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1.    As you begin to think about getting a web site, consider these things:
•    Goals – What exactly do you want to communicate to your visitors or to accomplish? What outcome will make you feel that your site is a success?
•    Audience – With what exact groups of people are you trying to communicate?
•    Content – What types of material could your site provide that would both attract your audience and meet your goals?
•    Resources – How much time and money can you dedicate initially and over time to create and maintain your site?

A web site is a web site is a web site. However, the type of site that’s built for you will have a specific purpose. Defining the type of site determines the features it has. If you want a site that lets visitors know about your products and services, your company in general, that is considered to be a ‘brochure site’. If your purpose is to sell products and services online, you will have an e-commerce site. Perhaps you want the site to develop leads and capture the contact information of people who are interested in your products or services. If so, what you want is a landing page, also known as a lead capture or splash page. And, it is perfectly acceptable to want all or a combination of any these features. In fact, most sites serve a combination of purpose.

2.    The basic components of an operational web site are:
•    The domain name (www.yourbusinessname.com)
•    Hosting
•    The actual construction of the page(s) that are then published on the Internet
•    Search engine submission

Be sure that whoever you engage to build/design your web site will provide all the above and it’s written in the contract.

You should choose your domain name. Schedule a time with your consultant to either be on the phone together or at the same location when you go online to establish your domain name with the registrar (i.e., GoDaddy.com, NameCheap.com). **See the notes below regarding domain ownership.**

You want to have a dot com domain name (www.yourbusiness.com) unless there are immensely overriding reasons to not get one ending in dot com. It’s difficult for people to remember www.yourbusiness.net. People don’t think about web site addresses ending in dot net. All the search engines default to dot com.

Before you decide to get a domain name that doesn’t end “.com” (probably because it’s taken), type the dot com name in the browser, to go to the site. See what the site is. Oftentimes the name is just ‘parked’ and it may be for sale. That’s a whole other topic to discuss so I won’t go into it here. If that’s the case, though, contact me or another consultant to find out your options for possibly purchasing it. Also, you do not want to have any dashes (hyphens) in the domain name.

Hosting can be something of a mystery to the uninitiated. Think of it like this… You have a car, but it has to have a steady supply of fuel to go places. Hosting is the fuel for your domain. You pay a hosting company to keep your site visible on the Internet. Hosting companies charge monthly fees which are often discounted when paid annually.

Whoever builds your site should submit it to the three main search engines, Google, Yahoo and MSN as part of the deal. These three handle about 95% of all searches. Google alone garners over 50% of all search activity.

3. Other aspects of having a functional web site are:
•    SEO – search engine optimization
•    A shopping cart, or another means of collecting payment, if you’re selling something online
•    email configuration

It’s common for people to have a web site built, and then find that it doesn’t do anything. They think it’s broken. Building it and getting it on the Internet is one part. Getting the search engines to find it and send people to it is another part. Often the person who builds the site does not do any optimization. Sometimes they can (meaning they know how to), but it is considered another ‘competency’ or ‘deliverable’. In other words, SEO costs extra. And it should. Search engine optimization is a highly specialized field. The people who do SEO well often specialize in doing only SEO. It is intense work, techniques for effectiveness can change rapidly; therefore the practitioners must keep themselves educated, which takes time and money.

That said, basic search engine optimization (SEO) needs to be done for all sites. And it doesn’t take a PhD to do it. If your web designer/builder doesn’t do SEO, you’ll need to find someone who does. The designer/builder probably has someone they can refer you to. Be sure to have SEO addressed when you have your site built, otherwise your web site will site in oblivion.

Notes about domain ownership.

I’m not an attorney so be advised that everything stated here is my understanding, not legal advise. If you need/want legal advice, contact an attorney.

Technically, domains are not owned. They are ‘leased’. When you see that a domain is for sale, it is technically the ‘lease’ that’s being transferred, not ownership. No one can own a domain. Maybe the government can, I don’t know.

Here’s what you absolutely must know and pay attention to: Your domain name must be registered in your personal name or your business’ name. Period. It is common practice for consultants/web designers to register your site through their own account and start work once you have entered into an agreement with them. In the majority of cases, this was done to expedite the process, not to deceive or take advantage of you.

Ask for a printout from WhoIs which shows the name and contact information of the registered owner, the site administrator and the technical advisor. If you do not appear as the registered owner, ask the consultant to transfer the domain, at no cost, to you. There is usually no cost from the registrar (GoDaddy, NameCheap etc.) to do this transfer. Transferring the name is a simple procedure. Doing it NOW will prevent a lot of headaches and legal hassles down the road. Once they say the transfer is done, get written verification for your records.

You can check this yourself by going to www.godaddy.com. Type in your domain name at the top of the page where it says “start a domain search”. When the page comes up showing that domain is taken, click onto the “click here for info” link that appears just after the domain name. You may need to type in a verification code (uniquely generated each time the page appears), then submit. The information that appears on this final page is the name and contact information for the registered owner of the site. If you’re not on it, you don’t own it.

In addition to the obvious ownership issues, there are other reasons to have the domain in your name.  You want to be notified when the renewal comes due (this date will appear on the WhoIs info); if the domain name is not renewed, it will become available to the public in 30-60 days after the renewal date. The domain you’ve spent time and energy integrating into your business will be purchased by someone else and it will be gone forever. The site can be ‘high jacked’ (redirected and taken over by someone else) or it can simply disappear. All of these scenarios can, and have, happened. If you are not the registered owner of record, you legally have no rights.

If you already have a web site on the Internet, and find it is not registered in your name, contact the person who established the domain right away. Ask that it be transferred to you and that documentation be provided to verify the transaction. The consultant may want to charge for his/her time, but may be open to negotiation on this point.

Unfortunately, many people find themselves in the position of having a web site up and running and their relationship with the consultant has become less than optimum, or worse, nonexistent. In this case, contact the registrar (GoDaddy, Network Solutions, etc.) and ask for their protocol. It is my understanding that circumstances may exist wherein ownership may be transferred.

The harsh reality is that it is possible nothing can be done to transfer ownership to you, even though you paid for it and the site’s been online for years. In that case you now have decisions to make about how to go forward. It’s best to hire a consultant who can advise you of your options for the best course to take for your specific business, or consult an attorney who specializes in Internet matters.