What prerequisites must be met when attempting to build a website? You either have a business idea or a business that you have already started. You require a website for building the online identity of your business and to market it. What are the prerequisites for creating a website? Domain name Web Hosting Business email address Logo design Favicon (Favourites Icon) Images Text content WebDesigner SSL (Security Socket Layer) Google Analytics XML Sitemap Website security and firewall Website maintenance Register a domain name The URL of your website is formed by your domain name. For instance, this website's domain name is 'ddmc.com'. The domain name frequently contains the name of the company. The pages of your website can be created using one as the principal domain, and the other can be directed to the same website. For the sake of protecting your brand, you should own both variations of the domain name. You can register your domain name(s) yourself or have me do it on your behalf with a domain registrar. Each domain can be registered for a single year or a number of years. For as long as you want to maintain your website and related services, this cost will be ongoing. Website Hosting A web or website host is a corporation that owns servers in the United States or elsewhere. You acquire a hosting account, which provides you with server space for your website files. All visitors to your website can then view and browse these files at any time. There are three types of hosting available: Shared hosting: is the most affordable option provided by a web host. Your website will be on the same server as many other websites, often 200 or more. In terms of housing, it is similar to 'flatting,' where you receive a room but share the house and the facilities outside of your room with the other flatmates. VPS hosting: is still a shared environment, but you have more capacity to run your website depending on how much you choose to spend to upgrade your plan. This is equivalent to having your own flat in a building. This is more expensive than shared hosting. Dedicated hosting: means that your website will be hosted on its own server. This is often reserved for very large corporations. You have complete authority. This is equivalent to having the entire building to yourself; there is no need to share. Expect to pay several hundred dollars per month. Web hosting is a recurrent investment that is typically charged once a year for as long as you want to keep your website and associated services operational. You can either register and maintain a web hosting account with a hosting firm on your own or with me. You will deal with any concerns with the host yourself with the former, and you will deal with me with the latter. The following are some fundamental Web Hosting Terms and Conditions. Email Address It is optional to have an email address with your domain name, such as'me@ddmc.com'. Having one will provide a professional touch. Some people are perfectly content with a free web-based email address, such as @gmail.com. Domain-based email addresses can be obtained via your domain registrar or from other independent providers. Alternatively, you can sign up for a Google G-Suite account, which would allow you to control and create as many email addresses as you want. Any of these will be an ongoing cost. Logo Design It's fantastic to have a logo or branding that aesthetically represents your company. People will eventually recognise you and your company based on your logo or branding. A graphic designer creates a logo. It can be utilised on your website as well as other printed products such as business cards, sign boards, stationery, and promotional materials. So it's worthwhile to think about it. Favicon Favourites Icon, Bookmark Icons, and Shortcut Icons are some other names for this icon. The favicon of your website appears as a small image on the tab at the top of your browser. As your web designer, I can produce and install this for you for free, using your logo graphic file. Images Images are vital not just for making your website appear nice, but also for showing customers what your products look like or how you perform your services. A picture of your business location will help visitors discover you. Learn more about the significance of photos in website design. You can take your own images or hire a professional. Text Content Creating content for your website is generally the most challenging task for you. If you don't want to do it yourself, you can hire a copywriter. Essentially, you'll need to write persuasive material for your Home page about what you offer, who you are, and why people should choose you. Other pages for which you may wish or need to supply content include: Services - what services you offer and a description of each. items - what items do you sell and a description of each? About Me/Us - People will want to know who they will be dealing with if they use your services or products, therefore this is a crucial page. A profile photo of you or each of your primary team members, as well as a strong write-up, should be on the page. The write-up should include a summary of who you are and how you came to provide the services you provide. FAQ - stands for Frequently Asked queries, and it refers to all of the queries you've been asked repeatedly or that others may want answers to. Start collecting or request testimonials or reviews from your customers or clients. It would be ideal if they could offer a photo of themselves to accompany the testimonies, but this is not required. More can be added later. Blog post - If you are planning to blog, you must provide at least one blog post to get started. Blogging or posting articles on your website is an excellent idea. Web Developer If you choose me, I will be your site designer. After discussing it with you, I will create the design and layout for your website. The design will take into account a variety of factors, including your line of services/products, target audience, preferences, search engine optimisation, and so on. The design cost will be a one-time expense, and any further work performed after the project is completed will be billed on an hourly basis. Because this is a long-term connection, you should hire a web designer who gets along well with you. It is prudent to inquire about the ongoing charges, such as hosting, maintenance, and so on, as well as the hourly rate for any further labour. Some people are capable of designing their own websites. Others choose to sign up with companies that offer simple, drag-and-drop website builders. This could work, however I've seen multiple examples when the websites are ineffective, and they end up asking me to either alter or rebuild their websites. SSL Security Socket Layer has become a requirement for all websites and not just the ones that do transactions. SSL encrypts uploading and downloading of website contents, making it safer for everybody. Your website URL protocol will change from http to https. If your website has no SSL, the browser will flag is as ‘not secure’. Your web designer can install a free SSL or purchase and install one for you. For a normal information website, a free SSL is sufficient. Google Analytics This is a Google data analytic tool and as your web designer, I will install it for you for no additional charges. The analysis gives you great insight to the performance of your website. If you are running advertising campaigns such as ‘adwords’, Google Analytics will give you the statistics showing the effectiveness or if anything needs tweaking. Sitemap As your website designer, I will enable XML sitemap for no additional charges. This sitemap is for search engines to better index and detect all the pages on your website. Thus your website will be better ranked. Website Security and Firewall Hacking and malware infection attempts happen to all websites all the time. They are done by ‘bots’ and often not specifically targeted. Web hosts would have their security system in place but as a website owner, it is a good idea to have it installed on your particular website too along with adopting other security practice such as good usernames and strong passwords. Website Maintenance You will be familiar with your smartphones needing updates to the apps you’ve downloaded and are using. Similarly, your website will need to have its core system, themes and plugins updated from time to time. This is not only important for the performance of the website but also its security especially when there are vulnerabilities to patch before a hacker or bot exploits them and gain access to your website. You can learn to perform website system maintenance yourself or I can do it for you for a low yearly fee. If you have any questions, On requirement for building a website
