Websites for Beginners

Whether you build your own website or hire a firm, you should have some knowledge about what goes into a making and running a website.

Domain Name:

This is the address that directs people to your website. The Chamber's domain is ChamberECT.com. Every website has a unique domain name. Domain names end with something called an extention, like '.net' '.edu' '.org', and the most common '.com' (pronounced 'dot com'). Online marketers often favor '.com' names because they have become the industry standard, however, other extentions have their purpose, like '.org' fits well with not-for-profits and '.mobi' with mobile websites. '.com' domains cost around $10/year and while you can have your web designer register it on your behalf, you are more in control of who can edit your website if you purchase it yourself.

Hosting and Servers

When you view a file on your computer, like a word document or a picture, that file exists on your computer. When you view a website, you are likely viewing files that exist on a server. When it comes to your website, you need to provide a way for your visitors to download the files that make up your website. The most common solution for small businesses is to essentially rent space on a shared server, whether they purchase directly from a hosting company ($5-10/month) or as part of a website package. This makes sense because unless your website gets substantial traffic, hosting multiple websites on one server cuts costs and having a company maintain the server 24/7 prevents it from going down. A server is basically a computer in that it can crash or slow down with too much processing.

Web Design

One of the biggest issues small businesses face when making their first website is what to include. Think of your website as an employee. You can train your 'employee' to tell your customers about your company, about specials you may be running or that you opened a new store. However, if your employee told your customer all this while your customer simpy wanted to know was a price - you wouldn't be happy with your employee. Organizing your information is just as important as making sure it is all there.

Here are some things to consider when making your first website:

Who is your audience, who are you 'speaking' to?
What do you want your website to accomplish?
Will you need the ability to update information?

Click here for eastern Connecticut web designers.

Website Statistics

Tracking your website visitors is pretty easy with technology these days. Your host often automatically does this for you and displays this in your member section dashboard. The Chamber uses Google Analytics, which tracks advanced metrics, and best of all, it is free. All you need to do is activate your account, place code on your template footer and then wait a day for your first statistics.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO is the practice of improving a website to get listed high on search engine results. While there is no guarentee you can reach the number one spot on google for the search term 'business', there are some best practices to help you rank high for terms closely releated to your website.

Here are some basic concepts you should consider:

Content is king: Search uses the text on your website (among other content) to determine whether to list you in results.
Duplicate content is bad: If you copy and paste substantial content from another website, you may be penalized
Imbound links are key: A 'New London Pizza' page linked to from websites about New London or restaurants help.
Meta-tags help: They often are used as the blurb shown in search engine results, learn about meta-tags.