Have an idea for a web project, but need help in getting specific? Or are you desiring a personal website, but really have no idea where to begin? Here you will find tools to help you take steps in the right direction for the creation of your website. Questions to help you create your website These are some questions to help you get started with a web project or to help you get more specific with a project that you have already begun. I. Website Goals What do you want to accomplish with this site? What do you want your users to accomplish with this site? What will set this website apart from other similar sites? What will keep a user on your site? What will encourage a user to return to your site? II. Target Audience Gender Income Level Age Group Interests III. Site Navigation/Usability*1 How do I know where I am on the site? How do I get to where I want to go within the site? How do I return to the site (to the main page, to the previous page)? IV. Site Aesthetics What kind of feel do I want for my site (professional/business, playful/fun, creative/artistic, etc.)? What colors will be used (is there an existing logo to draw from)? What types of images will be used? Do you prefer a more graphically dynamic site at the potential expense of slow load time, or a clean, professional site that focuses on content and quick load time (w/ a minimum of graphics)? *2 Will you use existing logos/brands or create new ones specifically for the website? V. Success How will I determine success with this website? What are my 1 year goals? What are my 3 year goals? *1 Notes on Usability "Usability" here refers to information system issues such as platform compatibility, consistency, error prevention and help features, feedback, security, relevant and informative text, and a consistent and intuitive navigation system. *2 Notes on Images and Load Time When designing a website it is important to keep in mind that certain aspects of design and programming will slow down the time it takes to load a site into a user's browser. One of the most costly is graphic files. Although good aesthetics are important, the more graphics a site has, the more time it will take to download the files. For users with dsl, cable modems, broadband, etc. that isn't so much a factor. However, most users still are on dialup modems (28k and 56k) that are still relatively slow. Besides the website, what else will I need? For a basic website, the two main things that you will need are web hosting and the registration of your domain name. There are other things that you may need, depending on your specific web application (such as a merchant account, payment gateway and SSL certificate for e-commerce sites.) If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us. However, in this article we will focus on web-hosting and domain registration. Web Hosting A web host is basically a company that provides space (which you lease through monthly or annual payments) on a server machine that is connected to the world wide web 24-7. Most web hosts guarantee 99% uptime, but occasional equipment failures, weather conditions, upgrades or other circumstances might take a site offline for short periods. Web hosting companies offer a variety of plans and options as well as different costs depending on the service package. The costs can range anywhere from $10.00 monthly for shared hosting (meaning multiple accounts/domains on one server machine sharing the resources) to several hundred dollars a month for a dedicated server (your own server machine - usually used for large content or user management sites that store large amounts of information). We do not offer in-house web hosting, but we can recommend several good companies that we work with. Once we begin a project together, we will let you know the exact needs of your website as they relate to web hosting. Domain Registration A domain name is much like an address forwarding service. The domain name is the address typed into a web browser to get to your web site. The domain name then points to the IP address,which is a series of numbers, such as 123.23.234.45. This IP address then points to the location on the server that contains your web site files. A domain name looks like 'www.yournamehere.com'. You choose the 'yournamehere' part, as well as the extension (.com for instance). There are several different extensions to choose from, with '.com' being the oldest, most common, and most familiar, followed by '.net' and '.org' ('org' meaning organization and usually used by nonprofits). Today, you can find other extensions such as '.us', '.biz', etc. You use a registrar company to purchase and register the domain name. There are many companies that offer registrar services. Expect to pay anywhere from $10-50 a year for domain registration. If you need help locating a registrar, please contact us and we will be happy to make some recommendations.