web site Development

Setting up Shop – Obtaining a Name and Address

The first step in creating a presence on the web is to obtain a domain name. A domain name is a series of up to 67 letters and/or numbers followed by (in most cases) .com, .net, or .org. A domain name is like a personalized license plate on a vehicle. It is unique, so nobody else is allowed to have the exact same one. The protocol for obtaining a domain name is much like going to the DMV and requesting a personalized plate. You submit the domain name that you would like to own and the domain registrar says "Congratulations!" or "Sorry, that name’s been taken." It is infinitely wise to choose a name that includes a keyword or phrase that people will use to find a service like yours. For instance, an Audio Rep that works in the Mid-Atlantic Territory would do himself justice to purchase a domain name like Audio-Rep-Mid-Atlantic.com. Once you settle

on a name that’s available, you "purchase" (or more accurately put "rent") the domain name for a period of time. You must pay for the domain name again when the "lease" is up or it will once again become the property of the registrar.

Once your domain name has been purchased, your virtual domain vehicle will need to be "parked." Domains are parked or "hosted" on "servers." A server supplies the space that will be the virtual home of your site on the web. Different servers charge different rates depending on the file space or size of the "home" that you want to "rent" and the length of your "lease." You can in effect rent a room by parking your domain inside another domain’s space. This cohabiting is called "stacking." Stacked domain parking is less costly as it doesn’t provide you with many of the services that come with full domain parking. But, with some cgi script altering, htaccess editing and some redirect commands, stacked domains look and behave exactly like full domains on the World Wide Web. As with domain names, server space, stacked or full, is rented for various lengths of time at various rates.

Constructing your Virtual Home on the Web

Once your site has a name and address, your new space will need to be arranged, designed and furnished with webpages. Whether you want to create a presence for your company on the web or you want to open up an Internet store, remember that the design and content of your webpages will project your image, your product and your business. Page layout is, for the most part, the task of the web site designer. The designer will write the html code, java scripts, applets etc that will allow your page to work on the Internet. Buttons, navigation bars, links, rollover images, and animations are also built and incorporated into the webpages by the designer. Your design-related ideas and expectations should be communicated to the designer so that your image will be projected to your liking. You should convey your ideas to the designer before construction on your web site begins. (Visit our Webpage style gallery to view some of our design examples)

After deciding on a webpage style, You will supply the designer with the specifics of your site. For instance, you will choose the type of content pages, supply specific contact information, and furnish existing logos, pictures and the like. You will also provide the designer with the bulk of your site’s textual content. You can have as much control of the text as you like. You can say, "Add this text just as it’s written here," or "Here’s the basic idea I want to get across." The designer will construct your pages around the content that you provide. Your webmaster will advise you on essential content like logos, contact information, navigation bars and more.

Need some ideas for page types and content? Visit the web sites of those in your field. Some common page types to consider include Frequently Asked Questions, Company Resume’, Pictorial Tours of Facilities, Relevant Links, Free Quote Forms, Order Forms, Company Profile, Awards Display, Product Display, Product Info, Line Card with Active Links, and Meet the Staff. Most importantly, if your web site is to be an effective marketing tool, the content must be directed at specific web audiences. For instance, an Audio Rep might focus content on impressing Audio Manufacturers and Start-Up Audio Dealers. Use your site toward a specific goal and reflect that goal in your content.

Whatever the goal, there is an important element of webpage design to be aware of. There are hidden text elements called metatags within the framework of webpages that people are not able to view without looking at the html code. These hidden tags contain crucial information. They have a huge impact on how webpages are treated by the true rulers of the Internet – the search engines. Many designers do not concern themselves with anything but the visual appeal of a webpage, but The Imaging Dept carefully constructs the hidden text to increase the effectiveness and success of your page. These hidden tags must be optimized if your web site is to be favorably placed in keyword searches done on the World Wide Web.

Bringing Visitors to Your New Place

After the site has been arranged, designed, built, and optimized, the marketing begins. In order to bring traffic to your site, the Internet users must know that your site exists. Along with adding your web site address to your business cards, letterheads and the like, your site must be listed on the Internet. Potential web site visitors look for sites like yours by entering search words called "keywords" into search engines. Your webpages must achieve and maintain a high rank in "searches," preferably within the top 10, so that the Internet searchers see your site within the first couple of "results" pages. Statistics show that people do not look past the first couple of pages. So, typically, if your web site places above 20 or more the visitors will not come. The first step in accomplishing a good search engine position is with search engine registration. In order to have your site show up in searches, each page in the site must be submitted to Internet search engines. There are thousands of search engines, but your webpages need to be submitted to only 15 of those search engines as they direct 90% of the traffic on the Internet. After submitting requests to add the pages of your web site to an engine database, the pages may or may not be added. If they are added, they will start showing up in searches in 4 to 6 weeks. If a search engine does not add them, the pages should be re-submitted each month for reconsideration.

(Distributors, ask us about additional web marketing tools such as News Group Advertising, Auction Selling, Email Mailing Lists, Electronic News Letters, Special Online-Only Events and Sales, Free Giveaways, Free Online-Only Info and FAQ that could include: New Product Launch, Free Box Design, Free Tech Info.)