This is a “Websites for Dummies”-type post. If you are interested in the e-book version of this post, check out Websites 101: A Crash Course
This includes topics such as why you should even need a website and what a website can do for you. There are many different types of websites out there. This also gives small insight into the building and design process that I follow.
Benefits of a New Website

There are a myriad of websites out floating around on the Internet, and as a customer or consumer, we are inundated with choices. A website built for a business needs to project your company and everything that your company is about. The goal is to showcase your product(s) and or services. The customers, especially if you are an online-only business, need to have a strong reason to conduct business with you. A custom-made website play an integral role in providing you this. It is a way to communicate the message of you business.

People don’t just need to know you exist; they need a compelling reason to conduct business with you. With a custom-designed1 website, there is more to work with, and more functions that you could get nowhere else. It also better showcases your business. Instead of merely broadcasting your sales pitch via television or print ads, a website allows two-way communication with your customers, if this is what you wish. They can be as visitor-interactive as you want. You can collect feedback through comment forms on your blog, contact forms, and analytics. You can even directly answer visitor’s questions. This data and interaction can shape future business decisions and make your company more responsive to customers’ needs.

Visitors to your site immediately form an opinion on your company. Users notice the visual impact of your site, as well if it is well maintained and updated. You should be able to maintain your new site, and your customers will appreciate a website that is easily navigable and designed.

If you don’t have a site, I can help you create an effective online presence. If you have not changed your site design in years, I can provide a modern design. There are many ways to help you create a perfect website that fits your budget and your needs. The type of website you want will depend on what fits the style of your business as well as how much time you can devote to your website and posting updates.

While free website templates may be appealing, they are designed without knowledge of your goals or target market. Any company may download the same template. Visitors can happen upon both sites, and the distinction between your company and another may blur. You can rest assured that any design I provide is unique and carefully crafted to fulfill your goals and speak to your audience.

Common Types of Websites

There are many types of websites, but these are the general categories. Your website can be one kind, or it may be a combination any.

Brochure
This type of website generally reflects your business using fairly static pages. Such as giving information about your business, services you might provide, and a way to get in touch.
This is good for site owners that can’t always update their websites, although the more you update your website, the better. There can also be a combination of all the types of websites.

Informational
This is usually a time-consuming type of site, where information is regularly posted (e.g. news, press releases, blog posts…).

Entertainment
Typically, this is strong with graphics and even music and animation. It is usually used to promote a movie, album or game.

E-Commerce
E-Commerce stands for electric commerce. These are websites with online stores. They sell products and or services. For these businesses, it is especially important to promote their website and persuade costumers to do business with them. They usually have a shopping cart and a easy check out.

Website Basics

There are two main things that any website needs: a domain name and hosting. If building a website from the ground up, these are the first things that you will need to concentrate on. The first two important things are your domain name and your hosting.

Domain Name

A domain name is usually something like: yourcompany.com

These need to be purchased and will provide your company with a unique URL. A domain can cost anywhere from $5 to $40 a year, depending on what kind of TLD (top level domain) you register or where you get them from. Often, if you purchase for a larger number of years, you will receive a greater discount.

Choosing a name requires some careful thought. You will need to check availability. You want the name to be short, meaningful, and easy for your customers to remember. Going with your company name (and the name of the website) is usually a preferable choice. The .com version is generally best. If your business is a non-profit, you should opt for the .org extension.

There are many different kinds of domains. The most common is .com, but other popular domains include .org and .net Initially, the intended use of .com is for a company, .org an organization and .net a network, but more often than not this is not the case. Just because this was the original intention, doesn’t mean you are limited to these. There is a large list of domains available form choosing, but generally, I would recommend you stay with .com. Just to give you an idea, these are others that can be found: .me, .co, .info, and .us. Others that you may recognize are .gov, and .edu

If you happen to find that your domain name is taken, there are other ways to still get something that will work. You can try variations of the name or adding a hyphen. Also you can see about changing the domain extension, or using a generic country TLD. If you are really committed to a domain name, many times you may contact the owner and ask to buy it from them. Often, the domain registrar will give assistance in contacting the owner for you, such as GoDaddy.com or Namecheap.com

Hosting

Hosting is important too. You’ll also need to buy hosting, which for the hosting you are probably looking for, runs about $100/year, depending on where you go. This is a good reference point as far as hosting prices go. Your account will grant you space on a server to which your domain name can refer through name servers. This is where I can upload your site files, making your site public.

Choosing the right host is an important step since you will require excellent customer support and technical features which are compatible with your site. Do some research for a reputable host, as there are many out there, and this is where your files will be stored. You should ensure that the host supports the WordPress platform and cPanel. You can look to WordPress’s recommended hosts. You can also ask about what I think and what you are looking for.

The Whole Scheme of Things

Are you still confused about what exactly hosting and domains are? Well I once heard someone say that the Internet is our virtual reality. I guess you could say that it is somewhat correct, at least as far as websites are concerned. It makes a good extended metaphor. So if you think about it all this way, your website is your building facility. Any website out there is a building. Some, say, personal blogs, are your houses; a real residential community. Then you have all those business sites, promoting various goods and or services.

So you want to make your own business, but you need somewhere to start building. So you have to purchase land (hosting), which will give you a certain amount of space. Obviously, the more land, the higher the price.

No one knows this piece of land exists though, so in order to locate it, you need to have an address (domain) so people can find their way.

So you have everything set up. You have your land, ready for building, and your address so people know how to get there and where it is located. What now?

You need an architect, a designer. That is where I come in. I am the architect and the interior decorator for your new place. I use steel and wood (xHTML), which is the real skeleton of the structure, but it looks pretty ugly without the colors and all the fancy addons that really make it look nice (CSS). And then, voila! You have your brand new building ready use.

Website Building Process

Not sure what to expect? Here is an overview of the process I usually follow when building or redesigning a site. These steps ensure that we fulfill your goals. The process gives you the opportunity to review the project at multiple points and prevent any surprises at launch.

Thought Process

This is a laid back process, where we discuss the plans you have for your website. What you have in mind. We set objectives, and what your target audience is, how you want your site to be perceived. We will work out details such as site structure, layout, what type of maintenance will be needed, and search engine keywords.

Design

After the first step is taken, I will apply what I learned from you and what you want and design a mockup of your home page that I think may fit what you are looking for. After you’ve approved this page, I’ll extend the design to the other site pages, if there are others. The design phase concludes when we’ve agreed upon the overall site design. Then we move on to the second part of developing the website.

Development

This is where your site becomes three-dimensional. Using today’s development standards, I will use (x)HTML and CSS as well as other scripts and codes to construct your site. I will add and integrate any interactive elements that we have outlined together in our thought process stage. Once this is set, we will go to the questions and answers section, where I can confirm that your website looks and behaves as it should and with a wide range of users.

Question & Answers

During this stage (we are almost there!), I will make sure everything is working properly. I will upload the site onto either my server or yours and see how it looks. I will verify that it is well optimized for the most recent versions of popular web browsers (Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, and Chrome). After your approval, we will launch the site.
Send It Off!

It is time to launch your website to the world! I will move the websites to the public directory on your server and make sure that it is still functioning correctly as it did before. Now it is your turn to let everyone know that you have launched your website!

Some good ways that you can get the word out about your website is through the many social medial options, such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Send out an e-mail blast to friends, family, co-wokers, whomever you want to know. Add your website to your business print material such as e-mail signature, online profiles, as well as any company print materials like business cards, letterheads, and posters.
The keywords that we decided on during the first stage will be poised on your site for search engine robots and spiders. If you don’t have time to submit your site to search engines and business directories, I’m happy to offer this service as well.

Maintenance

You might think the work is over after launch, but the best websites give people a reason to revisit. Fresh content encourages customers to stay in touch with your company. Read Managing Your Site to learn more about maintenance and to familiarize yourself with some of the development tools I commonly implement.

After Everything Is Done

Your Website Needs To Be Updated

Though it requires an investment of time and energy, I encourage clients to update their sites at least once a week. If the most recent news entry is several months old, you may be inadvertently conveying a sense of carelessness. New content, on the other hand, can reflect your dedication to your business and your desire to keep the lines of communication with your audience open. It also can encourage more search engines to crawl your website pages.

WordPress

WordPress is my favorite CMS (content managing system) since it is user-friendly and accommodates many different types of sites. Because of the active and vibrant user community, many helpful resources and plugins are available. Another popular type of CMS includes Drupal, though I do not work commonly with this. As far as plugins go, I can install plugins that I recommend that can help improve and add to your website.

Google Analytics

Google Analytics is an amazing free tool, which collects online traffic data. I install Analytics on all my sites. To login to your Analytics account, go to www.google.com/analytics. Click “Access Analytics” and use your Google email address and password to login. Click “View report” next to your site address.
When you access your report, you can analyze stats such as the number of visitors, how they arrived on your site, the average amount of time spent on the site, where visitors are from geographically, and the pages they are visiting the most. Keeping an eye on your Analytics allows you to gauge the effectiveness of your marketing efforts. You can monitor the number of visitors and their sources after initiatives such as a redesign, an email campaign, or a print promotion. The resulting insights can inform your future marketing decisions and make you a smarter business owner.