A website is a marketing tool that’s always working for you and in this digital age, every business – no matter what size – should have a one. Launching a website can be intimidating but there are tons of tools and resources available to make the process very simple. I’m not talking about a complex site that can process payments of accept customer orders, but rather a simple brochure site that can let your clients know key facts about your business.

Analyze Your Visitors

A website is your online space to tell the world the five W’s (who, what, when, where, and why) about your business. Take time to create a profile of average visitors to your site. One visitor, perhaps a prospective customer, may be seeking different information than an existing one. Determine why each type of visitor is coming to your site and make sure the content they seek is easy to find.

Register Your Domain Name

A domain name is your web site identifier. For example, my personal domain name is BizChelle.com. You can obtain a domain name through a reputable domain registrar. It’s very important that you don’t use a fly-by-night company that will be impossible to contact. A domain name can be purchased for a fee ranging from $5-$30 per year (discounts for multiple years), so shop around for the best deals.

Obtaining a domain name is easy, if no one else has already registered it, so I recommend you come up with 3-5 possible names starting with the name of your business. There are several different domain extensions, .com, .net, .org (typically reserved for nonprofits), .biz, and .us. A .com domain should be your first choice but may be taken so consider the other domain extensions. Once you register a domain name most companies will offer you a temporary web page as a placeholder – it’s not customizable and usually has advertisements you can’t remove.

For example, if your business is called Puppy Paws, look for PuppyPaws.com. If that name is already registered, think about where your business is located, perhaps www.DCPuppyPaws.com would work for you.

Domain Name Tips:

• Look into hosting before purchasing a domain name, some web hosting companies now offer a free (for the first year only!) domain name if you sign up for hosting.
• Try to keep the domain name close to your business name and as short as possible.
• Be aware of your branding. If a similar company purchased puppypaws.com, purchasing puppypaws.net may hurt your business and confuse customers as most web users type in .com be default.
• Make sure you use a reputable registrar accredited by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)
• Popular Domain Name Registrars: GoDaddy, Register, Network Solutions

Get a Hosting Company

A web hosting company provides the servers required to make your website accessible. You can use the same domain registrar for hosting if they offer services. Your hosting company will give you access your own personal section on a shared web server allowing you to create a web page accessible to everyone using the Internet.

When you’re evaluating web hosts make sure you consider these key elements:

1. Bandwidth

Web hosting companies can give you a limit on the amount of traffic your website can use per day and per month. If you exceed the allotted amount your site may become temporarily suspended or you may have to pay extra fees. For a simple small business site, it’s hard to determine how much traffic you will get but I usually recommend a minimum of 5-10 GB per month. Try to find a hosting company that offers an unlimited amount of bandwidth.

2. Reliability/Uptime

Check your web hosts uptime percentage. This is the amount of time the servers are up and running. If the servers are down your website is down. Try to stick with 99.8% and higher. Do a search for the guaranteed uptime before purchasing hosting; if you can’t find it be cautious.

3. Web/Disk Space

The amount of web space is the servers’ capacity to hold your site, this includes all files, pictures, pdfs, video, and anything other digital media you may have. Go for the largest amount of web space you can afford, usually 100GB is adequate depending on the type of media you have. You will most likely be charged extra if you exceed the maximum amount.

4. FTP and Script Access

Some web hosting companies restrict direct access to their servers and require you to use their own proprietary tools. File Transfer Protocol (FTP) access is incredibly important as your site is being developed and grows. Even if the hosting company provides you with a tool to update your site, make sure you have FTP access and that you’re able to run scripts. Scripts can be simple code from your email provider to accept email addresses, a guestbook or forms.

5. Email

Make sure your web hosting company offers emails with your package. You can create personal email addresses (you@yourdomain.com) to make your business more professional. Check on the number of email accounts you can have, as well as making sure the email is accessible through the web so you can access it anywhere. Get the POP and SMTP settings if you plan on importing the email into Outlook or your smart phone (BlackBerry, iPhone, Droid, etc.)

Hosting Company Tips:

• Make sure you use a reputable company. Look for a customer service number before you sign-up. Make sure the number is toll free so you don’t incur long distance fees.
• Most free web hosting packages require advertising on your page, so while it may fit nicely into your budget it’s a poor reflection for professional businesses.
• Monitor your site traffic. If you consistently exceed your monthly amount, contact your host to upgrade to a larger package.
• If you plan to run a WordPress site you need to make sure the host has PHP5 and MySQL available.
• Click here to read more about how to select a web hosting company

Build Your Website

I’ll admit I’m biased. I believe that hiring a quality web expert is the best route to go for a quality, professional site. With that being said, most small businesses are on a budget and can’t afford a web expert until they need customizations like e-commerce. Most web hosting companies offer some sort of easy-to-use tool (WYSIWYG) that will allow you to update your site without having to know HTML. You are now ready to upload content! Make sure you think about what your visitors need to know – hours of operation, phone number, or physical address – and add that content near the top of the page.

Spread the Word: Social Networking

The old saying that “If you build it, they will come” is a bold face lie. Having a website is great but if no one comes it’s pointless. Spread the word about your new website and your business. Make sure you include your new web domain anywhere you can. Also send emails to your personal contact lists to announce your new website, ask them to visit and if they have a web site to link to yours (you may have to reciprocate).

Social Networking Tips:

• Create a Facebook Page, an easy to set up, free resource to share information and promote your business.
• If you have video, upload it to popular sites like YouTube or Vimeo.
• Create a Twitter account.
• Use tools like HootSuite or TweetDeck to update multiple social networking profiles at one time.