the web site industry

Submitted by admin on Wed, 08/03/2011 - 15:30
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  1. introduction
  2. what it is
    1. register a domain name
    2. build a web site
    3. host a web site
    4. market a web site

Based on the far superior article by Emma Lunn, Self-employment: how to set up your company website (http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/jul/22/self-employment-set-up-website).

introduction

Some Internet services are popular because of the huge demand for web sites. Every business enterprise wants one, and so do many individuals. A web site has a name, contains pages, lives on a host and is marketed to catch customers. Many companies offer to register a site's name, build the site, host it or market it.

what it is

There are hundreds of millions of web sites in the Internet. A huge industry has grown in the last two decades around web sites. Most companies specialise in one area, such as web site design. The specialists required, such as Internet technicians and graphic designers, are expensive to employ. Some companies provide all the customer services required to build and run successful web sites.

register a domain name

The name of the web site allows people to find it. Names are handled by an Internet service called DNS (Domain Name System).

Hundreds of registrars administer all the domain names in the world. Verisign manages names ending in .com and .net, Public Interest Registry manages .org and Nominet manages .uk. Many web hosting companies re-sell their services, offering to book names with the registrars, such as 123-reg.co.uk, reg.com and domainregister.com. Web hosting companies may also provide the DNS servers that make DNS work, such as DynDNS.com, GooglePublic DNS and DNSmadeeasy.com.

Names are rented, rather than bought. The price varies, depending on the suffix - the dots and letters at the end, such as .org, .net and .co.fr. A name ending in .com costs about £10 a year. A name ending in .co.uk is about £6 for two years. The island of Tuvalu owns the suffix .tv. Renting a name ending in .tv costs about £30 a year.

build a web site

Building a web site is technical work, usually done by a programmer who understands web technology, such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, XML, DOM, and AJAX. A web site meant for people also requires design work, including art done by a graphic designer and words by a copywriter.

Anyone can make a simple web site using web site builder tools, an off-the-shelf design and personalization. Art and technology are built into ready-to-use templates.

An SME may require a complex web site, with many functions and connections with other Internet systems. A complex web site build cannot be built using web site builder tools. It may be built in-house by experts. Most SMEs do not have this kind of expertise and hire freelance consultants to carry out the work. A web site build may be outsourced to a web design agency. An SME looks at the style of many agencies and sends a Request For Tender to a few.

Simple web builder tools are free. Professional tools cost hundreds of pounds. Hiring a freelancer or agency costs thousands of pounds. Many web hosting companies offer a combined domain registration, web building and hosting service for a setup fee and monthly rental.

host a web site

A web site must be published to a web server to make it visible to Internet clients. Web site hosting has been around for decades. ISPs like BT, Verizon and Virgin Media offer free simple web hosting to their customers. Complex web sites require complex hosting from companies like Fasthosts, Rackspace and Bytemark.

Simple hosting can cost a few pounds a year. This may include no guarantees of reliability and no help if things go wrong. Complex hosting can cost thousands a month, including dedicated technology and people. A site can be placed on a host shared with dozens of other web sites, for about £10 a month.

market a web site

Marketing influences the domain registration, web building and hosting. The domain name is publicised on stationery and adverts. The domain name and the web design reflect the company's image.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) techniques help search engine clients find the web site. A few key words are chosen and associated with the company by placing them on the web site and in adverts.

The company is promoted using social networks, such as a Facebook page, twitter and blog updates and a LinkedIn network.