How to set up your website

If you’re a small business owner that is needing to establish an online presence, here are a few tips on how to set up your website without having to spend a lot of cash to get you started.

Will I need technical skills to develop my website? The answer is not clear cut as it depends on the purpose of your website however the most common code to learn will be a huge advantage to you being: how to setup your website

CSS, HTML, JavaScript and PHP (each link is a video tutorial on how to code). But before you do, there is a need to understand a few considerations.

Considerations on how to set up your website

There are 11 factors that you need to know and understand before you establish your website:

Your target audience /USER,
The domain name,
Cost of establishment / development & maintenance,
Social media Integration,
Security to keep hackers out,
Compatibility with external online elements,
Design,
Hosting,
SEO,
Navigation &
Complying to Website Standards.

For more information please the following blog: 11 considerations to developing a website.

Now lets get into the guts of how to set up your website.

Establish your domain name

Do your market research first! Having the right keyword or short phrase in your domain URL will do you justice, read the “Do Keyword Studies” segment in our “How to do market research” blog for more info.how to setup your website
Implement the strategy described in the “Naming your business strategy” blog. this will assist you in avoiding trademark violations and copying other business names that are currently registered (read paragraph 5 to use the businessgovt.nz online tool).

3. Once the above steps are completed, you will need to have your domain registered prior to hosting. There are many domain hosting platforms that you can use, however I strongly suggest you use a local hosting company to reduce lag and loading times. Here is a list of top domain hosting service providers to choose from.

4. Ensure you own your own domain and have 100% control of the domain hosting. That way you can avoid your own “website horror story” and be held to ransom when your provider is not delivering a service that is expected. This is vital on how to set up your website.

Here is a tutorial on how to register your domain with Host Papa.

Select a web-host plan

Web hosting is a data storage library where your site is primarily stored and displayed when your audience wants to click and check your site out. There are a few points that you need to know regarding web hosting,how to setup your website

Speed. You need to have the flexibility to scale your website rapidly to adapt to any change in demand and the loading time speed is a big factor when appearing on any search engine. Also be prepared to change your hosting plan as you will out grow your current plan within a few years or less.
Price. Review the cost of your hosting plan as well as the features they offer such as automatic back ups, do you need to have this when you have the ability to manually backup your site?
Features provided. When you’re starting out, ask the provider’s customer service team what can be provided and how this works. However some providers can be pushing for a sale so go to your local business Facebook group to get clarification. I would recommend the Facebook business group “Startup Evolution” . Here is a link to a list of basic website hosting features explained.
Shared hosting or VPS Hosting?

Shared hosting allows multiple websites to utilize a single server. Usually, you’ll have no idea who or what websites you’re sharing the resources of a server with. Each customer will usually have a limit on the total amount of server resources they can use, but this will be defined by your hosting package.

Shared hosting is easily the cheapest and most economical option for your needs. However, the cheap price comes with limitations, since most hosting companies will offer the same amount of space and storage it’s important to choose a company you can trust.how to setup your website

Advantages of shared hosting

It’s by far the cheapest hosting option you’re going to have available. The usual price for this style of hosting will range from $2.99-$9.99.
Most hosting companies have multiple levels of hosting available, so you can upgrade your hosting package with time. This makes shared hosting a great place to start.
Shared hosting usually comes equipped with a built-in cPanel, which makes it easy to manage your site.
No technical maintenance needs to be done on your end to the server, as this is usually included in part of your hosting package.

Put simply, shared hosting can be a great option for website owners with a small budget, or those just getting started online. You can always upgrade to another hosting package with time, as your budget allows, so you’re not stuck with this level of hosting forever.how to set up your website

Disadvantages of shared hosting

Shared hosting sounds pretty good: it’s affordable, has a solid uptime, and is easy to manage. But, it does come with certain drawbacks.

The load time can be a lot slower than dedicated VPS servers.
The server can become overburdened by other sites that are sharing the server.
As your site begins to receive higher levels of traffic you’ll begin to notice that your site might begin to perform much worse.
You never quite know who your neighbors are. Although rare, it is possible for other sites on the server to pose a risk to your own site.
There’s a lack of customization options to truly get the highest level of performance from your website.

For most people just getting started online, the advantages of shared hosting will greatly outweigh the disadvantages, especially if you’re trying to get a site up and running as quickly as possible and have little tech skills. It’s also important to note that a responsible web host will let you know when your traffic hits a level that it’s time to upgrade, and will monitor and shut down any sites that pose a risk to the others on the server. how to set up your website

What is VPS Hosting?

With a VPS the resources of the server will be split between different websites or hosting accounts. Think of it as a home computer that has many different users, all of who use the machine in different ways.

Virtual Private Servers have both high end and low end options available. However, the cost usually ranges from $20/month all the way up to $100+/month. VPS servers usually have one or two hosting environments you can choose from, so they lack the absolute customization of dedicated hosts. But, this does mean easier setup for those who have more basic websites.

This style of hosting will be enough for sites that are simpler and don’t receive massive amounts of traffic. Overall, you can think of VPS hosting as a perfect solution for those who require root access on a server, but don’t want the expense of a full dedicated server.

If basic shared hosting doesn’t quite offer what you need and you need a little more control over your host, then VPS hosting could be the right fit for you. Here is a tutorial on how to set up your web hosting with hostpapa. how to set up your website

Choose the right Content Management System

What Is a Content Management System?

A Content Management System (CMS) is an application that is used to manage web content, allowing multiple contributors to create, edit and publish. Content in a CMS is typically stored in a database and displayed in a presentation layer based on a set of templates.

The following are the basic features of a CMS:

Content creation (allows users to easily create and format content)
Content storage (stores content in one place, in a consistent fashion)
Workflow management (assigns privileges and responsibilities based on roles such as authors, editors and admins)
Publishing (organizes and pushes content live)

Benefits of a Content Management System

One major advantage of a CMS is its collaborative nature. Multiple users can log on and contribute, schedule or edit content to be published. Because the interface is usually browser-based, a CMS can be accessed from anywhere by any number of users.

The second major advantage of a CMS is that it allows non-technical people who don’t know programming languages to easily create and manage their own web content. The WYSIWYG editors of a typical content management platform allows users to enter text and upload images without needing to know any HTML or CSS. how to set up your website

When a company uses a CMS to publish its pages, it reduces its reliance on front-end engineers to make changes to the website, making it quicker and easier to publish new content.

CMS Examples

While there are hundreds of CMS platforms, some of the more popular ones are listed below:

Optimizely
Drupal
Joomla
Magento
ModX
Squarespace
Wix
Weebly
WordPress

What to look for in a CMS

Before choosing a content management system, it is beneficial to evaluate your company’s information management practices and overall business goals with respect to the publishing of content.

You will need to begin by making a list of the business problems you are trying to solve as well as any specific requirements you may have. This will help you choose the right content management system – the one that supports your business requirements – rather than the most popular or well-liked.

CMSs come in all shapes and sizes, each with its own set of features and benefits. Some are ideally suited for blogging; others may be tailored to ecommerce sites with features for pricing and accounting functionality. Specifics will vary based on your company’s needs and resources. how to set up your website

Evaluation process on how to set up your website.

What is your budget?

If you have infinite resources to spend, there are some very complex content management systems with features designed to make content creators’ and editors’ lives easier. With a limited budget, however, your choices will be more limited.

What business operations does the CMS need to support?

After price, the next major consideration is which business operations the CMS will need to support. Does your company need to publish hundreds of new videos a day? Change prices on thousands of SKUs per day? Host images for blog posts?how to setup your website

What technologies does the CMS need to support or integrate with?

If your company already uses a CRM, ERP or web analytics program, you’ll need to consider a CMS that integrates with existing online marketing software.

How easy is it to create and edit content?

The larger the company, the more removed the end user of the CMS will be from the person who implements it. Ideally, the system will be easy to use and intuitive, with features like a WYSIWYG editor.

How many different groups of users will there be?

One consideration will be the various different levels of administration privileges that are required. Consider the various user roles, including the role of managers in reviewing scheduled content.

Is the platform SEO-friendly?

If SEO is important to your company, you will want a CMS that automatically handles basic on-page optimization tasks such as title tags, urls, alt tags on images, and a sound internal linking structure.

How large is the developer community?

Some of the CMS platforms, particularly WordPress and Drupal, come with very large developer communities. The advantage to a sizable community is the amount of online help and documentation you will find on most aspects of customization.

Answering the above questions can help you select the right content management system for your business or organization.