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Getting Started
Domain
The first thing you will need to do is produce a Domain name for your Web site. Your domain name is usually the same as your company name. (i.e. www.yourcompany.co.uk). It is the most important aspect of your site. Always have control and security by registering your own domain name.
You can send and receive e-mail using your unique name and if you arrange hosting, the e-mail address will match your Web site perfectly. There’s no need for e-mails with awkward addresses or overlong URLs
Be mindful of the name you choose, you want your customers to remember your site’s address. So use easy to recall names and avoid, if you can, names that need special symbols or difficult spelling
Remember you may register a domain name provided it has not already been chosen and registered by anybody else.
Web Site Designs
The way your site functions determines your credibility in cyberspace. If a site is poorly designed with non functioning pages and links, people will most likely look elsewhere.
Sometimes the do-it-yourself site has its advantages. They are low cost and, in some cases, easy to put together. However, the level of knowledge needed for a Web site is not an easy thing to acquire. For example... How will you get your graphics created? How are you going to get your forms to work with back end scripting? What is the best optimization process for pictures and photos? Do you have the experience to architect the site with a logical structure?
And it goes on and on
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Hosting
The hosting is where your Web site (domain) is housed. Domain and hosting are two different items and you need to have a domain for your hosting to work. There are many hosting options available from small to large sites and you should pick a plan that will accommodate your web site needs.
Search Engine Submission
While search engines are far outstripped by direct referrals, they can still prove useful for attracting customers if you are in a very price sensitive market or you provide a niche product over 90% of all referrals to e-commerce sites come from the four largest search engines: Google, Yahoo, MSN and AOL1. Competition for a high ranking on these sites is intense because only 10% of web users look beyond the second page of results. If you are expecting your Web site to generate significant commercial returns it may well be worth spending the extra to engage the services of a professional search engine placement agency. If you are a small company with a limited budget, and your Web site is just one of several channels to market, you may be better off with a DIY approach. If things go well you can always revisit your search engine placement strategy at a later date. Different search engines rank Web sites in different ways some by a sites popularity, some by relevance and some by quality. Many also offer the option of paying for a place on the first page.
Key words
You can improve your ranking on search engines that work by key words or meta data (information that describes a web page, but isn’t visible on the pages) by using the right combination of descriptive words when you build your Web site.
Link analysis
Other engines measure a sites popularity by the number of Web sites that have a link to it. You can boost your ranking on these search engines by getting reciprocal links with trade associations and consumer forums.
Pay for inclusion
This means paying a search engine to include your web pages. Although most web pages will be found by a search engine and included eventually, paying for inclusion can mean your Web site will appear nearer the top of the search list. Look smart, for instance, charges about 150 for submission of new sites.
Pay per click (PPC)
This allows web sites to pay for the position they occupy in a search engines listings. The highest bidder for a particular keyword or phrase appears first, with the second highest appearing second, and so on. You can often specify how much you are willing to pay per click anywhere from about 15 to 35 pence per click. How much you pay, and how many click-throughs you receive, determines your position in the search engines ranking.
During the month, search engines such as Google sends out robots (spiders) to crawl the web and archive every Web site it finds. These archived web sites will be presented in the next update of the search engine index (database). The update process is initiated every 30 days or so, although on some occasions there have been more than 30 days between.
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