About websites
A website can be one of the most cost effective methods that you can use to advertise your business or organisation. You can have full colour, multi page website, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for 52 weeks of the year and the annual charge can be less than the price of just ONE advertisement in a newspaper or magazine.
You also have the added bonus of being visited by internet users who may be searching for a particular service, perhaps in a particular location, who may have been unaware of your existence beforehand.
If you are already using other forms of advertising such as newspapers or magazines, then simply by adding your domain name to these advertisements you are in effect multiplying the size of your advertisements, because, by directing people to your website you can give them a great deal more information than you possibly could in the original advertisement. You might even consider reducing the size and costs of your existing advertising.
As well as using your domain name on your advertising you will also be able to use it on your stationery, business cards, premises signs and vehicles. This will add to the perceived professionalism of your business.
You should also remember that internet use is increasing and more people than ever are using it to find the products and services that they want. Internet users prefer to go online rather than use the phone book because they can find far more information that way. Details of the services offered, the times of business openings and the location can be much more detailed than a phone book entry. And unlike a phone book, changes to a website can be made straight away so that your information can always be kept right up to date.
There are many types of web page designs and layouts. The most popular being pages with the navigation links to the other pages across the top of each page or down the left hand side. Of course you can have navigation links anywhere you like and in any shape that you want, but for ease of use, variations of the most popular layouts will not cause problems for your visitors.
There are many devices used on websites to catch the eye of the internet user, such as animations, bright colours and patterned backgrounds, but sometimes these devices can become a distraction and actually drive people away from a website. I prefer to build websites that offer the information that the internet user wants without giving them a headache.
You should also know just a little about technical terms such as domain names and website hosting.
Domain names
You will need a domain name. My domain name is martynpearce.co.uk. A domain name must be registered to you through the official registrars before you can use it. I can register a domain name for you as part of my service if you do not already have one.
Domain names come in several variations:
The main UK variations end with:
.co.uk and are for use by UK businesses
.org.uk and are for use by UK charitable or non profit making organisations
The main international variations end with:
.com and are for use by businesses
.biz and are for use by businesses
.org and are for use by charitable or non profit making organisations
.net and are for use by internet services providers
The UK variations have less expensive registration charges. The most used variation in the UK is the .co.uk name.
Website hosting
Your website needs to be hosted. Hosting is the service that allows a website to operate on the Internet. Websites are held on a server. A server is a special kind of computer that can be accessed by many internet users at the same time. It serves these users with the website pages and the services that they request. Hosting charges include the costs of the server and the costs of maintaining the website. My servers are housed in a purpose built 24 hour computer centre.
To summarise
A domain name can be likened to the address of the website. When an Internet user click on a link or types in a domain name, that user is automatically routed to where the website is hosted - and the website appears.
Having a website built by me means that you do not need to be involved in the complications of domain name registration, the technicalities of building web pages, the routing of the domain name, the purchasing of server space or the day-to-day running and administration of the website. You simply contact me with your requirements and I will do the rest.