How to get started on the web
You have
decided you want a website and not exactly sure where to start.
Getting started on the internet requires a number of basic steps
to be address.
Your domain
name directs visitors to your website and it may also be the
basis of your email address. Ideally, your domain name will
describe what you do and be easy to remember. And most
importantly it must be unique. So, you cannot register a name
that belongs to someone else.
There are
two
components to your domain name. The top level domain name (eg
.com) and the second level domain name (eg yourname). There are
a number of top level domain names including .com, .org, .gov,
.net, .biz, .info and .tv. Some of these names can also be
followed by your country eg .au for Australia. So you can end
up with a name like yourname.com.au.
Design your
web site
Now you have
your name you can start the process of putting your site
together. Your site will be made up of a number of
interconnected pages, each with its own theme. These themes may
include: Landing page, What we do, our products or services,
location and operating hours, our people.
There are some
desirable characteristics in a website:
-
search
engine friendly, (the site is designed so that it will rank
well with search engines)
-
good
navigation, (humans will find it easy to move around your
site)
-
stickiness,
(people will want to stay on your site, not just land on
your home page and leave)
-
call to
action, what do you want to achieve when people come to your
site. Ensure your site is set up so that this can be
achieved
-
easy to
maintain and amend
In developing
your website you can buy some web development software and do it
yourself, or you can obtain help to
develop your website
Arrange
web hosting
Now that you
have a domain name you need your web pages to be hosted on a
server (a computer). A web hosting organisation can look after
this for you.
Upload your
site
Monitor your
activity
Are people
visiting your site, where are they coming from, what pages do
they look at, how long do they stay? These are just some of the
important questions you will want to know about your site. All
this information is contained in your logs.
Maintain
your site
Regularly
review your site, is it still achieving your objectives, is the
information still current, are all your links working, what new
information do you wish to ad.
Undertake
promotion of your site
Typically you
will need to be proactive to get visitors coming to your site,
just listing it on the search engines is not likely to generate
sufficient traffic. Develop a plan to promote your site. Tools
for promoting your site will include database management, ezines,
article writing, advertising and ensuring your hard copy
material has appropriate reference to your site.
Getting help
Would you
benefit from someone to guide you through this process or even
do it all for you? Someone who knows how to work to a budget?
Yes, I am interested in help
|
