6 Actions To Get Your Website Off The Ground

Just started out? Opened a bank account, registered at Companies House and now want a website but not sure what you need?

Often I have new business owners come to me with wide eyes and bright ideas but soon become tongue tied when the word website is mentioned.

Technology can be a frightening thing for a number of people which is why I've written this post to help explain exactly what is required.

6 Actions To Get Your Website Off The Ground

#1 Domain Name: eg. www.example.com

First off you need a domain name which is the name given to your website and would normally be your company name. Some thought should be given to this and research done into availability.

It is always advised to get both the .com and .co.uk domains if based in the UK to stop others from stealing your trade. Your website would reside under the .com or .co.uk domain whilst the other is automatically redirected.

For instance if your site was www.example.com then if someone typed in www.example.co.uk this person would automatically be taken to your .com domain. Hosting would only be required for one domain also.

#2 Hosting

Your domain needs to reside on a machine/server for internet users to access, server space for your site, this is where hosting comes in.

All the files that go to make up your website such as code, images, pdfs etc. sit in a folder on a server hosted by a company. Users access this folder everytime they visit your domain.

There are varying hosting plans to choose from including the more common Virtual Hosting, where many sites sit on a shared space, to Dedicated Hosting which is more expensive due to the fact you have your own dedicated server.

By and large if you are just starting out with a small business then the basic package on offer, which would be Virtual Hosting, should suffice.

#3 Website Design Company

You've got your domain and hosting, what's next, ah yes the site itself!

Take a good look around, search in your local area, unless you have a good recommendation from a friend, as face to face meetings are always easier than just phone/email contact.

If you don't have a good recommendation from someone then find designs you like, most designers leave a link at the bottom of a page, follow that link and browse their portfolio. A good designer would have testimonials as a guide to help you make up your mind.

#4 Search Engine Optimisation - SEO

Your web design firm should also be well versed in the art of SEO or at least provide your site with SEO basics to give it a chance of ranking well in the search engine indexes.

If your budget can stretch to more advanced SEO then implementing this at the beginning of your website will benefit you further down the line.

#5 Search Engine/Directory Submission

Another one for your web design company to take care of for you as it's a simple process and not one to stress over. The big four, Google, Yahoo, MSN LIVE and DMOZ, should all be submitted to.

If someone advertises the fact they can submit your site to 2000 search engines then you really need to think about which search engine you use and why you use them, quality over quantity.

Google at present has the monopoly on search whilst the others play catch up. DMOZ is a human edited directory, if you do make it into the directory you subsequently make it into others by default as they use DMOZ themselves.

The Local Business Center at Google maps is another good place for local search traffic.

#6 Press Release

A press release is a great way to kick start your marketing campaign and doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg. Naturally money is an issue for any start-up business so writing a press release yourself is a great way to generate Free Publicity For Your Business

The above steps can all be done independently of one another but it's in your best interests to find a company that can handle them all. They all have a knock on effect from choosing a successful domain to hosting that can influence SEO to SEO itself.

You can read this interview about how to start a web based business that also has pointers about getting a website built.

These are my 6 basics to get your website off the ground, if you're reading this and have alternative ideas or disagree with my choices why not post a comment.

Image by laRuth