much easier to manage as they come with content management systems (CMS) that allow you to easily edit them. Static sites are more old fashioned and require you to ask your developer whenever you need a change made to the site. A good web designer will be able to explain it all to you in a way that makes it all clear and easy to understand.
4. SEO Is Important
Simply creating a website is no longer enough for it to be successful as you need to take search engine optimisation (SEO) into consideration. With a well optimised site you will be able to attract visitors who are searching for terms that are related to your business products and services, which will in turn generate sales leads for you.
To achieve this you need to earn links from reputable websites within your industry and have an on-going strategy of link building and social sharing to improve your rankings within search engines like Google. Once again the right web design agency will be able to offer this service to you.
Contact MyIT Website Design Walkinstown Dublin 12 if you have any questions and we'd be happy to answer them for you.
