Getting your website ready for the world to see begins with choosing the proper domain name (URL), a web address that people would enter on their web browsers. Usually it consists of your business name or your main services. There are plenty of sites, like GoDaddy.com that can help you with the purchase of your domain name.

Then comes the web hosting. You are sort of renting the web space from a hosting company to have your site live on internet. You might need some tech support to connect your domain name to the servers, but most of the time the hosting company would be glad to help you out with such tasks. It is in their interests to keep the customers and provide excellent customer service and support. So now that you have the domain name and web hosting ready to go, it’s time to design and develop your website.

As we talked about the website creation process in our previous article, it is absolutely crucial to have a solid plan in mind for your website. Think of how your website would benefit you, help your clients make a decision to work with you. Spend time to do some research and see how your competition did it and do it a bit differently, add your own personality; do something that no one else thought of doing. Might sound hard to do, but all you need is a little bit of effort.

After all said and done, and having your website prepared and filled with content, you are now ready to launch it. Again you would need some tech support to do it, and once again the web hosting company can help you with that. Remember, if you want to save money and build your website yourself, don’t expect great results. Think small first, and as your business grows, upgrade your website, by hiring a professional website design company and SEO specialists.

What about the costs?

Domain Name – $10 per year
Web Hosting – $10 per month
Design and Development – from $100 & up

If you have any questions on how a website can help your business, please consult a web design company, such as Timson Design, to make a more informative decision. I hope this article helped you to understand what goes into creating a business website.

There are mainly two stages when it comes to website design. First stage is the Design Phase. It is very important to know exactly who your target audience is, in order to create a successful online environment for your online visitors. During the initial meeting with your web designer discuss all of the possibilities for your site, budget constraints, technology tools that are available, the look and feel that you want; this will establish a good bond between you and the designer, resulting in a solid design solution. After the information exchange, the designer will create a mock-up of your website, that reflects everything you talked about. Revise the first draft, if you’re not totally satisfied, pin point exactly what it is that you might not like. Revise the second draft and so on, until you are totally satisfied with look; otherwise it would be a big pain changing the look after the site has been built.

Alright, you are completely happy with the design, now what? You enter the Development Phase. This is where a web developer works closely with the web designer to turn the graphic mock-up into a real live functional website. There is no going back to design changes anymore, this why it is so crucial to take care of design issues during the Design Phase. Depending on the complexity of your website, you might have to familiarize yourself with some of the technology. Usually most websites are built with a content management system (CMS); make sure you know how to use it, how to update content, add pages, etc. Usually the web developer would show all of this, and teach you how to use it.

So there you go, a short summary about website design process. Pretty simple and straightforward, but before you rush into it, remember to do research about your target audience, write down your goals, budget, deadlines, anything that affects your business, and only then start working on your website. This approach will save you time, effort, money, stress. Good luck!

Please consider options before rushing into website design and development, talk to other business owners about how their website helped them. The point is that you should at the very least have a presence on the web so that customers, potential employees, business partners and perhaps even investors can quickly and easily find out more about your business and the products or services you have to offer. Remember, it’s not just about benefits anymore, but also about the ease of getting the right information, the interactivity that provides your customers with an easy way to access your product or service.

To have any impact on your customers, it’s not enough that you just have a website. You must have a dynamic professional-looking site if you want to be taken seriously. Consumers now search for information online prior to making a purchase at the store, your site may be the first chance you have at making a good impression on a potential buyer. If your site looks like it was designed by a barrel of colorblind monkeys, your chance at making a good first impression will be lost.

One of the best things about the internet is that it has leveled the playing field when it comes to competing with the big boys. As mentioned, you have one shot at making a good first impression. With a well-designed site, your little operation can project the image and professionalism of a much larger company. The inverse is also true. I’ve seen many big company websites that were so badly designed and hard to navigate that they completely lacked professionalism and credibility.

After you have designed your website, you need to make sure that people know about it. Include your domain name on every piece of your promotional materials and start with basic online marketing strategies. Again, it is in your best interest to work with a professional SEO company that knows the technology and the right techniques to get your site on the first page of Google or other search engines.

SEO is far from easy and simple. In fact, it is a very complicated discipline that can take years of study to master. If you are just starting out or you have all you can handle in running your business, it’s best to let an SEO company do all the detailed work for you. SEO can be incredibly tedious, and for most people, the time spent on SEO marketing is better used for other things. A great SEO company can ensure that your targeted audience sees your site, clicks through to visit your site and ultimately converts, either by purchasing a product, filling in a form, calling you or subscribing to something; whatever the goal of your website actually is.

What happens when you don’t market effectively? When businesses find themselves in financial trouble, they often cut back on their marketing budgets. This hurts any business, because while you’re not marketing, your competition is. That means that fewer and fewer people are finding your product, and instead, they’re becoming loyal customers of your competitor. When you don’t market, the ‘out of sight, out of mind.’ rule applies. You will lose brand visibility, and even clients you had in the past may forget about you. A steady marketing strategy is important if you want to stay relevant, and if you want your customers to have confidence in your brand.

So there you go, your business needs a professional looking website, that is constantly being updated with new relevant information and optimized for search engines, to bring solid results.

Let’s say you are a business owner, but have no idea about designing a website or maintaining it, you would still benefit more from going to a web design professional who can help you with your goals. Web templates are good for beginner designers, it’s a good way to learn about the layout and functionality of interactive websites and apply it in your own work.

So if you’re thinking of purchasing a website template pick up an HTML book.

The are a few factors to consider to having a website work for you online, traffic and the proper design and functionality. Both of them are very important. To attract the prospective clients online, certain online marketing tactics can be applied, including but not limited to meta tag page optimization, keyword research, pay-per-click campaigns, banner advertisements, links exchanges and so on. With time your website grows naturally (organically) and the more it is present online, the more content it generates, the more traffic it can attract.

To keep people coming back to your site and recommending to others, takes effort when designing the front-end of your small business website. Creating an interactive website with a visually appealing layout, makes a good impression on your clients and generates interest in your services. Good graphics come from good knowledge of your clients.