So many of our potential customers phone and ask us how to go about building their website. Some small businesses are even reluctant to get online because of the time or expense they believe is required.

Let me tell you boldly: if you’re in business, you definitely need a website but it wouldn’t cost you the earth nor take up too much of your precious time!

Hopefully, this article will convince you to get your business online without spending a lot of money or time.

Domain name

A domain name is the address where your website will be found on the Internet. The best domain name is probably the one that uses your company’s name. So for example, if your company name is Smart Shirts Private Limited, you should consider the domain name smartshirts.com. However, this is not easy as you think since good names are hard to get! If the first option fails, look for something catchy or memorable that your customers can associate with. You may also want to read “how to select a good domain name.”

Reliable web hosting

Storing the files of your website on a server is referred as web hosting. Many in Sri Lanka offer you cheap web hosting. However, what you really need is reliable web hosting that will keep your website up and running, hassle free. Since there are different hosting packages, select the one that would suit your needs. For example, the amount of space, email accounts, the need for a control panel etc.

Planning

Planning is important. You should have an idea of what you want on your website and how it should look. The best place to start is to look at some of your competitor’s websites. Obviously, they have beaten you to it but there again, that gives you an opportunity to look at the shortcomings of their websites and create one better than theirs!

Static or dynamic website

Static websites are generally html pages that need to be updated by someone with a knowledge of website development. Static websites are the cheapest to develop and host, and many companies still use this mode to get a web presence. So for example, if you want a 5 to 10 website that does not require frequent updates, then go for a static website.

Dynamic sites on the other hand can be more expensive to develop initially, but the advantages are numerous. At a basic level, a dynamic website can give the website owner the ability to simply update and add new content as frequently as he or she likes. Some examples of dynamic website features could be: Content Management System (CMS), blogs, e-commerce system, bulletin boards etc.

Maintaining your site

Websites that are updated frequently are favoured by the search engines. If you have developed your site using a CMS this would not be a problem. If not, you can arrange for frequent updates through your web developer.

Here at Webvision, we can help you achieve the above. For more details and affordable rates, just contact us today!

Tags: cms, content management system, getting online, new website, small business

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 3rd, 2009 at 12:31 pm and is filed under Internet Sri Lanka, content management system - cms, domain registration sri lanka, web design sri lanka, web hosting sri lanka. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.