Congratulations! You now own a domain name and have a place to upload to the web…..but what will you upload? Now you need a really amazing web site that will draw attention to you and your business.

What kind of site do you need? What will it look like? This is where your Austin Marketing Consultant will come in really handy! You need advice on style, pages, commerce, and much more. Will you be selling products directly from your site? Then you will need a pay portal that is secure and dependable and cost effective. Will you just be offering information on a useful topic? Then you will need very SEO friendly text and organic links to your site so your public can find you. Is your goal to get foot traffic in your place of business? Then your site should be attractive and easily found and have a map link that gives directions.

Now is the time to start really brainstorming about what best represents you and your business. It is time to let your consultant advise you on the best site you can possibly have, and how to drive traffic your way! Let’s go!

Now that you have registered an amazing domain name, it’s time to select a hosting site to serve your public! Researching hosting sites can be confusing, but worth the time.

The type of hosting you need will be dependent upon the type of site you plan to build. Choosing single page hosting or a comprehensive package that includes database support will be the first step. So you will need to know what you plan to put on the web. An Austin Marketing Consultant can give you guidance as you navigate these uncharted waters.

Knowing the reliability of a hosting service is also important. Once your site is up, you want it to stay there! If the host has a network outage, you will be offline, and therefore unavailable. This should not happen often or for long periods. If a host site says they are 90% available, that means they are off line 72 hours a month. You do the math! You will want a host that has a 99.95% Service Level Agreement (SLA). At that rate, you might be off line about 5 minutes a week.

This is only the tip of the iceberg about hosting, but it’s a great start. Consult a marketing professional to help you select the best host for your site!

First things first! When you are preparing to make a presence on the internet, the first thing you will need is a great, findable, domain name. Have a conversation with a marketing consultant. They can help steer you toward something that is memorable and easy to find. You see my blog domain, www.austin-marketing-consultant.com, is easy to spell, easy to remember and describes who I am. My business web domain, www.bobbittmarketing.com, is for people who already know they want to find me specifically.

So, if you are opening a burger joint, you wouldn’t have w….wings.com, that would never do! For a customer looking specifically for you, they will google your business name, or enter your domain site, w….burgerheaven.com, in the browser. If someone is just looking for a great burger, they might google, “great burger austin”. NOW, if you have a great site, that has been prepared with great SEO, you will appear on page one!

Tomorrow, I will talk about hosting for your great site! Have a fantastic day!