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Website Design Ideas for Your Small Business Website
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Where To Start With a New Website?
The all important name is the best place to start. Think of two or three names that are short, descriptive and
memorable. Then go see if those names are available to reserve at
Go Daddy Domains for example.
Also Consider:
– If you should use a .org, .biz or .us website address. You should always try to obtain a .com or .net website address if possible but
there are a number of cases where these other naming conventions should be considered.
– Also using an abbreviated name if your company name is very long. You can then redirect the abbreviated name and use it on business
cards easier than a very long one.
– Always purchase the website address for at least three years to take advantage of possible discounts.
– Be aware of super cheap domain names because later when you need to manage that website address the tools of a super cheap registrar
can be lackluster at best.
Search for "website hosting" and a "website designer". If you found our website that way then you're well on your way.
Many hosting companies will provide you with tools to build your website. Look into them, it could save you a bundle but they
are inherently limited compared to the design tools a professional web designer has. Often they also don't provide the search engine
optimization tools needed to promote your website after launch.
For website hosting we offer full service Website Hosting.
We can provide quality hosting, consistent up time and the best
in customer support at a cost effective price. Be sure of what tools your hosting company has to offer, you may not need all the bells
and whistles to start but you should consider more than super basic economy hosting for most business.
Always compare the two above items keeping in mind the size of website you want and what you want it to do for you or
your business. Don't pay for more site space than you will need and don't pay for extra pages that you really don't need are will remain
empty for sometime while you wait on content.
If your not sure or would like a free consultation on either of the above items feel free to
Contact Us.
Are you selling products online, if so how many? You may be looking for a simple
Pay Pal
buy button type shopping cart for a few products or for customers to pay for a service or membership. Or you may need a full blown
shopping cart ecommerce solution to sell 1,000s of products online with customer management, inventory and more. Take a minute to
review our
Online Shopping Cart Setup
for more on our osCommerce shopping cart solution.
Start with what you know. If your company already has logos, colors or graphics of some type that represent your business then
use them. Have you done print brochures or flyers? Many times the design, colors, photos and text can be pulled from these promotional
items to get your website started.
Conduct some research. Spend some time searching similar websites that relate to what your website will be about. This might help with
the layout and organization of the information you want to present on your website.
Forms are a very important part of every website. They give you orders for product, tell you what your customer wants, produce
sales leads for your small business or give you feedback on the services you provide. A well thought out form can save you and your
customer a lot of time and increase sales.
Below is a list of questions that should help get you going in the right direction when making plans for the design of your website.
- Who is your target audience? What are they looking for from your website?
- What time frame do you want your website to be done in? Will it be done in stages?
- Have you seen websites by other companies in your industry? What do you like and dislike about these websites?
- Who is your competition and how does their website work?
- What three basic colors would you like to use?
- Do you have the text, logos and images that you want to use on your website?
- What products or services are you providing?
- Are you selling online? How do you want your products displayed?
- What is the scope of your website? Small business, ecommerce, corporate, personal, etc.
- What other ways do you plan on promoting your business? Will these methods have the website address as a prominent feature?
- How much do you want to spend on website marketing?
- Have you priced search engine placement?
- Will you buy keywords in a pay per click program to get traffic?
- What are the top 10 keywords that you expect to be found with on most in search engines?
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