There are 3 primary things you need in order to have a website. Your time is valuable, so let’s jump into what those three things are.
You need Hosting! (aka a web server)
Hosting is nothing more than the computer or server your website runs on. Any computer application you buy, including the browser application you are using right now to read this blog post, needs hardware to run on.
It can be cheap or expensive depending on what you want. For example, if you want a basic hosting plan with one domain name and an email address, you can find hosting for as little as $100/ year. If you are serving up thousands of products on an e-commerce website, you’ll want a little more horsepower in your hosting plan, and you’ll pay more for it.
What do I need for a website? Hosting, got it. What else?
A Domain Name
The domain name of your website is the Uniform Resource Locator (url) people will type in their browser to come to your website. Ours is “120webdesign.com”.
The domain name in your browser is made up of 3 basic parts, the protocol, the domain name itself, and the Top Level Domain (e.g. .com, .edu, .gov, etc…).
The Protocol
Https means hypertext transfer protocol secure, and basically means all traffic between your customers browser and your website is encrypted and secured. This level of security is standard now, requires an SSL certificate, and browsers will warn people if that protocol isn’t being used on a site they are visiting. You have to look closely at the “https” and make sure the “s” is there. If it’s just “http”, then the connection is not secure. Don’t buy anything or share personal information on a site that is just delivered through “http”. If you business website isn’t secure, you are missing out on customers, for sure.
The Domain Name
The domain name will cost you about $19.99 per year for just the name, and about double that if you want domain privacy protection. You can get a lower price if you purchase multiple years at once, and sometimes you will get one for free when you buy a hosting plan.
The domain name must be unique to your website. No two sites can have the same name. Shorter names, or names with specific key words may be more expensive to purchase.
To find a domain name for your business, I recommend looking at GoDaddy’s domain search tool. Other hosting providers will have a similar tool.
One main thing to consider is search engine optimization (SEO), when choosing a domain name. If you sell mattresses, but your domain name is avocadosanonymous.com, you may lose out on traffic from search engines because they think you are an avocado dealer.
The Top Level Domain (.com, .gov, .edu, etc…)
The top level domain is used to describe the type of business or category the website belongs to. .COM indicates a commercial business. .GOV indicates a government agency. .EDU indicates an educational organization. There are many more including .IO, .AI, .NET, and based on the purpose of your business, choosing the best one is important. Most organizations use the .COM top level domain, but .ORG and .NET are common as well.
What do I need for a website? Hosting, check! A Domain Name, Check! What else?
You need a Website!
A website is a software application just like an app you would use on your phone or a program you use on your desktop computer. Typically every website is different, and it’s the design of the website that is probably the most complicated and time consuming.
Your website runs on the Hosting Server mentioned in the first section. Tools like WordPress have made it much simpler to manage, but there is still a learning curve to getting a site initially setup, secured, and maintained into the future.
The cost of having a website setup and managed varies greatly. For a DIYer it could take 40 hours or more to really get your website up and running, and then a few hours a month to maintain. But the cost for the hosting, and domain name will be relatively low, around $150 -250 annually.
Your website will have your logo, color scheme, pictures/graphics, text, contact forms, subscribe buttons, menus, products, events, and any other information you want your customers to know. It is what the customer sees, and how Google and Bing will consider your business for an online ranking.
What’s Next?
In our next blog, you can learn about the various options you have as a business owner to get your website online. If you’d rather just get your business online quickly, contact us today! We can get you online in as little as 7-10 business days.
With 120 Web Design, we can manage all three aspects of your website for you, so you can focus on your customers, products and services.