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Buying a Website

If you're reading this then chances are you are looking into getting a website of some description, so here are a few things you need to know:

Domain Name

All websites need a website address. This is also known as a Domain Name, or URL. These can be purchased through numerous companies on the internet, sometimes they are included with a hosting package, but are generally inexpensive and can be purchased seperately. When you buy a domain name, you are essentially renting it for a period of time, normally for 1 or 2 years. When your current ownership is about to expire you will be informed and have the option to renew it for a further 1 or 2 years. If you don't renew it at this stage, then it will become available for someone else to buy.

We can purchase and manage Domain Names on your behalf to make the whole process easier for you.

Web Hosting

Once you have a domain name you will need to find some 'web hosting'. In simple terms Web Hosting is rented space on a server which is permantently connected to the internet. Payment for this is usually paid on a monthly or annual basis and allows you to display your website on the internet. Web Hosting is generally sold as a package which will provide web hosting, email capabilities, databases, etc and will differ in price depending on the type of hosting you require and the type of technology your website uses to run.

If your website intends to sell products or services then you will almost certainly need Web Hosting which includes a database and an SSL certificate. More information on hosting an e-commerce website is provided below.

Again, this is something we can arrange for you if you don't want to get involved with the management of your website.

e-commerce

If you intend to sell products or services online then you will need to ensure that your hosting package includes a database, and the option of an SSL certificate.

The Database

The database will hold all of the products you intend to sell, and provide a place to store customer information such as the shopping basket and order information. You should be aware that there are strict rules about storing certain types of information such as credit card details and you will also need to ensure that if your database is held outside of the UK that it meets Safe Harbour requirements.

SSL Certificates

The SSL certificate ensures that all the transaction made through your website are enrypted which gives your customers confidence when buying online. You can generally tell when a website has an SSL certificate by the presence of a small padlock icon in the browser window, and the prefix https:// at the start of the website address.

Basic web hosting packages generally comes without both of these options included so be sure to check that you have the option if you need it.

Merchant Bank Account

If you want to take payments online via credit or debit card, then you will require the services of a Merchant Banker, such as HSBC, Barclays, Worldpay etc. Many companies particularly those just starting up have a hard time in persuading the big banks to provide merchant bank accounts and many will require at least 12 months accounts before deciding on whether to offer merchant banking facilities for online payments.

For those that are declined merchant bank services, there is always the option of using PayPal which is now used by many websites for taking payments online.

The Website

There isn't really much point in buying a domain name, or arranging Web Hosting unless you have an idea of the cost involved in creating your website and if it falls within your budget. So your first port of call is to obtain a quote for the design of your website. Quotes will vary from company to company and from project to project, obviously the more complex the project, the higher the price you will be quoted.

There are many so called Web Designers available but be warned that just like any profession there are cowboys to watch out for. When you are considering your web designer, ask them about Accessibility and whether their work is done using Web Standards and if they are simply reselling Templates to you. Ask to see some of their previous work, and if you like you can ask us for a second opinion on it. We take extreme pride in our work and we don't want anyone to get ripped off.

Once you are happy with the quote you can give the design company the go ahead to design your website. Depending on the size of the project they may issue you with an invoice for a deposit, which in most cases is used to purchase your domain name and web hosting, mentioned above.

Once the go-ahead is given, the designer will then go away armed with information about your business, your customers, your aims and objectives and after a period of time will emerge with an initial layout for your website. If the designer is any good, you will at this point be extremely happy. If not then you will have your chance to say what you like and don't like about it and the designer will make the nessesary changes. Once your happy, the designer will build the pages so that they can be used on the internet.

Putting it all Together

Once all your web pages have been designed and built, you effectively have your website. The finished web pages will be uploaded to your 'web space' and your website is available for public viewing via the chosen domain name. At this point you should be extremly excited!

But just because you have a website, it doesnt mean everyone is going to instantly find it and neither will you see an instant increase in your customer base. Unless you tell people about your website, nobody will know about it.

Search Engines

Generally people use search engines such as Google or Yahoo to find what they are looking for on the internet. Search Engines don't know about websites unless you tell them about them, but once they are aware a website exists, they will visit it regularly and add the web pages to an index.

The more relevent the content of a website is to a particular search phrase, and the more links on other websites which point to it there are, the higher up the list it goes. If your website has been well written using Web Standards then search engines will have no problem indexing your content.

While you are looking for a Web Designer, you may hear of companies offering a service called Search Engine Optimisation or SEO. This is a services that claims to increase your position within search engine results. Be warned however, that there is no specific method of achieving a higher ranking in search results and each search engine will use diferent techniques for indexing websites. Some of the companies offering SEO services use dirty tricks often fround upon by search engines and they will punish Websites for using them which may have the adverse affect of pushing your website further down the results, and may even refuse to list your website at all.

While there are reputable companies that can improve a websites position in search results, the only method that really works is to have a website which contains good content relevent to a particular subject, is well structured, and has been professionally built using Web Standards.

This is what we do.