4 Steps to get an Internet Presence.
Step 1: Get yourself a domain name
What is a domain name? Well, a domain name is the name of your website. For example, Yahoo.com is a domain name, Facebook.com is another. Domain names are of various types.
TLD (Top Level Domains) are either .com (standing for commercial), .org(standing for organizations), .net(standing for network organizations), .info(standing for informational sites) etc.
Then there are country specific domains. For example www.yahoo.co.in is the domain for yahoo website meant for traffic coming from India.
A domain name is an easy to remember name which translates to a number in the background. This number is the IP Address of your web-server.
How to select a domain name?
A domain name should be easy to remember, short and possibly describe the content of the website.
Where can I book a domain?
A domain can be booked with many registrars which operate under the aegis of ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). In India, one can book a domain with www.rediff.com, www.net4solutions.com, etc.
What does it cost to book a domain?
Generally the cost depends on what type of domain you want to book and varies between 400 Rupees to 1200 Rupees per year. Domains are booked on annual basis and you can book a domain for a maximum period of 10 years currently. It is a good idea to book a domain for a longer period.
What are the things to remember while booking a domain name?
A domain name is your identity on the Internet, therefore it is important to protect it. You should ensure that the domain owner, administrative contact, billing contact and technical contact information is filled in your own name. Please provide real address and telephone numbers and a valid email id. This is important to claim ownership of the domain and to transfer your domain from one registrar to another.
Ok, now you have a domain name registered with you.
Step 2:Get a hosting space for your website.
What is hosting space?
Hosting space is the physical space on a server hard drive where the files of your website are stored and served to people who come visiting your website.
What type of hosting to buy?
Essentially there are two types of hosting available, Windows and Linux. Windows hosting is generally more expensive than Linux Hosting. The type of hosting you buy will depend on the site that you want developed. If the site is plain static HTML then it does not matter what type of hosting you buy. If the site is dynamic and uses Microsoft Technologies such as ASP (Active Server Pages) and a SQL database then you will have to buy Windows Hosting.
On the other hand if your site uses ColdFusion, JSP (Java Server Pages), WordPress, Joomla, etc then Linux hosting is what you should go for.
Where do I buy the hosting from?
You can buy hosting from many vendors that offer hosting packages in India and abroad. In India you can buy your hosting from www.rediff.com or www.net4solutions.com or from www.oriensoft.com or from some reseller like me.
What to keep in mind when buying the hosting package?
Buy enough space (100 Mb is minimum), get from a reliable company, choose a vendor that gives you control over your hosting through a control panel, ability to set up your own email id’s, database capability and free software products like wordpress, joomla, shopping carts (for e-commerce websites). Please ensure that the vendor you select provides 24/7 support and is contactable over telephone. It is good if the vendor has a toll free number where you can contact for support.
Ok, now I have hosting space with me, what next?
Step 3: Get your site designed.
After you have hosting space booked and operational, you can hire a design team to design your website. Alternatively you can have your site based on a ready to use template design. Ready to use templates are available at a cost. These templates make site design and deployment a rapid exercise.
What does it cost to have a site designed?
Site design is a very subjective matter and therefore costs vary from thousands to hundreds of thousands. It also depends on the extent of the website that you plan to deploy, whether it has flash animations, whether it is database driven, whether it is static or dynamic, whether the site needs daily maintenance or is well left alone, etc.
What things to keep in mind when getting a site designed?
1. Look at the previous work of the organization.
2. Stick to an organization and not an individual, because an individual will get up and go while an organization will stick around.
3. Go for dynamic site design using a database, this makes updating the website easy.
4. Use technology that you understand or that which is common such that finding a replacement developer / organization is easy.
5. Generally check out the organization for business soundness and continuity.
6. Enter into an annual contract with them for continuity of development.
7. Find out about Search Engine Optimization capabilities of the organization and check their existing website for search engine friendliness.
Ok, now I have got a site designed and operational, is that it?
Step 4:Make your site search engine friendly so that people can find you.
No, this is just the beginning. You have a website but then there are millions of websites that are operational. Unless you are an established business where people come looking for your website, it becomes important to get some visibility for your website.
How do I get visibility for my website?
While designing, I had recommended that you establish that the design team has good SEO(Search Engine Optimization) skills. This is important. The design team should be able to optimize your website such that search engines can easily find and index your website. Search engines like Google, Bing, AltaVista, Yahoo, etc should be able to find your website and information contained inside.
For this you will have to find key words and phrases that best describe your website and its contents and embed them generously into the website at many places. The organization should also be able to design friendly URL’s (or web page titles) for the search engines. That way people will be able to find your website.
Great, now I have SEO done, is there something else that is missing?
A great website is a responsive website. If you do not monitor and respond to the activity on your website, then your website really does not serve any purpose other than informing the people about what you or your organization is doing.
Therefore it is important to monitor your website. This can be done by utilizing the service of statistical counters provided by companies like www.statcounter.com etc.This is a free service.
Finally, your website is an extension of your physical presence. Please take it seriously and respond to queries generated on your website. Now a days it is possible to integrate SMS sending into your website. With this feature you can be notified by visitors directly on your mobile phone and by responding in real time you can give WOW level of response.
How do I get found on the Internet?
Having a website is just a start. Getting found is the most important thing on the Internet. You can have a fabulous website, fabulous products, fabulous company but if your website does not appear in the first 30 results on a Internet Search Engine, like Google, Bing, etc. then all your effort is a waste. You can buy keywords that make your site appear in the search results or you can rely on us to do Search Engine Optimization (SEO) such that your site stands a chance in the search results. We can help get traffic to your site by doing intelligent content writing and design. We can also manage your social media presence on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and other places where people search for your organization.