Step #1:
SELECT & REGISTER YOUR DOMAIN
NAME
WHAT'S A DOMAIN NAME?
Simply put, the domain name is the name of your website, such as
www.cyberspeedster.com or
www.preferredtel.com. Some people call it a "web address" or
"internet address" or a "web name". But whatever you call it, it's necessary
for people to be able to access your website. The choicest domain
names are now virtually unavailable, which is why there are more
suffixes than just ".com" (such as .net, .us, .biz).
When you register your
domain name, you don't own it the way you own your car. All domain names are
owned by ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), a quasi
governmental overseer of the internet. Your registration gives you exclusive
use of the domain name for the time period you pay for, from one year to ten.
Once you settle on a name
you want, it has to be registered and renewed every year or however long
you've registered it for. Our flat rate
plan
includes domain name registration...and we'll even help you pick it out.
Step #2:
SELECT AND SIGN UP WITH A WEB HOST
WHAT'S WEB HOSTING? When people visit your website, they don't access your computer. In fact, your
website isn't even on your computer. Instead, it's housed --- or "hosted" ---
on larger, more sophisticated computers (servers) located elsewhere in the
country. By sophisticated we mean faster and more secure. Your website
is backed up, stored, protected... it won't be lost or destroyed, and no one
can get into it to make changes except you or us or someone else you give the
password to. Your website is always up and running so anyone can visit it
any time and from anywhere in the world.
There are lots of
hosting companies out there and prices vary wildly. Not all hosting companies
design websites, and not all website designers hosts websites -- but we do
both. The first year cost of hosting your website is included in all our
package prices. Each year after that you may renew your subscription.
CAUTION: If you're
comparing our prices to "free websites" you might see offered on the
internet, DON'T. There's no comparison! Free websites or free website
hosting services aren't free! You'll pay much more than you save in terms of
poor image and alienated visitors. These "free" websites require you to let
them run annoying pop-up ads and banners... for products you may not even
approve of. Plus your website address will be unnecessarily long and will
incorporate the host's name. To be blunt, you'll look cheap and put your
visitors through a lot of avoidable hassle. Remember, with CyberSpeedster
you get your own private ".com" or ".net" name, as well as a site with only
what you want to appear.
WHAT'S SERVER SIZE?
If you ever go shopping for a web
host, you'll notice that the phrase "server size" is used a lot as a selling
point. Server size is measured in megabytes ("megs") and is simply the amount of space you're given on the host's
computer (server), just the way storage space is measured on your computer's
hard drive. All of our plans include have plenty of space for most users. If
you need more, you can upgrade. We recommend waiting and seeing if you need
to pay for more space.
Step
#3: COMPOSE YOUR WEB PAGES
OK. So far you have your
domain name and a place to put your website. The next step is to actually
create your web pages.
Only two parties are
involved in this process: you and your "webmaster" (hopefully us). This is the
most time consuming part of the process, but it's really no different than
working with your local printer to get a brochure or flier created and
printed. For the sake of illustration, let's say that we're your webmaster.
First, you'll provide us
with a general idea of the layout, the copy (words), and where you want your
pictures. And remember: Your
website doesn't need to be gigantic and jammed with fancy graphics to do the
job --- it just needs to present your company or organization in a clear
attractive manner.
We suggest starting out with
more or less of an image piece with only the most essential
information about you or your company or organization. You can always expand
your website at a later date if you think it needs it.
Also, we recommend that
people design their starter website with as little time
sensitive information as possible in order to minimize time, money and the
aggravation of keeping it up-to-date. Don't make your website a burden or an
on-going expense. For example, if you're a church, you'll naturally want to
include your service schedule... but you wouldn't want to include a calendar
of "this month's events" unless you can be certain someone will make sure it
gets updated without fail. Few things will turn off a visitor and erode
your image as old, out-dated information on your website. When in doubt,
leave it out!
At any rate, you'll also pick
from a list of fonts we provide you. When it comes to pictures or logos,
you can send us original photos/illustrations or existing brochures for us to
scan. We'll return them undamaged. If you're part of a franchise or larger
organization, we can sometimes even use pre-existing illustrations on their
websites.
After we get your ideas and
artwork, we come up with a proposed website and temporarily post it on
our website for you to look at and approve/make changes. No one but you can
see this rough layout.
Finally, we take your
corrections/changes and do the final revision. Actually, we do as many "final
revisions" as necessary until you're satisfied.
At this stage you've got
your website name and your web pages. But how are people going to see it?
Step #4:
PUBLISH YOUR WEBSITE ON THE WEB FOR THE WORLD
TO SEE.
Once we have your final,
approved website pages ready, we upload it to our
host server... and then it's done! You can announce it to the world!
Step #5:
MAINTAIN YOUR WEBSITE
Your website is not etched
in stone. Changes can be made at any time, as often as you want. We can make
changes for you (no charge if infrequent and minor), or perhaps eventually you or someone you
know might get the necessary programs and learn how to edit your website
yourself. But the important thing is that now at least you have a website
presence in your community or target market. You have something that
works while you're improving it.
For more information on how we handle
your website, take a look at
our FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions).
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