No One Will Know You Exist Until You Announce Yourself!
At present there are more than a billion pages posted on the net comprising millions of web sites and domain names. It's estimated that 35,000 domain names are registered daily. If you act now it may still take months before your page will be indexed by search engines like Google or Yahoo or Microsoft... unless of course you pay for the listing!
If you have a business you need exposure. You will eventually require a web site of your own. The internet is not going to disappear! It is the way business is done now and in the future. You may soon have to deal with international competition even for local business!
A web presence isn't necessarily expensive or difficult to obtain. The secret is to work with someone who can grasp your preferences and the requirements of your business.
1.) Advantages of a Web Presence.
4.) Templates
6.) Is it Costly?
ADVANTAGES OF A WEB PRESENCE
Your business will appear on par with giant companies like IBM or Sears or Intel.
You will have professional email addresses like 'You@Your Domain.Biz' for all staff (perhaps up to 200) each with separate passwords and all forwarded to a master address as well (if you wish). These addresses can also feature out of office auto responders.
Hit Counters tell you each day how many visitors have browsed your pages.
Pay Pal shopping carts make it possible for you to sell numerous items in a single transaction. No need to pay for a credit card portal.
STATISTICS: Who visited your site, what did they browse, how long did they stay, how did they link to you etc.
SEARCH TERMS: What were they searching for, keywords and phrases used to search (how they found you), where did they enter and where did they log off...
Your web server can also be used for off site document storage and back-up. You can upload documents or transfer files to your server for storage (only you or your staff can view them). This is a simple file transfer easily created and explained (FTP).
First decide the name of your web site. It doesn't need to be the same name as your business (ex: 'Isuzu Owners Group' on the web at 'IOG.Org'). This would be your 'web address'. Many domain names have been taken so you will have to investigate availability (your web designer will assist you). Many large companies maintain multiple domain names (ex: CNN.org, CNN.com, CNN.net etc). These can all be 'parked' at your web site. Whenever someone searches for that name it steers them to your address... rather like call forwarding.
Once you decide on a domain name it's in your best interest to visit all the free email servers (Yahoo, GMail, Hotmail etc) and create email addresses on each. If you don't someone else will.
Presently it costs about $15 yearly to register a 'domain name'. If you register for several years at a time you can save bucks.
Next you will need a web hosting service. This is the internet address where data of your site resides and your clients can view. Many companies offer web hosting services. Some cost as little as $8.95 monthly ($99 yearly). The trick is to get a service that provides many email addresses (one for each staff member), fast servers (reliable speedy computers), high bandwidth (how much data can be transferred monthly) and good statistics (who, what, where and how). Most importantly, you want your web hosting service to be accessible for trouble shooting etc. Most hosting services provide 'mirror' locations. If one location is temporarily disabled your visitors will be re-routed
David Bowie once stated that the internet has become a shouting match! The most extreme graphics etc. Truthfully you will want to make your web pages load as quickly as possible. Not all internet surfers have speedy access and some still use dial-up connections. If a page doesn't open quickly the surfer is on their way to another interest. Buyers on dial-up connections will thank you, others won't notice the difference.
Flash sites (plenty of pics and moving graphics) contain a lot of information that must be downloaded before a page can be displayed.
What do you want the the viewer to see and how would you like it to appear? Are you prepared with photos, bio, news, samples, references etc. Do you want a blog?
It's likely you will want audio and video samples. Do you have a You Tube account? Do you want a shopping cart or a calendar? All this is possible but you must ultimately decide for yourself. A good web designer can advise you on difficult issues.
The reason so many web pages resemble one another is because they were created from pre-designed, customizable templates purchased on-line. Templates can be convenient. There are plenty for sale.
Pristine Web Designs does not use templates. Every design is custom fabricated to the actual needs of the client. It's very important to create an easily expandable format. Sites grow in size over time.
Early webs were designed without the more expert development resources we have today. Download speeds and graphic management techniques have improved allowing for greater imagery and moving graphics. In general early web designs lack complexity.
If your existing site is hosted by Go-Daddy' another issue appears. 'Go-Daddy' earns income from exploiting your content and placing advertisements on your page. Like 'Homestead', these companies provide the client with so-called easy to use templates and on-line tutorials.
However, few see these templates as easy to use. Such proprietary software is cumbersome, bulky and slow. Moreover, you can only work on the design of your site while on-line with their servers. 'Homestead' site-builder software is roughly 40 Meg on your hard drive.
Additionally, when your site is finished you can never move it. These companies can't allow your web to be downloaded or transferred without risking the loss of their unique templates. They draw you in with a ridiculously low price, they know you will be hesitant to leave for a better deal.
Even free templates are at the mercy of each user. Images must be prepared for the web. Images must be made web ready for speedy download. An image that looks good on your screen doesn't always make a good web display.
Web pages need to be monitored and updated on a regular basis. Your business will have sales events or change employees or have updates that need to be addressed. Email addresses come and go and must be altered. You will need to back up data and documents and revise passwords etc.
Moreover it is fresh and changing content that makes your site desirable to the indexing robots. Search engines mill the net constantly to add new content.
We've heard of enormous profit by companies like Google and EBay but actual gains on the web are slim and hard fought.
Make a fortune from home selling items that you never see, don't ship and never touch... RIGHT! Only shipping companies like UPS, Federal Express and the Post Office are making big bucks from that group.
SHOPPING CARTS: Maintaining a credit card portal costs around $25 monthly. That's the maintenance fee with no sales, even after you purchase the software package (roughly $600). Additionally, each credit card company charges a percent of the sale.
These are the very reasons Google Checkout, Pay Pal, Amazon and Yahoo Stores! found their niche. Amazon will offer no items that lack a bar code. Typically these companies will take a healthy percentage of the sale.
Plenty of artists and entrepreneurs purchased start up webs that included credit card portals and they never made a dime. Those webs have become on-line brochures. A reference web that displays your capabilities.
SEO: Search Engine Optimization - Many firms offer this service and portend to guarantee your sight will appear in top search results. The idea is to create relevant search terms and place links to pages within your site. It's a time consuming effort. Here's a quote from Google's SEO page:
"No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google.""Beware of SEO companies that claim to guarantee rankings, allege a "special relationship" with Google, or advertise a "priority submit" to Google. There is no priority submit for Google. In fact, the only way to submit a site to Google directly is through our 'Add URL' page or through the Webmaster Tools and you can do this yourself at no cost whatsoever."
You can always sign up for 'pay per click' ad results. Certainly Google would appreciate the added income!
META-TAGS: Within the HTML code of each web page are messages that provide search robots with keywords, related topics, official names, tag lines and specific terms regarding site content. The truth is that the keyword (or key phrase) protocol has been abused. In desperation some designers have included tag words that have nothing to do with page content in an effort to show up in search results.
Web designers have 'stacked' so many irrelevant terms into the keyword code that search results wander indiscriminately. Google and Yahoo both offer keyword search optimization tools any designer may access at no charge. Do not be deceived!
PHP and MySQL: If you plan to host a site where visitors upload content or if you plan to offer an enormous variety of items for sale that will require a searchable data base this scripting is for you. This combination is perfect for social networking and/or ECommerce web designs.
Be certain that you will have a great volume of traffic.
Costs change according to requirements. At present you can purchase a domain name and hosting service for under $100 annually. You can really splurge on flash pages that open slowly, or go for an attractive site that works properly. A site can be started for as little as three hundred down.
Pristine Webs designs the first 6 pages for $550 and $80 for each additional page. We do not design Flash pages. You will still need to obtain domain name and hosting agreements of your own. Part of the charm in possessing your own web presence is naming it for yourself.
Start-up costs for a few pages including domain name and hosting is under $600. Thereafter it's only maintenance fees; domain and hosting renewal, adding and/or updating content (pages or addresses etc).
Let's Work Together... You Won't Be Disappointed!