Builidng A Website What Do You Need To Consider?

So, you're going to get a website, but are not sure of what is involved, and where the costs lie? It can be confusing, especially if you are not particularly Internet or PC savvy: web development, web hosting, domain names, email addresses. All of these are factors that need to be thought through and budgeted into your project. As well as that, youve seen excellent websites on the Internet which are packed with loads of cool features, moving graphics, options to sign up for newsletters, database searches and links to other sites. Do you need all these features, and how much will all that cost? What's involved in the whole process? The first step is to think of a suitable domain name. Start with the name of your company, so you get www.mybusiness.co.nz or www.mybusiness.com . Which do you need: dot local or dot com? I believe that a dot local domain name is OK for most businesses, and that a dot com name still really implies an international site, although this is not a fast rule. Why not identify your business as a local one straight off and use dot local, which will promote your country to foreign net users? Something else to think about is Does your name lend itself to your business products and services. So the domain name www.circusanimalhire.co.nz (it doesnt exist, I checked!) tells you pretty much what the website is all about. A name like www.prsmythe.co.nz doesnt give as much information about what the business does or sells, and so users then have to actually view the site to determine what is provided. You need to make a big effort to get a domain name like www.amazon.com to be associated with with books right? But it can be done. When youve thought of your name, register it.The most basic type of website is called a brochureware website. It is what its name suggests: an online brochure introducing your business, products and services, and encouraging your target market to contact you. A brochureware website is a great start if you want to start off small, and plan to grow over time. What if you want your website to be more than just an advertisement, and want advanced functionality, for instance to make the sale for you right there and then online? This requires dynamic functionality and a database behind website and so will cost you more. Your requirements determine the budget. There are no set prices for including this sort of functionality, and the best bet is to shop around. Even if you start with a brochureware website you can of course expand and grow it over time, and it is best to plan this from the start if that is what you want to do. Remember to consider the size of your site and the impact that this can have on your web hosting costs. Facilities for accepting payment online also need to be budgetd.So, in summary it is fair to say that the costs of building a website do not just lie in the design and build of the website itself, although this is the major component. You also need to consider domain name purchase, website hosting costs, domain name-based email accounts, website statistics, service/support, search engine optimisation and of course ongoing management, maintenance and development.