Website Description
“Cheap and Easy Web Services”
or
“What is a Web Site? and Why Should Sandy Build One for You?”
Actually, there are three topics to cover here:
- What is a Web Site?
- Why Should Sandy Build One for You?
- Do You Really Need a Web Site?
What is a Web Site?
A web site is your presence on the internet. It has a number of components.
The primary ones we will cover here are:
The URL, Including Domain Name
URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator. This could be your own domain
name, or you could have a page or pages on someone else’s website.
This is the address of your web site.
If you have a web page on someone else’s site, you would not
have your own domain name; you would use their domain name and your
URL could be long and complex, e.g. www.AcousticByLines.com/performers-entertainers-musicians/ErnieMartinez.htm.
This might be an economical way to get started: some sites offer free
web pages on their site, sometimes in exchange for letting them advertise
on your pages. Sometimes your Internet Service Provider (ISP) offers
space for your web page at no additional charge.
If you want to have your own domain name, e.g. www.SLReay.biz, you
need to come up with a name that isn’t already purchased or in
use and “buy” it from a domain name service. Actually, you
don’t “buy” it, you rent it for 1-10 years, at which
time you can renew it for up to another 10 years. The domain name consists
of www (which stands for world wide web), your name, and an extension.
In the olden days, there were a limited number of extensions, such as:
- .com for commerce
- .org for non-profit organizations
- .net for internet service providers
- .edu for education institutions
- .gov for government entities
- .us for united states
etc. New extension are being added as the need arises:
- .biz for business
- .ws for website
etc. It is possible to buy YourDomainName.com, YourDomainName.org,
and YourDomainName.net, if you want. One would be the actual domain
name and the other two would be “aliases” (pointers to the
first domain name).
There are high-priced domain sellers. Originally, domains cost $70
/ year. Some of the high-priced domain sellers still charge that, or
give you a break by selling you 2 years for the price of 1. There are
other, equally as reliable and frequently easier to use, domain sellers
who will sell domain names for under $10 / year. Godaddy
was the lowest priced domain seller that Sandy found, has an easy to
use web site, and has excellent support. Sandy has been using Godaddy
since 2000. Recently, Sandy heard about a cheaper domain name seller,
who sells domain name registrations for two years for less than $15.
It is Cheap-DomainRegistration.com.
Sandy has not dealt with this registrar directly, but manages a site
that was registered using this registrar.
You should know the user id and password associated with your
domain name, and where is was purchased. This is necessary
information if you want to move your web site to another host. If you
are paying for your own domain name, it is your information and it has
value. Make sure you are registered as the owner of the domain
name.
A governing body called ICANN creates rules for the internet and maintains
lists of domain names, their owners, and where they point to, which
is the physical web site.
For other considerations about chosing your domain name, see Bad
Domain Names.
The Physical Web Site
A web site consists of text, colors, images and sound that resides
on space which is accessible to the internet 24 hours per day, 7 days
per week, 52 weeks per year. A web site can consist of one or more pages,
Each page corresponds to a separate file or files (including images
and sound). Multiple pages are joined by links, so it is possible to
move back and forth between pages.
If you put your web page on someone else’s site, they might build
the page for you or they might have a template for you to build your
own page. This makes it easy to get started. It might not give you the
flexibility to build exactly what you want, though. You might be limited
to fewer pages than you want. You might be limited to doing updates
only when it is convenient for them.
If you build your own web site, you should be able to make it look
exactly like you want it to look and contain just what you want it to
contain. This would include the text you want, the images (drawings,
animation, and photographs) you want to include, the sound (music) you
want to have available, the organization you want, and the presentation
you want (color and layout). This is not always as easy as it sounds.
There are books and web sites to help you learn about how to do this.
If you put up your own web site on your own space, you either need
to have your own server, available to the internet around the clock,
or you need to rent space on someone else’s server. This document
will not cover putting up your own server--it is not a service that
Sandy offers.
If you want to rent space for your own web site, you need to find a
web site host. Like domain name sellers, there are high-priced and cheaper
web site hosts. Here are some criteria to look for when choosing a host:
* Space. Some sites restrict the amount of space you can use to store
the components that make up your site. Space is measured in bytes (a
byte roughly corresponds to a character) and noted as a thousand bytes
(K for kilo) or million bytes (M for mega aka "meg") or billion
bytes (G for giga aka "gig").
Text pages, even with color and formatting, don’t take up a lot
of space. Simple pages can take less than 10K. Large pages will probably
stay under 100K, depending on how much text is there.
Images take up more space, but can be stored in a a compressed format
(.jpg or .gif) to save space. They can also be modified (change the
size and/or the resolution) to be more efficient. Images over 12”
height and width, in high-resolution can be around 500K. Images in the
50-70K (or smaller) range are usually of sufficient quality for a web
site.
Music and video files take up a lot of space. .Mp3s of entire songs
can take as much as 3M of space. Even small music clips or just a verse
or chorus can be 400-600K.
* Pipe. This is the amount of data that can be transmitted over the
internet at one time. This affects how long it takes to download your
site and how many users can download at one time. The bigger the better,
if you are realistically expecting a lot of users and a lot of audio
and video. This should be measured in Gigs.
* Reports. Reports should be available to you that tell you about your
space utilization, how your web page is accessed, and what pages are
most popular. These reports are frequently available on line, to the
site administrator, who has the user id and password for the site. You
should have the user id and password for your site, too, even
if you have someone else build and maintain the site for you.
* E-mail. You might want to have your own e-mail account associated
with your web site, so you can send out e-mail from you@yourdomainname.com.
You probably would have to log into a separate account to send and receive
e-mail from that account. For sake of convenience, you might want to
set up a forwarder, so people can e-mail you@yourdomainname.com and
it will forward the e-mail to your regular e-mail account. Some hosts
offer one e-mail account and an unlimited number of forwarders. Some
offer both multiple e-mail accounts and multiple forwarders.
* Support. This is not easy to determine until you need it, but support
should be available when you need it (24 hours / day, 7 days / week).
Look for support with a toll-free telephone number and/or live-chat
and/or quick response to e-mail.
* Growth. Chose a site that will allow you to grow (purchase more storage
space, add more functions).
* Functionality. Some hosts offer the ability to access a database
and run web pages that change based on user input, using web programming
tools such as Java, Javascript, CGI, PHP, etc.
* Maintainability. You should be able to maintain (change the contents
of your web site) when you want to.
* Cost. Some site hosts charge $20/month. A web developer looked into
what it would cost to buy and maintain his own server and determined
that $20/month was the bare minimum he could charge to make it financially
rewarding for him to do the work. This doesn’t mean that $20/month
is a good price to pay. DigitalSpace
used to be a reasonable web site space provider. But, in July, 2008,
they raised their prices from $36 to $92 per year.
Godaddy hosts
web sites for just under $49 per year and it is easier to assign the
domain name to the web space using Godaddy.
In August, Dot5Hosting
offered hosting for just under $48 per year. They also offer a plan
that allows you to host multiple web sites for one fee (just under $60
/ year), so if you have or plan to have more than one web site, it's
worth checking this host out.
Other web site hosts offer full-service web hosting, including domain
name registration, custom web design and construction, and web site
promotion. In addition, they offer branding, personal service, multiple
email accounts, spam and virus filtering on incoming email, and problem
solving when mission-critical emails are late / missing. One such web-site
host is Warp 8, Inc.
They cost more than Godaddy
but offer a lot more support and spam and virus filtering on incoming
email. In addition, they provide complete traffic reports, including
words and phrases used in search engines to locate your site.
There are web development services and packages available that will
work with your domain name provider and offer templates and software
for you to maintain your own web page. They might make it easy to set
up the web page initially, and take away the confusion from buying a
domain name and web site host. Be sure if you go this route that you
will be able to maintain your site in a timely manner and that you will
be able to keep your domain name if you want to move your site.
Regardless, you should know the user id and password to your
web site on your web site host, and how to access that host.
Like your domain name information, this is your information and it has
value. You should be listed as the owner of the site.
Entries in Search Engines
Entries in search engines help people find your site. You can also
rely on word of mouth, print your URL on your business cards, and include
it in your e-mail to your contacts.
There are free search engines, such as Google,
and there are other search engines which require listing sites to pay.
Sandy only uses free search engines when searching the web, because
they read and log all web sites, not just the paying sites.
There are ways to design and maintain web sites and code web pages
that enhance your keywords to help your placement in search engines.
There are also a lot of things you can do to help your web site do well
in search engines. See "How
to Make Your Site do Better in Search Engines".
If you use a web page service, they should be able to help you with
that. Ask them what they do to help your placement in search engines.
For more information about search engines, see "Optimizing Your
Site for Search Engines - A Step-By-Step Guide" in How to Promote
Your Music Successfully on the Internet, a book available from www.musicbizacademy.com.
For more information about selecting keywords and using them in your
web site, get "Web Site Wow" by Jeniffer Thompson of MonkeyCMedia.
Be aware that pages developed using a standard template usually do
NOT do well in search engines.
Why Should Sandy Build One for You?
Sandy offers a full range of reasonably priced web services and provides
you with the information you want and need to know.
If price is a consideration, decide how long you want to keep your
web site. You can hire web site development services that charge by
the month. It could be a reasonable price / month, like $10-35. It might
provide you with software to design and build your site and that might
restrict you to a limited number of designs and a limited number of
pages. The software may not be as easy to use as advertised. Eventually,
you'll pay more for a site you're not satisified with than you would
if you paid the upfront cost and had no maintenance fees.
Even if you hire a web site builder, it is NOT necessary to pay monthly
maintenance fees if you don't have a lot of changes to your web page
each month.
* If you are an acoustic musician or have a business that offers goods
and services to acoustic musicians, you can join AcousticByLines
and have your web page on an existing, established web site. This is
the most economical way to establish a web presence, short of having
someone design, build and maintain one for you for free.
* If you want your own domain name and web site, Sandy can help in
a variety of ways:
- Sandy can purchase your domain name for you, guide you through the
process of buying one, or use one you provide. If Sandy purchases
your domain name for you, she will use Godaddy,
set up a separate account for you, list you as the owner, and provide
you with the user id and password for your domain name. You will determine
how many years to purchase initially.
- Sandy can purchase your web site host for you, guide you through
the process of buying one, or use one you provide. If Sandy purchases
your web site host for you, she will probably use Godaddy,
set up a separate account for you, list you as the owner, and provide
you with the user id and password for your web site. She will purchase
only the options you want and need.
- Sandy can design a web site for you, or build one from your design.
She will talk with you and discover what you want your site to do
and how you want it to work and what you want it to look like. She
can use images your provide or take digital photographs for you.
- Sandy can train you to maintain your own site, once it is built,
and/or maintain it for you.
- Sandy can train you to build your own site.
- Sandy will work at your site or at her own office, as you prefer.
- Sandy knows a lot of techniques to help with search engine placement
and has been quite successful. These include site design, coding techniques,
and maintenance functions.
- Sandy knows coding techniques to put your e-mail id on your web
pages and keep it from generating spam to your e-mail id.
- Sandy works on a time and cost basis. She charges an extremely reasonable
amount per hour to build and maintain web pages, and passes direct
costs (purchase of domain name and web site host) on without adding
to those costs. She charges less per hour if she can work from home.
- If Sandy does maintenance for you, you are not required to pay a
minimum amount per month -- you will be billed only for the actual
time spent.
- Sandy does not require you to sign a long-term contract. You may
request or cancel services at any time.
For website development or assistance, Contact
Sandy.
Do You Really Need a Web Site?
Ask yourself the following questions:
- Why do I need a web page?
- What do I want it to do for me?
- Is it worth the money I might have to pay for it?
A web site is a way to advertise your business, sell your products,
generate interest in something you like and make contact with others
of similar interests, or draw attention to something you do. All are
legitimate reasons to have a web page. Only you can decide whether or
not it is cost effective. Like all advertising and new businesses, there
are no guarantees that it will be effective.
Some additional advantages of having a web site are:
- Lower costs than an ad in the telephone book
- Available 24 hours / day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year
- Advertising world-wide
- Convenient for clients and prospective clients to do business from
home
Bare minimum costs to buy a domain name and web site host for one year
are $45. That does not include building the web site. An attractive
web site, with a moderate amount of functionality (a good starter web
site), should cost under $300 to design, build and install. Sites that
are complex, require a lot of graphic work, require additional work
with music or video files, use a database, and/or used e-commerce functions
will cost more to build.
There are intangibles to evaluating the effectiveness of your web site.
You might not experience enough direct sales from your web site to make
it profitable, but it might become an effective, efficient way to communicate
with your clients, generate additional interest, teach you how to build
web sites, and help advertise / promote your services.
Only you can decide if the benefits are worth the cost.
For more info about deciding to build a web site, please see "Your
Own Web Page" and "Questions"
from "Home Office: Weaving Your Web" by Mark Landsbaum, from
NASE Self Employed, March-April, 2006.
For website development or assistance, Contact
Sandy.
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© S. L. Reay,
2003-2008
All rights reserved. |
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