Setting Up A New Website
Making a new web site is a creative process which will be different with each site. However, there are certain stages that nearly all web sites will go through before becoming live. This tutorial explains the process that will be followed by most people wanting to create a web site for their business. The following steps need to be passed for almost every web site, but not always in this order.
Take some time to write down the objectives of the new web site and any other ideas you have for it.
- Set Objectives
- Choose a developer
- Agree design and specifications
- Register domain name
- Get a web hosting account
- Agree draft and make changes
- Go live
- Publicise
1. Set objectives
This is perhaps the most important step and yet it is often overlooked until late on in the process with dire consequences. You should be clear before you start what your website is going to achieve. Why are you creating a web site? There are many possible reasons such as:
- Increase your company profile;
- Generate additional business;
- Reduce the number of customer telephone calls;
- Provide improved customer service by making more information available 24/7.
- Sell products or services online;
- Reduce advertising and marketing costs.
The above are just a few possibilities, but these objectives will shape how your web site will look - whether it is a simple low-cost online brochure, or a complex ecommerce site linked to a catalogue of hundreds of products.
As part of this process you should consider your budget and how you will measure the success of your new web site. Your budget will determine what you are able to acheive on your site and may limit what can be done. You will want to know whether your site is successful, so will need to determine what that means in measurable terms - whether it be the number of 'hits' on the site or the reduction in telephone calls asking for simple information.
It is worth writing this down and discussing it with your web developer because it will help your developer to design the site.
2. Choose a developer
You will need to find a freelance web developer, or company, to create your web site. It is possible to create a simple web site using 'do-it-yourself' software, but you will find it surprisingly time consuming and the results may be disapointing. Creating a good web site requires a great deal of technical know how and a wide skill set. It is best left to the professionals.
We hope that you will consider First Class Web Solutions for your new web site. However, if you wish to look at alternative developers, then plenty can be found by searching on the Internet. It is important that you find someone who you are comfortable with, since creating a web site is a partnership. A further consideration is that despite the huge improvements in communications over the past few years, there is no substitute for being able to sit down at a table with your developer and have a face-to-face discussion.
Try to find examples of web sites you like and indentify the features that appeal to you.
3. Agree the design and specifications
Having chosen your developer, you will need to get together and decide on how the web site will look and what features it will have. This process may involve one or more meetings and some back and forth communication as possible designs are drafted and amended. The aim is to arrive at a design template and a written specification that will set out exactly what the web site will look like and do. This will include such matters as who is to provide the content such as the text and photographs for the site.
4. Register a domain name
The domain name is the unique address of your site that is typed into the address bar of an Internet browser to view the web site. A domain name must be registered and it is 'rented' for a period of time. If it is not renewed at the end of that time then it becomes available for someone else to use. It must be unique and it is best if it is memorable, short and easy to type. Of course, the domain name must also have relevance to your business - the best domain names can usually be guessed from the name of the business.
Finding a domain name that has not already been taken can be difficult. Most domain registrars allow you to search their files for different names.
A domain name consists of two parts separated by a full-stop e.g. amazon.com or rte.ie. The first part of the domain name can be anything that describes your businesss, but it must only contain normal letters and numbers. The second part of the domain name is selected from a short list of approved 'top level domains' and is intended to give the user an indication to the purpose of the web site. For example '.com' normally means the site belongs to a US or global business whereas '.org' normally means that the site is operated by a non-profit organisation. Only companies and individuals that have a link to Ireland are allowed to register a domain name ending in '.ie'.
The cost of renting a domain name will vary depending on the 'top level domain' chosen and the company that you use to register you domain name with. Domain names ending in '.ie' are some of the most expensive and currently cost about €25 per year. Other domains cost only a fraction of this. Your developer will advise you about registering a domain name and may be willing to do this on your behalf.
5. Get a web hosting account
Your web site will be held on web servers that are maintained by a web-hosting company. The costs for doing this and the services offered vary enormously. Your developer will probably recommend a web hosting company that is reliable and gives value for money, or you can search the Internet for one yourself. The company that you registered your domain name with may also offer web hosting services, but the best company for registering your domain name may not be the best web hosting company. You should also be wary about using a reseller who acts as an intermediary between you and the web hosting company. They may offer additional services, but will generally cost more than going direct to the web hosting company.
6. Approve the draft website
Once your developer has created a working version of your web site and tested it, you will be asked to approve it. This is a process that needs to be handled carefully and where the value of the early stages becomes apparent. It is natural that you will want to make a few changes when you see the web site working, however, if you need to make major changes, then it may be a sign that the original design and specifications were not properly set out. It is important to check the draft web site thoroughly and make a list of all changes so that your developer can make the updates in one go. Once you are happy with any changes you can give your developer authority to make your web site live.
7. Go live
Your developer will migrate all the files that make up your website to the web servers of your web hosting company. The site will then be tested again to check that all the links work and that the site works well and looks great in all the popular web browsers. At this point, you may wish to set up new email addresses using your new domain name or you may prefer to use an existing email address and have any emails from your new web site redirected to your existing email accounts.
Make sure that your website is mentioned on business cards, letter heads, and in telephone directories.
8. Get the best from your website
When you have your web site up and running you will want to make the best use of it. Make sure your customers know about it by contacting them and/or advertising your site with posters and leaflets. Get links to your site put on other relevant web sites. For example, if you own a guest house then make sure that a link to your website is put on the Tourist Information web sites. Your developer will advise on how to make the best of your site.
Internet Facts
What is 'WWW'?
The 'World Wide Web' is that part of the Internet used by the public where the vast majority of web sites reside. There is actually more to the Internet than the World Wide Web, but as it is by far the largest part of the Internet and the only part that most people ever see, the phrases 'Internet' and 'World Wide Web' have become largely interchangable to most people. The reason that web sites names nearly always start with 'www' is to tell the computers that direct Internet traffic to look for the web site on a web server. Other types of servers include database servers and mail servers.
What is a 'top level domain'?
The Internet is so vast that it has been divided into distinct parts known as domains. The highest level of domains in this structure are 'top level domains'.
Initially, there were only a handfull of top level domains, but as the number of web sites has increased to many millions, more have been added. The top level domain is that part of a web site address after the dot. The top level domain is intended to give users a guide to the nature of the website. For example, a web site name ending '.co.uk' is intended for commercial sites operating in the UK. Some of the more common top level domains are .com; .org; .net; .eu; .biz; and .tv.
Web sites based or operating in the Republic of Ireland normally end in '.ie'.
Unfortunately, there is very little control over who buys domain names so you cannot rely on the domain name to indicate that a web site really does operate in a particular country.
What is a 'sub-domain'?
A very large website may be divided into smaller units called sub-domains. This helps to direct Internet traffic efficiently. For example, the main domain name for the Google search engine is www.google.com. However, the Google email service is handled by the sub-domain 'mail.google.com'.
Sometimes a web site will have a second copy available for testing that cannot be accessed by the public. This is known as a staging site and will be run as a sub-domain to the main site.
Some companies that offer to set up web sites for very low prices do it by setting up sub-domains to their main site. In these cases, instead of getting a web site name in the format 'mybusiness.ie' the web site would be something like 'mybusiness.superwebhosting.ie.
What is an Internet Browser?
In order to view pages on the Internet you will need an Internet browser. A browser receives the computer code downloaded from web servers and converts it into pages of text and images. All computers will come with an Internet browser built in. The most common browser that comes with any 'Windows' based PC is 'Internet Explorer'. Other popular browsers are Firefox, Google Chrome and Safari.
Although all browsers basically do the same thing, they have slightly different features and some work better on slower computers. Internet browsers are generally free so if you do not like the features on the one you are using it is a simple matter to download and install a different one.
One of the difficulties with web design is that web sites might look slightly different when viewed in different browsers. A web developer has to make sure that your web site both looks and works well on a wide variety of browsers.
