Basic Website Requirements

There are four basic requirements for getting and keeping your business up and running on the Internet. You will need 1. a domain name, 2. website hosting, 3. website development, and 4. a webmaster. Although some people view these as a single package, you should be aware that they are independent services.

1. Domain Name

The domain name is the address name you will have on the Internet such as http://www.yourdomainname.com/ or yourdomainname.com. You should choose this as carefully as you chose the name for your business. It should be easy to remember and at the same time say who you are and what your website or business is about.

A domain name is a possession owned by you or your company and you should be sure that you have clear ownership and control over it. The best way to do this is to make the purchase yourself. Once you are set up with hosting and a website you or your webmaster will be able to configure the domain name to point to your website at your hosting company.

There are many services on the Internet where you can register domain names. They will provide you with an account control to manage your names. We will always recommend a reputable provider, independent of our services, based on your needs.

2. Website Hosting

Hosting is the place you rent so that your website and email are accessible over the Internet. There are many companies offering many service packages and it can be difficult for the average person to figure out which is the best solution and who the reputable providers are. Although you may find an attractive price for a lot of features, the underlying services might not be what you expect once you are up and running. As the saying goes, "You get what you pay for". When choosing hosting consider what your website is and how you expect it to grow. Costs associated with your hosting should be reasonable based on what you get and should scale justifiably as your services increase.

Although hosting and website development are independent services many developers, including us, offer hosting packages since in some cases your developer will also be responsible for managing your hosting account. So, in assessing your needs you should consider who will manage your hosting. You should rely on the experience of your developer to help you choose the proper solution based on your needs. We will guide you to make the right choice for your needs whether it is managed by us or you.

3. Website Development

A website developer is the person that builds your website property at your hosting provider so it is available on the Internet. He or she is a software developer who is specifically engaged in the development of World Wide Web applications, or applications that are run over the HTTP protocol using an HTTP server, a web server, and an HTTP client, a web browser.

We define web development as the entire process from website design to web development. We work with many different clients in different scenarios of development. In some cases we provide all website design and development services from concept to completion and in others we may only provide administrative or webmaster services. We cater our services to the specific needs of each client.

See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_developer

4. Webmaster

In terms of a completed small business site, the webmaster is the technical person responsible for administration and maintenance of the website. You can perform this duty yourself or hire a professional. Depending on the scope of work, your webmaster might be responsible for any or all of the following:

• coordination and renewal of domain name and hosting services
• making sure that the hosting service is always running properly
• ensuring website functions are always operating properly
• control of email accounts including SPAM and virus filtering systems
• monitoring site traffic and correcting errors
• collection and analysis of statistics
• creating and updating website pages or databases
• backing-up website files and databases
• replying to general user feedback
• monitoring of ecommerce operations

In most cases the Webmaster is the same person you hired for website development. They are the person that will be available for you whenever you need advice or changes. You should trust this person. They are essentially the person responsible for managing the web portion of your entire business and you should be comfortable that they are "watching the store".