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Websites 101 - nerds can skip this bit
What you need to get started:
A DOMAIN NAME - the web address for your site, usually something like www.name.com. You can choose pretty much any name you want, as long as no one else has got there first. You register a domain name for a year and renew it annually. Domain names are cheap - around $10 or $20 a year (depends on the last bit - the .com, .ca, .net).
A WEB HOSTING PACKAGE - or rented space on a web server. A server is a powerful computer linked to the internet on which your website sits. It's normal to rent an area on one of these for a year. With us you'll be paying $90 a year for a standard hosting package. Think of a domain name as your postal address and server space as the plot on which you can build your house.
A WEBSITE - the actually bricks and mortar of what you want to build online. There are endless ways to build websites, but here are some basic types:
1. A simple static site - like pages from a brochure, but in electronic form. This is one of the simplest ways to create an online presence. We can build one for you to your specifications, or you may want to try creating one yourself using something like Microsoft Front Page. Or you can browse through our range of templates, choose one that appeals, and edit it with your content.
2. A site with a Content Management System such as Wordpress - you've probably seen classic blogs (web logs) which are essentially an online journal where people post articles or just daily musings. But Blogs can be much more than this. If you look at our Blog section, you'll see some examples of what can be achieved around a blog framework. The great advantage of this type of website CMS system is that it's designed to be very easy to change and expand, even if you have no real technical knowledge. We can set up a basic Blog for you when you order a package from us for a one-off fee of $120. From there, the world's your lobster.
3. An ONLINE STORE (e-commerce) - if you've got something worth selling, you can sell it online. Whether it's a physical product, a service or some creative output (writing, music etc) - even if you want to sell gift certificates for your services - you can sell it through an online store.
If anyone tells you that setting up an online store is really simple, they're being a little optimistic. Even setting up your own store in a pre-made environment like eBay takes a considerable investment of time and involves some cost.
But with a bit of help from someone who knows what they're doing (that would be us) getting your online store set up and running needn't be too daunting. We generally build stores for our clients based around the osCommerce system - the longest-established, time-proven e-commerce environment around. There are alternatives, but most of the best ones will involve buying a reasonably expensive software licence. With osCommerce, we can customize the appearance of your store to suit your preferences. osCommerce includes an administration area where you manage your store - stock, pricing, adding new products etc. Dealing with this is fairly intuitive, but we can offer some training and support to help you find your feet.
Costs vary, but we'll set up a basic (non-customized) osCommerce installation for a flat fee of $150. Customization options are endless, but see our E-COMMERCE section for more details. |
