It’s all so complicated! Where do I start?

Need some basic help? For a free consultation before you get started, call 724-542-4400. Here are the basic steps for putting up a website:

1 Domain Name

The very first step is to purchase a domain name through a registrar. This is a company such as GoDaddy, but there are thousands of registrars. IMPORTANT! This should be put in YOUR name with your own account. Ownership of the name is the most crucial part of getting starting, and owning a website!  I’m talking ownership, so if someone else has your domain name, you could run into serious problems later and I’ve seen it happen for various reasons, including the person who owned the name having a stroke. I can’t stress the importance of this unless you don’t mind having to buy a new domain name ten years into doing business.

HOT TIP
Do not let a web designer buy your domain and register it in their name. Some companies operate this way, but Hot Designs does not. Any attempt to own your company’s domain name should be a red flag for you. When choosing a registrar, make sure it’s a large reputable company, like GoDaddy, Network Solutions, etc. You can do a search for top registrars to see how they rank.

Cost:  Domain names are $13-15 per year average to keep registered, currently on the rise

2 Hosting

Most important thing to look out for in our opinion? Your host should have 24/7 phone support!  Your website files will exist on their server, and any emails with your domain name (i.e.:  myname@hotdesigns1.com – what comes after the @ sign is your website domain name)   will be on their servers also.  You never want any down time with your site or issues with your emails. If something does happen, you need immediate assistance. Can you imagine things going wrong with your website or email and the only way to contact someone is via email? Or chat ticket? Avoid the nightmare and look for phone support.

The company that hosts your account can also be the same company where your name is purchased, or not, It really doesn’t matter in the long run, it’s a separate service and all companies have small differences in how you log in to keep the domain name current. But hosting itself is not the same with everyone.

Average: $100 and up per year (this is a very rough guess, there are thousands of plans)

3 Site Development

In the old days, oh about five years ago, you almost had to hire an agency to put up a professional website, due to lack of knowledge and coding experience. However, now with WordPress and all of the many many website builders out there with free pre-built templates, you can do it yourself if you are pretty computer savvy.

But that still has limitations, and in a sea, or ocean of options, how do you know what to choose? And what really makes a site great is the customization, photography and graphics, a keen eye for design with the ability to size graphics properly, etc. And once you do it yourself, the next question you will have is:  Why am I not showing up on the internet?

So many questions! Hot Designs offers complete website design services starting around $1200. Very super simple sites can be started for less, with the bare bones included, using a pre-made template to get started with a nice design, within template options, and no SEO.

If you need help with everything, including finding the best domain name for your business, registering it (under your name) and setting up your hosting (under your own account), we can make that part painless and easy also, compiling a list of everything for you to have full access to your own accounts and keep for future references. In fact it’s preferred when possible, due to the shear amount of different logins and passwords you will end up with, the importance of proper filing of that information, and technical steps along the way to go from new domain to final website.

4 SEO – Search Engine Optimization

Search engine optimization is a super large term. Managing SEO can be weekly, monthly, quarterly, bi-annually or anually, depending on your expectations of ranking on Google and other search engines. During the design phase, some very minimal SEO functions will be covered. (proper page naming, image naming)  Large companies spend tens of thousands to be where they are on search engines. The changing algorithms Google uses alone will keep you busy full time if you are serious about turning internet visits into sales. There are organic things you can do to help your site reach priority on search engines, however even that takes a lot of time to learn, understand and implement.

HOT TIP
SEO: Website content should not sit stagnant for long periods of time, particularly the home page. Google likes to see changing content, relevant to today, not something that hasn’t changed for five years, they know that’s not what searchers are after.

HOT TIP
More SEO organic things you can do: Make sure Google maps knows where you are. If you haven’t noticed, they put the most emphasis on their own maps first on their page, right after the paid advertisers. Keep an eye on public reviews of your company. Make sure your site is mobile friendly.

Content Management System (CMS)

If you plan to maintain your own site, a CMS (Content Management System) like WordPress, Drupal or Joomla is needed. These are free to download with any hosting plan. WordPress is the most commonly used system, and easiest to use for the in-house staff making basic changes to the site. There are thousands of templates available out there. Some are free, some are premium. WordPress requires installation of a template, which runs on the server with your design, and your content.

FAQ:

How do I find out if a domain name is available, and purchase it?
Domain names are purchased through a registrar. (ie: godaddy.com or networksolutions.com to name just two of thousands) Finding out if a site name is available is very simple. Just type the name you want into your browser. If you get a message like: ADDRESS NOT FOUND or CAN’T FIND THE SERVER, it’s available. If you visit a registrar, you can search from within their site also. If the name is not available, it will tell you, and they will suggest other names close to the one you want. It’s a very helpful tool. Once you’ve found the name available, GRAB IT! Put it in your own name and use your own contact information. Don’t start a website with a domain name that you don’t own outright. Not a good foundation for the site as you would have no control over your own site name.

What exactly is a Content Management System? (CMS)
Content Management involves developing a website so you, the client, can make your own updates using a login and password to get in. WordPress is the most widely used source of creating websites that can be maintained without special software.

Other content management systems include Joomla, Drupal, Shopify, among many. A completely custom CMS can be developed just for you, but that’s the most expensive way to go. There’s no need for this unless you are dealing with high security issues. It’s basically re-creating the wheel.

Even though WordPress is the easiest to use, the entire process can still be daunting. Design assistance will still likely be needed to customize it just the way you want it. It’s a task just to go through the many templates, and understand which ones are better than others. Some templates are free, others cost and have a lot built into them. They are not all the same.

Updates to themes and plug-ins, as well as the core of WordPress are updated weekly, and they have to all work together as they move forward in time. Templates need to be updated each time the author updates them due to changes on the internet or devices, other found issues, hacks, and many other things. When you update your template, sometimes plugins conflict and the site breaks so knowing what you’re doing here can take a real learning curve.

Other CMS’s that are available for an easy download are as Joomla and Drupal and Zen Cart, to name just a few. They keep adding more and more every day, but I’m only referring you to the top three of four. These are located in the cPanel of your host (#2 above).  All of these are also template based, so knowing code and the basics of web development is a huge advantage. The minute you want something that’s not already designed into the template, you’re stuck. Hire a professional.

How Do My Customers Find me on the Web?
Frankly this task is growing by the minute. SEO (search engine optimization) is the work that goes into constantly monitering and improving your success. Google is reported to use more than 200 factors in determining the web page score or ranking.

The ability to rank on the internet requires attention, time and money. If your expectations are extremely high, your costs will be too. There are no quick, cheap, and especially, no true free ways to rank on the internet. Even to implement the organic (free) things to do to your own website, will require the knowledge, and time and much time that it takes to beef up the content and other things that help with search engine rankings.

Read No Quick Fixes here, and oldie but good explanation still today

Last Word About SEO Ranking

Do this test: Go to http://google.com and type in your keywords or phrases. (in other words, what you think people should type in to be able to find you on the internet) Once you hit enter, notice somewhere above the result page, where it says: “About 413,821 results” or “About 6,210,437 results.” This is how many websites you are competing with. What was your budget?