To create a successful web presence, you need most of the following:
Domain name
What's a domain name? A domain name is simply your address in
hyperspace, similar to your phone number in the real world. It is how people reach you.
Do I really need one? Though not 100% necessary to going on-line, a
domain name both makes your web address easier to remember, it also presents a
professional appearance to the world.
How much does it cost? Shop around, there's now choices for
registering your domain name:
Register4Less
costs just $14.95 per year to register your domain name plus FREE WEB SITE (up to 5 megs).
Another great free benefit of registering with them: they offer free redirection. So you
can have your own domain name for a low price, and then have it point automatically to a
free web site you have elsewhere. No more long Geocities-type names, let your visitors
find you easily. Also, they redirect mail at no charge, and even offer up to 5 megabytes
on their server for no charge.
Network Solutions, the
original monopoly-holder of all domain names, cost is $70 for two-year registration
through Network Solutions.
Server space
Once you have your domain name, you must arrange for a place to have your web site.
Generally, small to mid-size organizations contract with an ISP (internet service
provider) to rent space on their equipment. The ISP provides space, connection of your
site to the internet, as well as 24-hour service and support.
Cost: Variable. Some services provide you with a limited amount of web
space with your email service, so you may already have web space available to you.
Depending on the service provider and what services you are seeking, cost to rent web
space from an ISP can be from $5 to $50 per month, with setup fees of up to $100.00.
.
Content (information to put on the web site)
If you have brochures, flyers, or any printed material, these can easily be converted
into web content. Additional content you might want on a web site is:
guest book
forums/bulletin boards
video presentations
PowerPoint presentations
Design
Strange New Worlds offers a starter package for small- and mid-size businesses. This is
for organizations that wish to maintain their own web site, but just need professional
help to get them started on the web. The starter package includes the following services:
Brochure special $399.00, if all you need is an on-line brochure and
catalog, send in your brochures and sales material. We'll turn it into a small web-site,
register your domain name, and provide you with a year's worth of web space.
Starter Service, price $1500.00:
Design of up twenty pages, with content provided from brochures, newsletter, or other
printed material. Includes a guest book. Up to one photo per page (more if scans provided
by client).
Preparation of pages so that they are acceptable for search engines.
Establishment of a navigation system for site.
Registration of domain name and establishment of server space. Registration fee and six
months of web service included in price.
Setting up of a template for easy addition of new pages.
search engine registration
Additional services billed at $45.00 per hour
Photo scans, $10 per scan.
Maintenance
Web sites are always "under construction." To have a successful web presence,
you must constantly freshen your content and keep the site up-to-date. At the very least,
your web site your be updated monthly, so that your visitors will have a reason to return
to your site. I recommend MicroSoft FrontPage as software to use to maintain your
web site. It is a simple program to learn for anyone familiar with word processing or
desktop publishing programs. Client would purchase FrontPage software for personal/company
use. You could also consider an on-line service, that allows updates from anywhere in the
world.
Promotion
"If you build it, they will come" only applies to baseball fields, not web
sites. You must work diligently to let the world know that your web site is up and
running, and that it is the best source of current information about your organization.
Ways to promote your site include: displaying your web address on all your printed and
promotional materials, regular re-submission of your site to search engines, submission of
your site to link pages, exchange of links with other organizations, paid advertising,
banner exchanges.
E-Commerce
If you are going to sell product from your site, you will need: