Basics of setting up a website

When it comes to designing and building a website, you can either do it yourself or hire someone else to do it. To create a website you only need to do these two things:

·         Sign up for a website hosting and choose/register a domain name

·         Create a website

Setting up a Website

Register Your Domain Name: A domain name is the Internet address of a website or blog. Your domain name should be simple, obvious, and as short as possible. Domain names are unique. You can only register a domain name that no one else has taken. Find an easy-to-remember name for your site. Once you have successfully registered your domain name, it will remain in your name and control for as long as you pay to keep it. There are 280 domain extensions in total. These are divided into two main groups

·         Generic top-level domains (gTLDs)

·         country code top-level domains (ccTLDs)

The 20 gTLD extensions are used mostly internationally. They are divided as:

·         4 unrestricted TLDs: .COM, .NET, .ORG & .INFO (can be purchased by anyone without any restrictions)

·         3 Generic-restricted TLDs: .BIZ (for Businesses), .NAME (for Individuals) & .PRO (for credentialed professionals)

·         13 Sponsored TLDs: .AERO, .ASIA, .CAT, .COOP, .EDU (US only), .GOV (US only), .INT, .JOBS, .MIL (US only), .MOBI, .MUSEUM, .TEL & .TRAVEL

Choose a Web Host and Sign Up for an Account: A web host is basically a company that has many computers connected to the Internet. When you place your web pages on their computers, everyone in the world will be able to connect to it and view them. You should choose a hosting company based on your website’s technology, database type and space/bandwidth requirements. If you are not sure about these things, then it is best to consult your web development company for a suitable hosting plan.

Create a Website: Once you have settled your domain name and web host, the next step is to design the web site. You will need to decide whether to hire a professional Web developer to create your Web site or to produce it yourself. If you have a real desire to learn how to create your own site, spend some time with online tutorials on creating your own site. Tools such as Adobe Dreamweaver and Adobe Photoshop allow you to create Web site without any prior knowledge of Web design.

If you are hiring a web designer to do it for you, it's important to determine

·         The purpose and budget of your website

·         Who will provide content for your website

·         Who will be responsible for both design and marketing of your website?

·         Test your website design and functionality to make sure that it works the way you want it.

Tips for developing a successful website

Make Your Website Easy: Build light, simple, and user-friendly website interfaces as it’s important that user can easily navigate with your website. So provide clear, easy-to-understand tools on each page of your website. Always, include your contact information on each page of your site.

Provide Useful Content: It's not enough to have a Web site that lists your products and provides a shopping cart for purchases. If you want your visitors to return, you should provide meaningful content.

Speed: Make your site load fast as much as possible. This is important from two aspects: user experience and a SEO factor.

Feedback: Encourage customers to give there valuable feedback via online forms. Place online chat option on homepage or provide them a feedback form on site.