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URL = Uniform Resource
Locator
Translation: The name for Internet
web addresses
You can chose and purchase
a URL long before you actually start your web site, this
is advisable so you will
own the name for your business before someone else buys it.
http:// = HyperText Transfer
Protocol
Translation: The beginning part of
most web addresses
The first part is almost
always the same for all URLs, when you are familiar with it, you
will feel more comfortable
with URLs and they will stop looking like a foreign language.
HTML = HyperText Markup
Language
Translation: The language that web
pages are written with.
You do not need
to know HTML in order to make web pages, most web page editor
programs work like a
word processor program and are easy to learn and use.
ISP = Internet Service
Provider
Translation: The company that hosts
your web site.
Web site hosting and
Internet dialup services are always charged separately, you
do not need to host your
site on the same ISP where you have a dialup account.
FTP = File Transfer Protocol
Translation: The program used to upload
files to a web site.
When you have web pages
or other data files to load on your site you will use a FTP
program to upload to
your ISP. FTP is also used to download files from some servers.
You know know more than
95%
of the other web users
out there.
Let that knowledge build
your confidence by helping you feel more familiar with the Internet.
Even if you know little
more that the information above, you will still know more than the
average Internet user
and be able to hold your own when it is time to learn more.
Why people delay the start of a site
Time
- There is not enough time to do what you need to do already.
Cure: One way to deal
with that problem is to try and share as many web chores as possible,
a web site owner is usually
more like a project manager than a webmaster.
Knowledge
- Most site owners are busy running a business
already and do not have
time to learn how to make web sites.
Cure: Hire a professional
developer to start a site for you. If possible, keep the option of
maintaining it yourself
or at least having access to it if you need to change something.
Money
- It is hard to chose to do something new when you
really do not know how
much it will eventually cost.
Cure: Know what to expect
and be careful to not expect too much.
Many web site owners
are paying way too much for monthly web site
hosting because they
do not know what makes for a good hosting deal.
Fear
that
it will be a big waste of time and money
It may be better to fear what happens
if you do not have a web site.
The most successful businesses
of the next millennium will have active web sites.
The Basics:
Hosting Costs
- Monthly hosting fees for virtual web sites range from
$20 to $50. If you have high site traffic
or use a shopping cart program or
other special features, it will usually
cost more.
Try not to be too thrifty,
the lowest price is not always the best hosting deal, be sure to
make use of important
options like site statistic reporting, they are well worth the money.
Types of sites - Unix,
NT and e-Commerce sites
Basic Unix hosting is $15/Mo., NT $20/Mo.,
and E-Comm from $35 to $200+
The only other ongoing charge is a
domain name fee, currently $35.00 per year.
Hosting fees are based
on disk storage, monthly download transfers and optional features,
30 MB of disk storage
and 2 GB of monthly transfers (bandwidth) are average examples.
Development costs concerns-
Site developers usually charge a
flat rate or an hourly rate. A flat
rate may be ok you only have a very set budget
to spend on a site and you can accept
what ever site they make for you at that
price. The variable rate is good when
you expect to keep adding to your site.
Do not be tempted to
accept the lowest price you get, a very low price or a free site offer
usually means you will
wind up with an un-successful site that needs renovation right away.
Things To Do and Not
To Do:
Things to do often: Updated
your site! Daily updates are not for everyone
but if you update your site weekly
or monthly, your visitors will really enjoy it.
Promote a different product
weekly, make it as easy as "think and buy" to make a purchase.
Promote your site daily.
Pretend you get web site visitors one at a time,
because your do! Search engines
are nice, but nothing beats actual promotion.
A good suggestion to
all retail stores is to place an inviting sign near the exit of your store
to
remind everyone what your URL is, they must know it before they
will ever visit your site.
Things to NOT do
often: Do not overload your site with annoying distractions
like rapidly flashing images, slow loading images or banner ads for other sites.
Do not do anything to detract from your intended web site purpose.
Try displaying images
that would tend to increase enjoyment but not increase blood pressure.
Do not sit back and just
"watch the sales roll in", they don't !
You must work for your web customers
just as you do for walk-in customers.
Try a new and additional site promotion
method each month, they add up.
Use your site as a focus
point for all of your other advertising, it then becomes a synergy.
What's Next / Web
Visionaries
Anything YOU want
! Everyone can be a web visionary.
There are plenty of new ideas out there
just waiting to be needed.
You do NOT have to be
a webmaster to have a good idea for your web site.
Anything close to "Think
and buy" is a good thing to aim for in the future,
the next big break throughs in retailing
will involve ease of purchase concepts.
Build your own network
of customers who know they get the best values and quality from you,
By creating your own
version of network marketing you can maintain consistant sales volumes.
Webtailing: The new face
of retailing. People already shop around
the clock, your business can and should
work for you 24 hours a day.
Picture your site as
a bunch of fishing hooks in the waters of the web, trolling for sales.
Some things will never
change. A good thing about the web is that it will
mirror society, a not so good thing
about the web is that it will mirror society
Plan on unexpected good
experiences as well as unexpected non-good experiences.
Click
here for The Principles of Web Shui
Basic
features of successful web sites
Click
here to return to the main menu page
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