There are a number of challenges to overcome when developing a new business. One of the hardest to get right is your web presence. I have been involved with Scottish Enterprise before and recently got a question from my sister-in-law who has a new job over at Islington Enterprise , and questions are always asked about Websites, SEO, DNS, Blogs, Accessibility and other things that most Internet users just do not understand. The may appreciate the results, but they do not understand the complexities of producing it. I will answer a few questions here for all to see…

What is SEO?

Well Search Engine Optimisation ( SEO ) is the black art of improving your ranking on search engines. It is well known that users of search engines very rarely get passed the first 10 results (first page) if a search, at most they will look at the first 20 results.

SEO uses key-words and descriptions in meta tags as well as key word density in the copy. The copy will need tweaked on a decreasingly regular basis as the desired results are achieved. I good SEO specialist may also be conversant in NLP ( Neuro-linguistic programming ) giving your site an edge once users actually get to read the copy.

SEO is highly complex, and requires many experts. There are a good number of company’s out there that can provide decent SEO services, but few who are true experts as it is more of a art than a science.

Contact: Iain Frame @ If Only Design | Greg Fyans @ Black Red

What is DNS?

DNS ( Domain name system ) is quite complicated in detail, but simple in concept. Essentially all computers, websites and devices on the Internet are referenced by IP addresses (e.g. 192.168.0.1), but these IP addresses are not user friendly. Imagine having to type in 64.233.183.99 every time you wanted to go to Google. Thus DNS was born. When you type www.google.co.uk your computer looks up the address on a DNS server and translates it into the IP address. Simple…

Recommendation: DynDNS

Why would I want a blog?

Blogs drive traffic plane and simple. Even if it is a developer working for you that blogs, it gets additional visibility to your site and reassures customers and partner that you are reputable and capable. But be warned, savvy blog readers can spot a fake 50 pixels away…

Who do I need to build my site?

You need a number of people. I will give some examples and contact suggestions for those that are looking for a website for their business or intending to improve their existing website for the benefit of their bottom line. The suggestions I make may not be the cheapest, but they will be the best to my knowledge..

Designer

You will need a professionally designed site. It is no longer good enough to do one yourself or to skimp on the design. If you do so you will loose credibility with a majority of your customers and be dismissed immediately by many more.

Contact: Iain Frame @ If Only Design

Web Developer

A professionally developed site will contain many things that are not apparent to the user. Accessibility: This is one of the most important part of your site. It ranges from a blind person using a “reader” to someone with myopia or glaucoma visiting your site. Do you really want to reject their custom just because they have poor eye site. A good web developer can provide you anything from plane HTML to dynamic content to full CMS ( Content Management System ).

Contact: Greg Fyans @ Black Red

Recommendations: ASP.NET - Due to its quick time to market and the abundance of help available.

Copywriter SEO Specialist

See SEO above!

Contact: Iain Frame @ If Only Design | Greg Fyans @ Black Red

Hosting Company

Hosting companies are hard. They all end up being rubbish in the end: IMO. Only a few stand out, Rackspace, Serverbeach and a few others, but they are expensive! Your best bet is to shop around and find the cheapest and the most expensive and take and average. Somewhere around £40-£50 per month should suffice for the start. Expect to pay £200-£400 per month for dedicated hosting once you get a lot of hits.

Recommended: None | take the advice of your designer or developer.

Costs

Expect to pay a LOT for a good web solution. Remember this will become one of your major revenue streams. The company I work for takes around £3 billion a year, 70% of which is through their website. Good SEO can increase these percentages.

You can look up any of the bits on wikipedia.org to find out more details, linked above. The cost of building a website is tiny compared to the revenues generated as a consequence of having one, but without any details about the target business I can’t say what it will cost. I can estimate though:

• Basic website (design & html only) - £5,000 one off with £40 per month
• Dynamic website with contact forms / news / blogs (£10,000+ one off with £40 per month)
• Content managed website with all the trimmings (£50,000+ one off and £400 per month)

Troubleshoot InfoBites

• Get a professionally made site.
• If you are getting a website for under £1,000 it will be rubbish, that will not even cover the design!
• If you are getting a website for under £5,000 it will be mediocre.
• If you are planning to run your business through your website then budget for £20,000 to £100,000 for your initial outlay depending on your scale.
• Update your site often.
• Use blogs on your site, it will drive traffic.

WARNING: I have worked for companies that look like they can do you a good job but are actually a bunch of muppets who will bump you for everything you have! Watch Out. Check out any company you want to use and get referrals, and lots of them. Speak to the referrer an find out what they really think.

Just my 50p, please feel free to comment below…

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