Taking Your Business Online

Creating a website and taking your business online is one of the most cost effective ways to market your home-based business.

One of the most important things a home-based business can do is make themselves known on the World Wide Web or in other words take your business online. Utilizing the internet will give you global exposure in addition to keeping printed promotional and marketing matter to a minimum and is very cost effective. But the easy part is building or designing your website. The hard part is letting everyone know 'I'm here!'

Registering an effective domain name and finding a good web host are your first tasks. When it comes time to picking a domain name, there are a few things you want to remember:

Your domain name should relate to the product or service you provide, so avoid picking a name that's vague or doesn't have something to do with your company.
It should be easy to recall and keep it short! Don't use odd or cute spelling options or add hyphens just to get the same you want. It will make it difficult for people to find you.
It should be simple. Don't choose words that are difficult to spell, but choose names that are common, especially if your target is the public in general.
Try to make your domain name a .com address. Stay away from the less common extensions because they cost more and again, make it more difficult for people to find you.
Once you select a domain name, think about registering variations of that name in case it's misspelled or if someone adds a hyphen or a wrong extension, they can still be linked to your website.
Check out listings for registering your domain and choose those that come highly recommended. You can find out by asking on forum boards or checking popularity rankings.

Next, you need to determine which website host you'll go with. There are literally thousands of them, and it can be quite daunting to go through the list and try to select, so talk to business colleagues or friends and see whom they use and what kind of feedback they offer. There are also websites devoted to rating certain services, such as Epinions, which can give you more information. Once you narrow down your selections to a half dozen or less, it's time to compare them. A few things you should look for:

Storage Space - This determines the amount of space your website will have and will give you an indication of how big it can grow. On the other hand, you don't want to pay for huge storage space if your website will remain small and fairly static. For small sites, 10-15 MB is usually adequate.
Money Back Guarantee - Some providers provide a money back guarantee so that you have the opportunity to try their services for free. Look for this so that you don't sign a contract within someone you end up being unhappy with.
Bandwidth/Data Transfer - Data transfer and bandwidth usage apply to how much information can be sent to or received from your host account on the server over a certain time period. Most hosting services measure this on a monthly basis. If you anticipate a lot of visitors to your website, you'll want more bandwidth. Small websites operate nicely with about 1GB a month.
Website Speed - This is very important when choosing a hosting service. This speed specifies how fast your site will load for visitors. People are generally impatient, especially today with the popularity of DSL and wireless access, so you need a fast server to keep them with you. Ask your potential site host if they list present clients so that you can visit those sites to check for speed. Or use this link: http://www.hostpulse.com/app/networktools/ping.asp
Customer Service - Everyone wants good service. Look to see if they are available by phone, and if they offer a toll-free number, or if you can contact them only via email. Some offer live chat service. Try a trial service call and see what kind of response you get.
Uptime Guarantee - Choose hosts that provide at least a 99% uptime guarantee. If your business is down, you won't get customers.
Cost - An oftimes-determining factor. But remember that cheaper doesn't necessarily mean better, but you don't want to overpay either. Do your research. Never pay for a full year upfront, even if doing so gives you a chance to save some money. Make sure you're happy with them first. If you are, pay a year at a time when your contract comes up for renewal.

Try to stay away from hosting companies that allow you to make simple downgrades or upgrades between plans, and that way you can keep your costs down. These suggestions will get you started in researching the best ways to make sure you get online with a minimum of headache and regret. The Internet is a great tool, but you must make it work for you.

HOME
Financial Freedom