Easy Web Site Design

You've prepared your site, tested it thoroughly on your own computer, and now your ready to unleash it on the world. Here's what comes next...

Choosing a domain name

Your domain name is the address (url) of your site, ie what visitors type into the browser to see it.

If you run a company your domain name should ideally match the name of your business. Otherwise it should describe what you do.

The rightmost part of the domain name is known as the top level domain, eg .com in web.twinisles.com

.com is the most popular, and the recommended, top level domain for sites aimed at a global audience. Thanks to many headlines about dotcoms it is the first thing people will type if trying to guess your url.

Country specific top level domains, eg .co.uk .ca are good for services available only within that region. Someone in England will be disinclined to visit a site with a .ca domain.

Non-commercial sites often use .org whereas Internet businesses/resources may like to use .net .info - .biz are two newer top level domains.

On the Web your domain name will become your identity, so take some time brainstorming different ideas before finalizing your choice. Because the Web is already BIG, your first choices may be taken. You can check domain name availability with Domain Search.

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Whois.net will tell you if similar domains available and will also advise of similar previously registered (but now available) domain names. These (pre-owned) domains have the advantage that they may already be registered in search engines and personal bookmarks, or be linked to by other sites, and will bring visitors looking for old site. If your site offers a similar service those visitors may become YOUR customer.

If you think your site might become hugely successful it might be worth registering multiple top level domains, eg yourdomain.com, yourdomain.net, yourdomain.org ...

Some more tips on choosing a domain name:

Consider splitting long domain names with hyphens, eg nice-used-rabbits.com - this makes them more readable.

In multi-word domains avoid starting new words with the last letter of the previous word as this can be confusing - eg in niceeasyjobs.com nice ends with the same letter that easy starts with. A lot of potential visitors will guess your domain has one "e" and on

Avoid difficult to spell names. People who memorize them will try to spell them, get them wrong, and move on.

Domain registration is a competitive business so be prepared to shop around for the best deal. For information, this site is registered through PowerPipe.com, which offers registration for $7.99 a year (2004).

Finding a Web Host

Once you've chosen and registered a domain name you need to find a Web host. This might, but need not, be the same as your domain registrar. Web hosting is also highly competitive, so be prepared to shop around and ask lots of questions of potential hosts before signing up.

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Questions asked might include the levels of technical support provided , percentage up-time, disk space included, bandwidth (ie Gb per month which can be downloaded), number of email accounts included, technologies supported (if your site includes server side scripting), statistics provided and additional features offered such as shopping carts and discussion boards.

Avoid entering into lengthy contracts. Month-by-month is preferable and gives you the freedom to easily switch hosts should you encounter problems.

Once your account is activated follow your host's instructions to upload your files to the server. This will probably be via a mechanism called FTP (File Transfer Protocol). Visit TheFreeSite.com for a list of free FTP clients.

At first your site will probably be available at a special url (as notified by your Web host) rather than your new domain name. This gives you a chance to test your site before opening it to the world. When you are happy everything is working, you will need to update the nameserver information held by your registrar with the details provided by your Web host. This ensures that when someone enters www.yourdomain.com in their browser they will be directed to your Web site.

Marketing

"Build it and they will come", so says the movie "Field of Dreams". But the Web isn't like that. There are literally billions of pages out there screaming for people's attention. Unless you let them know you're there, no one is going to find you.

Register your site with the major search engines and directories. For a start try Google, Yahoo and dmoz (ODP - Open Directory Project).

Register with subject specific directories and search engines specializing in your particular field.

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Exchange links with complementary sites. This has two benefits. Not only will visitors come to you from the sites that carry your links, but being linked to by other sites will improve your search engine ranking.

Announce your site on relevant USENET newsgroups. Try to avoid blatant advertisements, but instead tempt potential visitors by letting them know the benefits offered by your site.

Submit articles to relevant e-zines. A search on Google and Yahoo will reveal suitable candidates.

Once you start getting visitors consider producing your own "opt-in" e-zine, ie ask visitors if they want to be added to added to your mailing list. This is a good way to keep interested parties up to date with what's happening at your site and will hopefully bring repeat visits.

Do not send unsolicited email to individuals. This is known as SPAM. It wastes vast amounts of time and bandwidth, is strongly frowned upon by the Internet community, and can result in your account being closed by your ISP.

Remember we suggested you ask potential Web hosts about the availability of statistics. These can provide invaluable information about where your visitors are coming from and what they are looking at, information which can help refine your future marketing strategy.

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