With the internet becoming an important medium for promoting products and/or services by people in organizations, company in many industries to individuals and personal uses, websites that made the internet's population is created by several main components that supports its being throughout its lifecycle.
What do you need for having a website? Regardless what type your website is going to be, there are 5 components that you need to create a website:
- 1. Website Design and Development2. Domain Name Registration3. Web Hosting4. Promotion and Marketing5. Web Maintenance/Webmaster Services
Website Design and Development
The first step is the actual decision to have a website developed. You will need to determine your Internet objectives and who your audience is. These essential factors will influence what type of web hosting is required. The types of websites you may consider include:
Informational website
An informational website is similar to an online business brochure. The objective of this type of site is to offer business information including the “who, what, where, when and how” of your business or organization. The process of outlining what will be contained in the site is called a website storyboard. This is essentially an outline of what pages and informational content will be included.
E-commerce website
An e-commerce website is for those who would like to sell products including goods or services online. This type of site displays products and provides the ability to complete the purchase transaction online.
Domain Name Registration
A domain name is an Internet address used on the World Wide Web to locate your website. No one does actually own a domain name as annual fees provide the rights to use it. Annual fees vary for this privilege depending on the company providing the services and the domain name extension requested. When choosing a name it is important to choose a name that others can remember easily.
Web Hosting
Web hosting is the actual place where a website is stored. This process is like an apartment or office that is rented to conduct business. The type of hosting required is a crucial factor. For example, ASP or Active Server Page programming requires a Windows NT capability. A site designed with Cold Fusion programming requires a specialized server.
Promotion and Marketing
When the website is complete, a marketing plan to promote the website should be devised. Website marketing and promotion fees are separated from domain name fees, web design and development fees and hosting fees.
Web Maintenance / Webmaster Services
Keeping your website fresh with current information is an absolute necessity to portray a professional image to your audience. Ensuring that your site is current and relevant is just as important as initially creating the site. A person or a team who is going to perform the changes and updates to your site is called a webmaster. If you anticipate ongoing edits, you may want to consider a cost effective web maintenance agreement.
Some maintenance list that a website may need:
- Webmaster service
- Backup website files and database
- Maintaining security and/or updates in the system files and/or designs
- Others
Fees for web maintenance are separate and in addition to web design, domain names, web hosting and promotion.