|
Setting
Up A Web Site
Web Site Toolbox
Web Hosting Considerations
Free and Low Cost Web Hosting
Search Engine Considerations
Setting
Up a Web Site
It
seems like everyone has a web site—from Joe's personal homepage
to Amazon.com—it's almost expected, especially for businesses.
What
does it take to have a web site?
- Determine
the purpose/goals for your site
- Determine
your resources: time and money
- Choose
your tools
- Choose
a web host
- Design
and build your site
- Promote
your site
In
this article, I will touch on all but the design stage of developing
a web site. You can write a book addressing each stage, and many
already have. I can only hope to introduce some issues in evaluating
web site options, and, to give a peek into the vast resources available
to webmasters. With these readily available resources, you can create
a very functional web site on a budget.
Welcome
to the world of webmasters.
By
the way, I'm sure there are web sites available that will help you
deal with any addictive behavior that develops.
First
things first. Determine your goals for the site. This is irrespective
of whether you do it yourself or outsource the effort. To varying
degrees, there are typically three purposes for a web site:
- To
inform
- To
sell
- To
entertain
Let's
take an example: a nonprofit organization could use a site to inform
its members of activities, sell benefits of joining, and entertain
with images and stories.
What
do you want your site to do? How simple or complex do you want it
to be? How much time and resources can you allocate? Who is your
audience?
Current
thinking is that the fluid sites and those offering free information,
downloads, etc. are the more popular. That takes effort and commitment.
Suppose you are a small consulting business servicing the commercial
sector. You don't need 20,000 visitors a month since you aren't
targeting the public. You still however, need to capture the interest
of potential visitors and keep their interest long enough
to view at least your most important pages.
Knowing
the goals for your site will influence all levels of decision.
|
Top
Previous