If you’re starting up a new business and have been looking at various options for your first Website, it can be a bit overwhelming. Should you go with one of those monthly plans where you pick out a template, slap on your logo, and call it a day? Which Hosting company should you use? How many pages do you need? How much content should you have on the site? How do I get listed in the search engines? Do you need more than one domain name?
Rather than write volumes answering these questions in this article, I will just comment on a few of them.
First up; The Monthly Plan. No doubt you have seen hundreds of Web Hosting companies offering to get you online for “as little as $cheapprice.99 a month!” On the surface, it sounds like a great deal. However, there are a few downsides to these monthly options. Most obvious is the “monthly plan.” You’ll end up paying a monthly fee…month after month for however long you’ve signed up for… and you’ll never really own the site. The Hosting compay owns it, and often times, they also own the copyrights. They’re just renting the site to you.
Another issue that can come up with some of the template sites is what happens when you decide to one day actually own your Website. Maybe you’re tired of putting in change orders that take weeks to get filled, or you can’t have certain features on your site because your monthly plan doesn’t cover those features. Whatever the reason, you decide it’s time to part company. Good luck with that. I’ve come across Hosting companies who will hold your site hostage should you ever want to transfer your domain name, or go with a different Hosting company. There can be surprising costs involved if you want to get out of your contract before the expiration date. A couple of Hosting companies I’ve deal with over the years have actually used scare tactics in their efforts to keep the account, and of course that monthly payment, coming in. They’ll try to make you feel as if your beloved domain name will vanish into the black hole of material possessions if you try to transfer it. And when they finally give up trying to talk you into staying with them, and agree to let go of your domain name, I’v seen it take 2 or 3 weeks to get the transfer done. I’ve done many domain name transfers — it only takes a few minutes.
There are hundreds of Hosting companies (for your Web pages), and Registrars (for your domain name) to choose from. My personal advice, based on various experiences with quite a few of them is: GoDaddy for cheap domain names (and you WILL want more than one — contact me if you want details as to why), but NOT for Hosting — especially if this is your first Website. Their Website and Hosting packages alone will make you at least several layers of crazy. I also suggest you not go with Yahoo! for Web Hosting.
A couple of companies I’ve used many times over, and like for different reasons, are InMotion Hosting and Visionhead Technologies. Both have their pluses and minuses, but overall, their customer service and up-time has been fantastic! Both are also great for domain registration. Visionhead, a company I’ve used for about 10 years, has been exceptionally great to work with when it comes to domain name transfers.
As for how much content should be on your site: The more content you have, the better for search engine optimization (SEO). However, it is far better to have a few pages of QUALITY, relevant content on your site than it is to have a lot of pages filled with “much ado about nothing” that has no benefit to your target audience. My best advice when it comes to content is make it original and relevant.
Special Limited Time Offer: $399.00 Starter Site
To help small businesses, and start-ups, get going with their first Website, I’ve designed a special “Small Business Starter Site.” Total one-time cost is $399.00 and includes uploading the files to your server. You can have any color scheme you want, your logo (if you have one) inserted into the header, 1 image per page, and SEO (as much as possible based on the content).
There are No Monthly Fees, and you will own the copyrights to the site!
This site comes with: Home, About Us, Our Services, and a Contact page. If you want a contact form installed (instead of the information typed on the page) , there will be an added charge. This site can be designed and launched within 24 hours!
NOTE: I am not a Web Hosting company, so you will need to have your domain name and hosting package set up, if you haven’t already done so. Contact me if you have any questions.
