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How to Create your Own Website

So you want to create a website but don't know how to go about it? Here are a few tips on what you need and get your way onto the web.

Domain Name

You are probably better getting a domain name that relates to you business, club or service as it makes it easier for people to find you on the web. Most people will go for a .com or a .ie name although there are many other types of domain name out there (.info, .eu and .biz to name a few). There are limitations on .ie domain names and you can't just register any .ie domain name for the sake of it, see details at the domain registry for more information. Most hosts provide a service that allows you to check if a domain name is available. Here is a list of some Irish businesses you can get domain names off and how much they cost (figures correct on the 1st of June 2008).

Domain Hostingireland.ie Blacknight.ie Register.ie Register365.com
.com 20 € 8.25 € 14.99 € 5.95 €
.ie 70 € 21 € 69.99 € 21.95 €

Hosting

There is not much point in having a domain name on it's own and you'll need somewhere where all your shiney new content can hang out. That's where a host comes in. The host is where you'll put your information, and where in turn people will be able to view it. There are lots of hosts out there offering a variety of services. Some hosting packages are nice and simple, while some will have lots of bells and whistles for different databases, e-mail accounts, subdomains and so on. You'll probably have to think about what your content is before you decide on a package; if you decide on using a content management system for example, you may well need a server that supports a database. Hosting packages vary between about 30 Euros and several hundred Euros.

Host Hostingireland.ie Blacknight.ie Novara.ie Register365.com
Cheapest Hosting Package  30 €  35 €  99.99 € 47.50 €

More links to hosts can be found on the Irish Webmaster Forum

Content

CONTENT IS KEY. Some businesses and services think that setting up a website is simply a matter of contacting a web designer and hey presto you have a website. Unfortunately it is not that simple. YOU have to do much of the work! You have to write the content and come up with ideas on how you would like the website yo look. 

Internet users do not want to read long winded mission statements and meandering text. They want information and they want it now! You will need to write content that  suits the web. Have a look around a few similar websites and see what they have to offer. Do your homework before approaching anyone! Ask yourself a few questions like:

Web Design

You have two options here, you can get someone to do it for you or if you are brave enough you can do it yourself.

Web Design Companies
There are plenty of web design companies out there. Approach a few and see what they have to offer you. Look at who their clients are. If you want a way of easily updating your site make sure they are able to give you a Content Management System (CMS). If you need to sell something or are setting up a forum make sure that the company has the skills to do the job. It is easier to get everything done by the one company than dragging it out and incurring extra cost by hiring several companies or individuals.

Do-it-yourself
And why not? If you've got a bit of time you could give designing your own site a shot. Advantages include the fact that you have complete control over your site, can update it yourself and it's FREE! You can get a free WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) editor such as Kompozer or if you are more serious you can pay for an editor like Macromedia's Dreamweaver . It is worth learning a bit of HTML and there are plenty of online tutorials to get you started.

These days many sites use databases and a variety of different coding languages, but getting to grips with the HTML basics is still very useful and gives you a good grounding for any additional languages or content. Tutorials websites like about.com can be pretty handy when designing a site. If you are stuck, you can also post your questions on forums like boards.ie or irishwebmastersforum.com.

To make life easier, you might also look at using a template and there are free templates available from site such as templateboxes.com  or OSWD.org.

Getting Seen

Now you've put all that hard work into developing a website, you probably want people to find it. Here's a few basic tips on how to get your site viewed:

Read an article on how to get listed on Google.

There are also lots of companies out ther offering services relating to Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). You may or may not want to hire a SEO company to optimise your site, try to hire someone with a good reputation and that can tell you what they are doing. You can also pick up a few SEO tips for free on some SEO company websites. Google has provided a few guidelines for what to look for in a SEO company. 

In the Mean Time

If you haven't got around to developing a site or you want more exposure for your business in general, you might want to consider getting a premium listing with Dublinbynumbers. A premium listing provides you with a microsite and other benfits such as:

Contact Andy for more details.


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