 | Services - Web Sites - Setting Up |
A few of my personal rules about setting up a Web Site and advertising your presence on the Internet.
| Internet Service Provider | Make certain you choose a good Internet Service Provider or ISP, that is suited to your business.
See Choosing an Internet Service Provider for more details. Daisy Analysis recommend USP for most commercial organisations. |
| Start Small |
The most important need is to get a simple presence on the Internet or World Wide Web (They are the same!) as quickly as possible. This will enable your clients, customers and suppliers to send you E-Mails and read the important details about your company. Initially, this will be all that your clients will need and for a few months, it will cover perhaps fifty per cent of your Internet needs. So always start small. Some companies have gone to graphic design consultancies, and have been given large complicated Web Sites, that have cost a fortune and are not wholly suitable to the company's needs. The result is that six months later, a complete redesign has been performed to get everything right. If you start small and identify needs gradually, you should avoid a lot of pain and the associated costs. |
| Start Simple |
Always start your Web Site in a simple way, with sensible readable text and uncomplicated graphics. You can always improve (?) and jazz it up later. Note your customers as well. If you are in the media business, then most of your clients will have the latest computers, with all of the software and gizmos imaginable. If you are in a more practical busines, such as engineering, law, healthcare or stockbroking, it may be that some of your important customers are using older computers. modems and browsers and all of that expensive graphics will just cause annoyance. |
| Don't Re-Invent |
A lot of the information you may need to provide on your Web Site may already be available. So search the Internet for useful Web Pages that are useful to your employees and clients. Note that this is one of the simplest ways to generate traffic to your Web Site. |
| Publicising Your Site |
Some companies put up their Web Site and expect it all to happen! It doesn't! You should submit your Web Site to the various Internet Search Engines and you should inform all of your clients and suppliers that you now have a Web Site. |
| Internet Address |
This is not as important as some people will tell you! But do get something short and simple, such as daisy.co.uk, egg.com or bbc.co.uk. If somebody wants a fortune for your preferred choice. Think again! You will always find something better. For instance, stocks.co.uk and shares.co.uk have both been used, but WeDeal.co.uk is still available at £60! |
| External and Internal Sites |
Companies always need two Internet Sites, that have a lot of common pages and elements. The External Web Site is your face to the world and would contain the information your customers and clients would need. You should also provide an Internal Web Site or Intranet, which contains information for the use of your partners, management and employees. Click to show a simple Legal Site Index, that can be used as an Internal Web Site for a firm of solicitors or barristers chambers. |
| Making Small Changes |
Learn how to do this yourself! Daisy Analysis uses two simple pieces of software called Arachnophilia and WS-FTP to edit Web Pages and move them to and from the Internet, respectively. Typically, someone familiar with Microsoft Office can be taught to edit pages in a few hours. |