A guide to getting started with your very own website (or blog)
This page is written for those people that are feeling a little out of their depth with the prospect of setting up a new website or updating (perhaps we should say upgrading) an old one. Many people and businesses we have come across have been overcharged, misled or trapped into costly contracts, or ended up with a site that has kept them needlessly handcuffed to their developer. This guide aims to give you a few details for the things you'll need to consider and what to do about them.
The details around the setting up of a web site can be split into the following points, we'll get into each of them in a little more detail:
- Setting up a domain name
- Web hosting (and related e-mail services)
- Website design and development
- Content Management
- eCommerce
- Ongoing website maintenance
Domain name registration
The first step is to choose your sites address, which is called its domain name. This is easily done through many online tools, but one of the best ways to go about finding a new domain name–unless you already have one registered–is to find it through the web hosting service you plan on using to host your website (see the next section).
Typically these tools will check whether the domain name is available or already reserved (note we didn't say in use) and will often generate ideas for you based on a selection of keywords you enter. To see what we mean check out the Myhosting Domain Name registration page and enter an idea for a domain name in the "Choose a domain name" field on the page.
Often the choice of a new domain name and the setting up of web hosting services can go hand in hand. Not to worry though, if you reserve your domain name before you set up web hosting, it is an easy process to associate–or "point"–your domain name and the web host at a later date. This is why the process of registering a domain name and setting up web hosting services can be done in separate steps.
Note: Your domain name should be easy to remember, relevant, easy to type and not too long – after all, just think how many times you will have to give it out!
Web hosting services
Your web site is accessible by the world at large only when it is living on a “web server”, which is simply a computer that knows how to send out your website information to visitors when they access it using a web browser. For people to see your site the web server computer needs to be on every minute of every day and have a enough space set aside for all your files, images and database information. This is what your hosting cost covers and gives the public access to your site. If you think about it, that's a pretty good deal.
Email is another service that goes hand in hand with your hosting services. You may want to use e-mail accounts that utilize your domain name. It's a good marketing strategy and helps with branding (that elusive association of your company's name with it's products or services).
We don't offer hosting services but we do recommend a few really good ones:
- Robson – a professional and local Vancouver hosting provider, more hands-on than the next two;
- MyHosting – a 100% Canadian owned and operated hosting provider;
- NetFirms – founded in Canada but crosses the border in ownership.
All three of the above provider offer control panel management of a shared hosting service. So if you need to have your web developer set up a database, or something equally strange, they will be able to do so with ease.
Note: for your own benefit, choose a provider with web based control panel management. This means that after the web hosting service is set up, all the details of managing your web server are available to you or to your designer/developer without having to contact the web hosting service for every little detail.
Website design and development
You now have a domain, the ability to put a site on it, but no site. The site design and related development cost will vary according to what you type of site you are after, but can range for a simple site at the $500 mark, upwards to more complex custom programmed sites.
There are may content extras you may want to consider, such as the use of video or animation, a photo gallery, events calendars, searchable content, advertisements and more.
Your designer and developer–folks like us–can offer you many options and design and develop for a wide range of form and function. You'll want to find the right individual or company who can manage the tasks you'll need accomplished with ease and are able to work within your budget. Be sure to look at examples of work and make sure you'll want to engage their services. Some folks develop and code well, but are weaker in the design area. Some have great design chops but are unable to develop the code necessary to bring the design to reality.
Another note of caution: be careful who you engage, and be sure they have designed and developed sites that are to your taste. Even those with great skills on both sides of the design/development coin may not meet your exacting standards for the end product you have envisioned.
The opposite holds true from your designer/developer, they need to have a good discussion with you to ensure that what you are looking or asking for falls within the scope of your budget. And they also need to define that scope before engaging in your project. The result of a great relationship with a designer/developer is that you will both end up a product that will not only represent you to the world but that you will be pleased to show and acknowledge as your own.
Content Management Systems
(websites you manage)
This is where the true differentiators come in. A content management system or CMS is where we recommend all our clients start when engaging us to work for them. A CMS is not only essential for sites with lots of content or articles but offer a broader range of benefits such as including enhancements to the website like search, photo galleries and more. Such systems are designed to take the hard work out of enhancing the site capabilities and provide you with an administrative interface to maintain your website; enabling everything from making minor copy changes to adding images, uploading and attaching files, to creating new pages and menu items.
We specialize in two different CMS platforms, the first being Drupal an award winning CMS that is considered by most to be the work-horse platform of choice for serious CMS website needs. The second is WordPress, a blogger friendly but highly advanced and engaging CMS platform for those who need a website geared towards blogging. Both these tools are state-of-the-art publishing platforms that are able to grow with the needs of any online presence.
eCommerce
(selling products or services online)
The next need we are often asked about is eCommerce facilities, or the ability to sell products or services via the web. eCommerce can be a real benefit for your business and it is a great way to showcase your solution to a broader audience. Your online storefront is open 365 days a year, 24 hours a day and is manageable from anywhere in the world.
Just like registering a domain name and signing up for web hosting services, eCommerce is an area that requires third party integration for the purposes of clearing credit cards and moving money into and out of your bank account. These services are called payment gateways and are offered by many different providers, whether it be from your own bank to the online commerce giant PayPal and many in between.
A caution on eCommerce, you or your company need to be prepared to do it. From just having enough product in stock or manufacturing processes ready to go, to order fulfillment and shipping and in-house procedures to handle the new business mechanisms, eCommerce is more than just enabling a website. It is a piece to a larger puzzle and needs to be handled with proper planning and steady execution. This is where we tell our clients, you have to plan the work, then work the plan.
Ongoing maintenance
The more detailed aspects of administrating a website can be quite involved. Particularly if you don't live and breathe all that web stuff. You now are in need of keeping your website up-to-date and relevant not only to site visitors, but to search engines and doing that can be a time consuming and often confusing chore.
Every month you should be checking to ensure your SEO (that's Search Engine Optimization) analytics are reviewed, and your site accounts for search terms in both meta and regular content.
Beyond that you should also ensure that your site has a failsafe for not just simple backups but also recovery plans. While automated backups can be managed through your web hosting service, you should have an offsite recovery path in place should the worst happen and your server is lost–think of it as an insurance policy, probably not necessary but should you'll need it, you'll be glad you have it.
As well ongoing maintenance will insure that necessary updates are installed, and someone is doing all those housecleaning website chores that keeps your site running smoothly. This is where you can look to your design/developer. Ongoing maintenance can ensure that you have taken all the necessary steps towards ensuring your site and the investment you have made towards it stays relevant and in proper working order.
And that's the guide...
We hope this has helped. If you would like us to help you with any of the above we're here to help and Available For Hire.
Thanks,
Naomi & Nate.
