How Websites Work
Building your Company Website
For your site, you will need to consider: (click topic to see more info)
1. Domain Name: it is the "address" for your website on the Internet. It should be unique & distinct from other business names & websites. Most of the time, your business name is distinctive enough, but if your business name used as a domain address is already 'taken' by someone else, usually something similar can be developed.
Your name also should be registered with a .com, .net, and/or .org (usually for non-profit organizations, schools, or government websites).
The extra domains that you lease will be "parked" with your main domain hosting package. If someone types in one of these names, your main site will open on the Internet.
- We can use your name & ideas to research the domain field to come up with one that you like. Checking the name against all the suffixes & similar names (or anacronyms) in the US & the world (common suffixes), we will register the one(s) you want & 'point' them to your hosting company's servers.
- Frequently, when you find a good domain name, it is a good idea to buy the other suffixes with the same name, to avoid other companies using your name. In other words, we own the names CeJayAssoc.com, CeJayAssoc.net, CeJay.com, CeJay.net. See Hosting, below, for the most economical way to do this.
- Really, you don't "own" your domain name, you are leasing it from the Internet gods. As such, you pay for it by the year, or for several years at a time. But, it is not expensive.
2. Hosting: Now you have an Internet address, you will need to rent or own space on a server to keep your pages/files. There are many companies that will rent you space for a monthly or yearly fee, and all with a wide variety of prices & services.
One of these services is company email. Your company can have email addresses that come from your company name: "JoeSmith@YourCompany.com". This is far more professional looking, and is as reliable as any email servers out there (such as Yahoo or AOL) with a reliable hosting company.
- Let CeJay Associates, LLC research the best hosting for your website & email needs. If you have a server inhouse, there's a good possibility that you can host your own website.
- If you purchase more than one domain name, only the "main" one that you buy need be hosted on a full hosting package. The others can be "parked" with your main site. For instance: if you type CeJay.net into the browser bar, you will be connected to CeJayAssoc.com. Parking is MUCH cheaper per year than a full hosting package (around 10% of the full price). Internet rules require that all domain names be hosted (or parked) somewhere.
3. Your website can serve you in a variety of ways:
- In an advertising capacity for your products, services, hours of business, and contact information.... 24 hours, 7 days a week. Now THAT'S an in-expensive salesperson!
- Order forms for easy Customer Ordering
- Online credit card payment for your Customers
- Offering pages that serve your industry (ie. info on new products that you handle)
- Share design specs and pictures with customers
- Offering pages that serve your employees (ie. company-wide seminars description and sign-up list)
- Your readers can communicate with you from Forms pages (ie. Contact Us, Feedback)
- Include links to companies whose products you handle (and perhaps they will also include a link from their website to yours!)
- You can have your own personal page that includes news streams, favorite links and pictures, frequently used email addresses. Saved on your desktop (and password protected, if desired), this can be a 'quick stop' to catch up on the world.
- Placing your URL [web address] on your business cards, letterhead, and your printed advertising also increases your web-readership.
4. Best of all, a website does not have to be expensive! Domain name, hosting, and full design work compare in price to having a brochure designed and printed.
CeJay Associates, LLC would like to develop your website!
In the web business since 1999, we have the capability, the creativity, and the marketing expertise.
CONTACT US or EMAIL US for more information!
Web Sites :: Design :: Domains/Hosting :: E-Commerce :: Search Engine Optimization :: Site Maintaining :: Marketing Strategies
