The ABCs of Your Own Website

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"If at first you do succeed, try not to look astonished"
anonymous

There are three components to a website:

1. the site name
2. the site content
3. the site server

Your business might have the perfect name but, being perfect, somebody else has already bought that domain name to use for their business. So you compromise by choosing something similar, or using a different "extension" (meaning .com or .ca or .net. etc..).

When picking a name try to keep it:

• easy to spell
• easy to type (avoid hyphens, underscores, lots of characters)
• easy to remember
• the top of the alphabet (when possible) for good positioning in directories, member listings, etc..
• some meaning related to your business
• any trademark or copyright you own which you want as part of the name

Your domain name is an asset of your business. Be sure it isn't unintentionally comic or rude when it's written out allasoneword.com the way web addresses are.

B) Site Content
This refers to your text, photos, links, multimedia, etc.. To get an idea of what information you need to put together browse websites you use regularly and take note of content you feel would be useful on your site (ie: links to suppliers? map? border crossing info? etc..).

Go to your favourite Search Engine and type in the word or phrase a potential customer would use to find your business and see what your competition is doing online.

Do you have a colour scheme? brochure? business card? logo? Graphics and non-digital photos can be scanned in to the computer (by you or us) to create digital files. Digital photos can be delivered via email or on CD/DVD. Text is best sent in an email or a Word doc for easy copy-and-paste.

Always acknowledge your sources, copyright law does apply to online publishing. Trademarked material, such as Peanuts© characters, can not be used even on non-commercial websites. Photographs, poetry, music - all forms of artwork are protected. Your own work, or work commissioned specifically for your business, is your best choice.

C) Site Server
All websites are hosted on hardware called servers. When you purchase your domain name the address of the name server is registered with the appropriate regulatory body (ie: a .ca extension is registered with CIRA, the Canadian Internet Registration Authority) so any computer in the world will find your site when your domain name is typed into a browser address bar.

The cost for domain hosting depends on the server location, size of the website, amount of website traffic, etc.. There are several types of server options (and many, many companies providing each type) so your budget can certainly be accommodated.

Next Step:
Pick a name, gather your content, determine your budget, and contact us to get online. We'll check if the chosen name is available, we'll design a layout to suit your material, and will recommend the best hosting method for your needs.