Everything you needed to know to create a website

(part 1 of 2)

Why have a website?

Does a website help you sell yourself and your products or services? Will a website aid you in higher sales? That is a tough question. No one can sell you better than you can sell yourself - however, having a website allows you to create a web presence in a world of web shoppers. It may not directly sell your service or your products, but it helps your potential clients get an idea of who you and your company are. They can take a look at what you offer. It says a lot about you and your company before the client ever talks to you. Many shoppers and potential clients are spending more time on the web and less time networking, so it is possible that you can create revenue streams from your website - while you are sleeping. That is why e-commerce websites (those that actually sell a product) can be a great source of revenue since you do not have to be present to sell them. That being said, the following topics will help provide you with an overview of the different types of websites available and their features. You may want to consider these before talking to your web designer, and get a head start on the tech language.

Types of Websites

HTML
HTML stands for Hypertext Mark-up Language. It is the most common type of website. It is also the least expensive to have done. A HTML website has no animation or databases. You can have .gif and/or .tif files as pictures.

Flash
Flash websites are animated. They are not searchable by search engines. You would especially consider having a flash web site if you have a creative business, such as a photographer, designer etc.

HTML/Flash
You can have an HTML website with an animated intro using Flash. This would be less expensive than having a Flash site. It would also be searchable from a search engine. A search engine reads all the pages on your site.

PHP or ASP
PHP or ASP is similar to having an HTML website but you have the option of having password protected pages and a database or even a shopping cart for clients to buy products off of your site.

If you are looking around the internet at various sites you will be able to tell what type of site it is by looking at the extension after the www. address.
For example
.html or .HTML is a HTML website
.php or.asp is a PHP or ASP website
www.timefinderscoaching.net/index.php
and www.jnsoftware.ca/home.php are php websites.

Buying your Domain

You have to buy the internet address which will identify your site, usually www.yourcompany.com or some variation thereof. Normally, it costs $20-$35 a year. You can buy it from companies such as www.bluegenesis.ca and www.canadianwebhosting.com. There are many extensions to choose from, .com, .ca, .org, .net, .info & .biz address, what you choose may depend one what type of company you are, although many times it comes down to personal preference. If you want to use a .ca extension make sure you go to a Canadian company like blugenesis.ca to purchase it.

Web hosting

You must use a web hosting company to host your website. It can cost between $9-$100 a month. If you are a small business probably won't need to pay more than $20 a month for your small site.

Email addresses

If at this time you decide not to have a website, you can still have yourname@yourcompany.com. You can do this by purchasing your domain name and purchasing an email only package from the same companies that offer web hosting. Packages normally cost between $4-$7.50 a month plus the cost of purchasing your domain.

The suggested items above can help you get well on your way to creating your website and promoting your services and products further, or simply learning the linguistic lingo of the technical talk.

Read Part 2 of Joy's article!