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Thinking of getting your own website?Confused about how it all works, how to set it up, where to start,
how much it costs? You are not alone! Read on:
There are 4 main parts to setting up your own website, and some serious mistakes you should avoid.
(There are also easier alternatives that may better suit you)
1: Register a Domain Name (www.yoursitename.com)
2: Build the Website. DIY or use a Web Designer/Developer.
3: Choose a Web Host to serve your site on the internet.
4: Promote your site.
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A Web Designer/Developer will do all this for you, but there are some things you should be aware of, and mistakes to avoid:
1: The Domain Name
The Domain Name is registered with a Domain Registrar. You (or your web designer) register your domain name for an
annual fee (you can pay up to 10 years at once) . Its like reserving a phone number. Once you have registered it
you control it, and, like a phone number, when someone types it into a browser, or clicks a link, it navigates to
your site. You can register a domain name and just keep it, without setting it to resolve to an actual site.
Some people make a living registering vacant domain names they think may be valuable and re-selling them for a
profit.
To register a Domain name, go to a reputable registrar (I use GoDaddy www.godaddy.com (around US$12 / year for
a .com) enter the name you want and see if it’s available. It probably won’t be, but when you find an available
name you want to register, set up an account with the Registrar and KEEP YOUR USERNAME and PASSWORD safe. This is
VERY IMPORTANT.
What can go wrong?
If your Web Designer/Developer does this for you and doesn’t give you
access to your Domain Registrar account, and you ever have a disagreement, YOU CAN LOOSE YOUR DOMAIN, as they
can register it in their own name. It does happen - OFTEN! Imagine if you had someone set up your phone account
and they decided to take your number. Same thing.
Whether you register and control your Domain Registration,
or you have your Web Designer do it for you, make very sure you have access to, control and ownership of your
domain name.
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2: Build your Website
The way it looks, and what’s on it. This is the job of a Web Designer (or you).
The site needs to be built, with pages of text, images, colors etc and actions like ’Click to Email’ and
request/contact/response forms for users to fill out and contact you.
Unless you are familiar with HTML, and are
proficient at web design, I’d advise you not to build your own site. You can, but chances are it’ll look crap.
And once you put up a crappy looking web site, it makes you and your business look very amateurish. Even if you
can only afford a 1 page site by a good web designer, it’s a lot better than a backyard mash up you’ve hacked together yourself.
No matter who builds your site, the end result will be a group of files (the site) that needs to be hosted on a
computer connected to the internet via The Web Host
You must make sure you have a copy of your site (the files) in your possession.
If anything goes wrong with your Web Designer and or Hosting Company, you will easily be able to get the site
going somewhere else. Many times I’ve tried to help people in a panic because they’ve fallen out with one or
the other and have no access to their site files, Domain and hosting
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3: Choose a Web Host
The Web Host is the company that serves your site to the internet. There’s plenty of web hosts around, all with
different plans for different sized sites. For you first site, you won’t need much in the way of resources, so go
for a cheap shared hosting plan with a reputable hosting company.
There’s plenty of smaller hosting companies
that regularly crash and burn (and often resurrect under a new name) so, if you choose your own, choose a
reputable one. Your Web Designer will do all this for you, with a host they trust, but you can do it yourself.
Once the site (files) are uploaded to the Host, you (or your Web Developer) will log into your Domain Registry
account and set the ’Name Servers’ so that the www.yoursite.com connects to your site on the hosting server.
Look here for help WebHostingTalk.com
What can go wrong?
Just as with your Domain Name, make sure you have access to your Hosting Account
(Username and Password). If you and your Web Designer have a falling out, and you haven’t got access,
THEY OWN YOUR SITE. It happens – Often.
Another problem that can (and does) arise, is if your Domain Registrar
is also your Web Host (same company) and you decide to change hosting (it happens – often), you will have to
transfer the Domain Registration also. It’s a pain. If they are separate companies, it’s no problem to change hosts.
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4: Promote your Site
It’s one thing to get your web site up and running, but if no one knows about it, it won’t do you any good.
So you need to show up in the Search Engines (Google).
Your Web Developer should have included some very basic
components (called Title and Meta Tags) in your site to aid the Search Engines in listing your site. That’s all
you need. There is no trick to this, and many people pay a fortune to people who claim they can get your site
to #1 in Google for your search terms. They can do more harm than good. Google may detect ’underhanded’ techniques
and penalize your site.
Your best bet is to ensure the basic Search Engine stuff is in your site (easy) and
try to get other reputable sites to link to your site (hard). This implies others regard your site as important.
While you wait (and hope) to get a good listing in the Search Engines, a good cheap way to promote your site is
Google Adwords. It can cost as little as $1 A day.
It’s easy and it works.
Check it out.
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The Alternatives:
At this point, you’ve probably decided you don’t really, really need a website, and it’s all too hard, confusing
and expensive (and dangerous!)
There are other ways to get your stuff on the internet
Google has free web sites! Google Sites
It’s easy. Just follow the steps. No Domain Registration, Web Designers, Hosting or anything.
You choose templates (colors, backgrounds etc) and just type in your text and upload your images.
The URL to your site will look like this:
http://sites.google.com/site/yoursitename
Or, you can set up a free Blog
Blogger.com
This is an excellent, easy and popular option. I highly recommend you try a Blog, even if you also intend to have
your own site. You’ll learn a lot, quickly and easily.
There is an excellent short video on
How to Set up a Blog here:
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If you are still confused (or more confused) drop me a line and I’ll try to answer your questions and clear things up a bit.
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Your Own Website? Tips and Traps to Avoid
Wonga Beach Q.L.D. Australia
Questions or Suggestions? ph: +61 7 40987645
ALWAYS CHECK WITH YOUR LOCAL BUILDING AUTHORITY BEFORE LAYING OUT
OR BUILDING ANYTHING
AND FOLLOW ALL LOCAL CODES. VERIFY ALL DIMENSIONS AND
ANGLES BEFORE CONSTRUCTION
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