Developing a Basic Website for Your Business

Jan 16 2007 By Evening Gazette

This guide explains the main options for planning and building a basic website for your business. It looks at design, maintenance, costs and getting outside help, and explains how you can get started.

Getting started:

To start with, you should consider the following practical questions:

1. How will your website be designed and built? Do you feel you have the skills to build it yourself using an off-the-shelf package, or will you need to commission a specialised web designer?

2. Where will your website be hosted? Small firms usually rely on an outside business to host their websites; they buy a certain amount of space on a web server and have access to upload and change their website files as required.

3. How will you maintain your website? Do you have the time and technical knowledge to alter your website when aspects of your business change, and to keep it looking fresh and up-to-date?

4. Setting up a website is not necessary for every business, so you need to make sure that it would actually add value to your enterprise. The benefits must at least justify the cost of setting up the site.

What are the options for setting up a website?

Doing it yourself

* Building a website yourself has a clear cost advantage, but requires at least a basic knowledge of HTML programming and preferably other technical knowledge such as XML, style sheets and JavaScript.

* Simple websites that only contain business information and contact details are increasingly easy to set up using software such as Microsoft Front Page or Adobe/Macromedia Dreamweaver.

* These software packages cost from around £200. However, this option can also be time-consuming, and you may find yourself giving more time to the development and maintenance of the website than you can spare.

Using off-the-shelf websites and templates

* Using an off-the-shelf website, or set of website template pages, is one of the simplest ways of setting up a basic website. In most cases, anyone with a basic knowledge of the Internet can set up a website in this way.

* Most web hosts and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) offer this service, and you only need to adjust the template layout and add your own text to customise the site to your requirements.

Hiring a professional web designer

* You may decide to commission a web designer, who will look at your business requirements and how the website will fit into your wider strategy.

* Such an approach is more expensive, but by working in consultation with your web designer you can give your site exactly the look you are after, and help to make sure it fits your business objectives.

* Designers usually charge by the hour or offer package deals. You should try to get quotes from at least three designers or design agencies for the same project.

Developing a project plan for your website

* Before you get started on either building your website yourself or commissioning a web designer to do so, you need to develop a detailed project plan to summarise and clarify several key issues. These include:

1. What are your business objectives for the site?

Do you want it to attract more potential customers and make it easier for them to get in touch with you, by providing them with access to your contact details and information about your products and services? Will your website be used in your marketing strategy?

2. What information should you include in your website?

Wherever possible, you should aim to encourage visitors to return to your site. Beyond displaying your business contact details and an indication of what you do, you might choose to include some of the following features:

* A summary of work previously done or clients already served, with testimonials from satisfied customers.

* News stories and articles to keep your pages fresh.

* Images, such as photographs of your products or your business and staff, will help create a visually appealing site.

What are the technical requirements?

* Very simple websites can be hosted with ISPs free of charge, as long as the number of visitors remains low and you do not require complicated features such as a search facility or more advanced programming languages.

What are the functional requirements?

* It's a good idea to make a list of all your requirements and draw up a basic storyboard of how you visualise the finished site looking before you start doing anything technical.

* This will help you decide what software to use if you plan to set up your website yourself, or will help you brief a web designer.

Are there any laws affecting website design?

* There is a legal requirement for businesses to make their websites reasonably accessible to users with disabilities.

* Ensuring your site meets your obligations under this Act need not mean extensive or costly alterations.

* You might simply consider making the pages available in text only so that users with screen readers can access them.

* Copyright legislation is also important. The text and images you use on the site will need to be protected by copyright, and you should also ensure that you do not breach someone else's copyright.

* Laws relating to advertising and trade descriptions will affect the way you promote your products and services via your website. Under the Trade Descriptions Act 1968, you are not permitted to advertise any product or service that you cannot supply.

Business Link has access to a wide range of expertise and can work with you to build an understanding of your business's ICT needs and source the most relevant assistance and, if appropriate, help with the identification of funding, to ensure you achieve your business goals.

Call Business Link now on 0845 600 9 006 or email info@tees.businesslink.co.uk or alternatively visit www.businesslink.gov.uk to see how you can get the most from your business.