3 Things Needed to Start a Website
The behind the scenes items you need to know and understand to keep your website up and running.
Learn what is involved in maintaining a thriving website that keeps your audience up to speed with how you are growing individually, and as a business.
Here are the main three items that you should understand to start and manage a website:
1. Host Subscription
In order for a website to be live and accessible to your ideal audience through the internet, you have to “rent” a space for your website to live. That is done through having a subscription with a website host company.
A website host offers the facilities required to create and maintain a site and makes it accessible on the World Wide Web. To keep your website accessible there is a monthly or annual fee. Annual fees will allow you to always pay less in the long run rather than a monthly payment. These recurring fees generally range from $16 - $35 depending on needs and desired functionalities of a website.
Squarespace is the only website host that I recommend to all of my clients. They are easy to work with and offer all the features a business needs to start, grow, and continually scale their business.
2. Domain Name Subscription
Have you ever asked a friend where they purchased an item that you liked, and their response was “online”. That answer not only stops the conversation generally, but doesn’t give you specific information that would allow you to be able to locate the item that you are interested in. For you to be able to find the exact item, you need the website name for the company who makes it, or also referred to as the domain name.
A domain name is what people type into the internet in order to reach a website directly. Such as “ahadicreations.com”. A domain is required to make your site accessible. There are many endings available for purchase such as .co, .org, .com, and many others. Generally, domains are paid annually and range in price based on wording used in the name. The average cost is around $10 a year, with highly recommended additional charges for security purposes.
My go-to company for domain name purchases is NameCheap! Their name is definitely fitting because all of their domains are reasonably priced. When you search to see if your desired domain name is available for purchase they make the process user friendly and offer other suggestions if the exact domain name you would like is not available. They also have great processing time when it comes to uploading your site quickly in comparison to other companies.
Pro Tip: Be sure you have your domain setup for auto-renewal to prevent your website from being “down” at any time a payment is missed, and possibly purchased by someone else. Remember, you can cancel or change the domain name at any time.
3. Regular Updates
As mentioned earlier, a website, like a business, is never completed and should always be improved in some way. Whether that’s updating pictures and/or graphics, customer reviews, or services offered, regular updates are highly recommended and should be performed on your website. This helps to ensure you are always targeting your ideal client for where you are presently in your business.
Understanding these three essential items that are needed for your website helps you, as the business owner, to know the “behind-the-scenes” features for maintaining a well functioning website. Whether or not you DIY your website or hire me to do it for you, understanding these items are very important, to say the least.
