This is one of the most frequently asked questions by small 
business owners.  They are feeling the pressure from their 
customers and competitors, yet for many business people it is 
a daunting task, as they don't understand the whole process.  

In fact, many people are even asking the question whether they 
should have a website.  Whether you are a consultant, florist, 
designer, builder, architect or a doctor, consider the many 
advantages a website provides:

1. Make money - Set up an on-line store or get paid for 
   advertising from other companies

2. Save money on advertising - Instead of paying for large ads, 
   simply advertise your website

3. Be flexible in your message - Change the content as your 
   business changes.  No need to re-print expensive brochures.

4. Exposure to new customers - You will reach more local 
   clients as well as interstate and global markets

5. Having more professional image - Keep up with the times and 
   your competitors

6. Save time - Don't spend hours on the phone, direct customers 
   to your website

7. Keep your business open 24/7 - Provide customers information 
   when THEY need it.  If you don't, someone else will.

So what does it really take to get your website set up?

Step 1 - Register your domain name OR not.  

The big question is whether you need to register a domain name 
or not.  The simple answer is NO, but a better answer is YES it 
is a good idea.  

What is a domain name?

The purpose of a domain name is similar to that of a street 
address or telephone number.  The domain name directs customers 
to you on the Internet.  The domain by itself is not your email 
or web address.  The domain does form the base from which these 
addresses are derived. 

For example:

Company Name: 	        Websites 4 Small Business
Domain Name: 		web4business.com.au
Web Address:		www.web4business.com.au
Email Address:		sales@web4business.com.au

Do I need to register a domain name to have a website?

NO, you don't need to have your own domain name.  Your website 
can be created and hosted without it.  Your website address 
will look something like this:

www.web4business.com.au/JBCleaning
OR 
www.ozemail.com.au/~JBCleaning 

The only advantage of not registering a domain name is that you 
will save yourself A$70 per year (it costs approx A$140 for 2 
years to register a '.com.au' domain name).

The disadvantages of NOT having your domain name include:

1. If you decide to change your Webhosting company or if that 
   company goes out of business, you will lose your website 
   address.  Your website can be transferred to a new company, 
   but your address will change. And that means re-printing 
   stationery and re-doing all your advertising, notifying all 
   your customers etc.

2. Website addresses that contain information other than your 
   company name are long and hard to remember and do not appear 
   as professional.  Compare these two and see which one you 
   are more likely to remember:

   www.ozemail.com.au/~JBCleaning
   OR
   www.JBCleaning.com.au

So it is a good idea to register a domain name, even if it is 
just to protect yourself for the future.  Say for example, your 
business name is JB Cleaning and you decide not to register your 
domain name for now. 

Along comes Joe Bloggs who opens his own cleaning business and 
registers JBCleaning.com.au domain name.  After a year you 
decide you want to have your own domain name, but since Joe 
Bloggs already owns it, you won't be able to register it.   
Not to mention your customers who know your business as JB 
Cleaning may visit his website, thinking it's your web address 
and instead hire Joe Bloggs Cleaning.



Step 2 - Plan your website.

Planning your website is a two part process:

(a)  Decide on the website design (colour schemes, buttons, 
     special effects etc).  This is your website designer's job. 
     However, you may have a preference for a certain colour or 
     look.  To help you choose a design, you may wish to check 
     out other people's websites or work with your web 
     designer's pre-set templates.

(b)  The content. There are many items you may wish to include 
     on your website.  The most common ones include:

1	Product/Service Details
2.	Contact Information
3.	Pricing
4.	Testimonials
5.	Frequently Asked Questions
6.	Response Form, such as "Join Mailing List"
7.	On-line Magazine or Newsletter
8.	Resources & Articles
9.	Guarantee
10.	Survey
11.	Events Calender
12.	Search My Website Form
13.	Refund Policy
14.	Privacy Policy
15.	About Us Information
16.	Site Map
17.	Copyright information
18.	Useful Links
19.	Media Information
20.	On-line store
21.	News
22.	Directions to Your Bricks & Mortar Premises


 
Step 3 - Choose a Web Hosting Company. 

What is a Web hosting Company?

A Web host is a company that provides server space for your 
website.  You can think of a web host as a commercial building. 
The web host provides space for your website just as a 
commercial building provides space for your shop or office.  
You can build your own building and you can host your own 
website, but because of the cost and expertise required it 
is easier to rent the space. 

Which Company Should I Choose?

Web hosting companies are not created equal so you need to take 
a number of things into account when selecting one.  A proven 
track record, experience and reliability form the foundation of 
any successful business partnership. 

Some of the issues you should consider when choosing a 
webhosting company include:

1. Support - Does it provide comprehensive Technical Support 
   - 24 hours a day, seven days a week?
2. Reliability - Does it have multiple large-scale links to the 
   internet to provide a fail-safe path to your customers from 
   anywhere in the world?
3. Security - Does it have a robust security system that 
   minimises risk of web site intrusion?
4. State-of-the-art - Does the company utilises leading edge 
   technology and is supported by a large-scale uninterruptible 
   power supply (UPS) system. 
5. Scalability - Does the product range and services offered 
   allow  your business to grow without impediment by making it 
   easy to upgrade and add components to existing product 
   levels.


Step 4 - Getting people to your site. 

The marketing of your website is important if you want to draw 
visitors to your site.  If you don't promote your website no-one 
will ever see it.  There are a number of different ways of 
advertising your website.  The best strategy is one, which 
integrates your existing promotion methods with your website.

1. Office Stationery - Including your web address and email 
   address on your stationery is probably the easiest way to 
   draw attention to your site.  It's cost effective and gets 
   your Internet presence out there in the market place.

2. Business Cards - When printing business cards you should 
   include the individual's email address and main address of 
   your website.

3. Radio Advertising - Radio Advertising should include your 
   web address.  Don't include the http://, try "Visit us on 
   the internet at w-w-w-dot-qikphone-dot-com-dot-au".  If your 
   budget is limited, you may wish to consider community radios.

4. Email and Mail-Outs - Let your current customers know the 
   details of your website.  You can either send them an email 
   or a letter/postcard.  Keep your website's content up-to-date 
   and they will keep coming back!

5. Print Media - Print advertising should include a generic 
   email address for the company and include your website 
   address.  Normally positioned at the bottom right or bottom 
   centre of your advertisement.

6. Search Engines & Directories - People looking for your 
   website who don't know the URL are most likely to use an 
   on-line search engine to look for your organisation or the 
   kind of products and services you offer.  There are over 
   300 major search engines and directories, but you should 
   concentrate on the larger, more commonly used ones.  These 
   include:  Google, Yahoo, Altavista, Anzwers, Inktomi, 
   Infoseek, Lycos, Excite, HotBot, MSN, Dogpile, AllTheWeb 
   etc.

7. Links from other websites - A good way to attract visitors 
   to your site is through the use of hyperlinks placed on other 
   sites.  If you know of another site which has a list of links 
   and you think your website would be a good addition, let the 
   website owner know.  You might also offer to provide a link 
   from your site back to the other site.  This will encourage 
   the webmaster to include your site.  You should also seek 
   out partners for trading links including vendors, suppliers 
   and providers of complimentary products.

8. Link Exchange - Another way to getting a link is through a 
   system called Link Exchange, a free public service designed 
   to help websites advertise each other.  With Link Exchange, 
   you agree to display advertising banners for other Link 
   Exchange members and they agree to display banners for you.  
   The System is automatic, you simply add a piece of HTML code 
   to your web page and Link Exchange will display an 
   advertisement for another website.  The disadvantage with 
   Link Exchange is that you don't get any control as to where 
   your banner ad appears or the type of banner ads that will 
   appear on your website.  It is not possible to guarantee 
   that a competitor of yours may have their banner ad displayed 
   on your site.

9. Paid Banner Advertising/Affiliate Marketing Programs -
   Various sites give you the opportunity to purchase banner 
   advertising on their site.  Some sites will charge you a 
   flat monthly fee while other sites will charge you based 
   on the number of people who see your ad.


Step 5 - Monitor your site's statistics

Your website's statistics should show who visits your website, 
where in the world they come from, how they are finding your 
site and what pages are being viewed.  Knowing your customers 
is the first step in effective marketing.  Most webhosting 
companies will provide access to this information free of 
charge.

Step 6 - Maintaining your website

It is important to update your website regularly to keep your 
customers interested. One of the great advantages of having a 
website is that you can change its content virtually overnight 
at minimal cost (unlike re-printing brochures and flyers).  

This is just a brief overview of the process involved in getting 
your website up and running.  In future articles we will cover 
each step in more detail.