How to set up a website for your business (part 1)

In this two part series we'l examine what it takes to get your business online.

If you're not familiar with the procedure, setting up your website can be a complex process involving various different companies and lots of confusing jargon. Your website is your business' shop window on the internet, though, so make sure you make the best impression possible to entice customers and encourage them to return.

Registering your website

Before you start building your website, you should register a domain name for your business. This is your business' address on the web, so make sure it's catchy and easy to remember.

Use Nominet to check whether your domain is available. If it's already taken, you may be able to buy it from the person who owns it. Use a service such as Whois to find the contact details of the person who owns it.

A note on domain extensions: Your domain name is made up of a word of your choice, followed by an extension. .com and .net are both worldwide, .co.uk, .org.uk or even .biz are more specific to your location or business. If you can register a .com domain, do - it will lend your business credibility and viability. Register additional domains as well to give your customers a better chance of finding your website - country-specific ones such as .co.uk will show your customers your business is based in the UK, while business-specific ones such as .biz or .tv will give an indication of your industry, but probably won't resonate for most of your customers. It's worth noting, though, that some domain extensions, such as .org.uk or .gov.uk, are reserved for certain businesses such as non-profit organisations or government.

To register your domain, you will need to use a domain name registrar. There are hundreds available, all of which offer different hosting packages. Choose one which offers email addresses as well as a domain name, and as much web space as possible - you will almost certainly want to increase the size of your website as time goes on.

At Danson Digital we can supply your domain name, business grade email and hosting to suit both your sites requirements and your budget.

Next time we'll cover the design and development of your new site.