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If this is your first time setting up a business on the Internet and you are not sure of the steps you should take, here is brief overview of just setting up your cyber shop.
- Get Your Domain Name
- Set up a Web Hosting Account
- Building Your Web Site
Get Your Domain Name
The first thing you have to do is reserve your domain name. A domain name is like: www.amazon.com, www.earthlink.net, or www.calvarychapel.org. If you have a business, you will need to have a "dot" com or a "dot" net extension on your domain name. "Dot" org extensions are used by non-profit groups and organizations. To register your business name as a domain, you need to use a domain name registration service. Network Solutions ( www.networksolutions.com) is a well-known company for this. All you have to do is follow their step-by-step process. It will cost about $70 per name for a two year registration. In some cases, you can also reserve your domain name through the company you select to web host your web site and you might be able to negotiate lower costs through "packaging" of the services. It is recommended that you reserve the "dot" com name first and take the "dot" net name second. Typically when typing in domain names users almost always defer to the "dot" com name first. The reason for taking the "dot" net version of your "dot" com name is to prevent someone from putting up an undesirable web site that users may somehow affiliate with your web site.
Set up a Web Hosting Account
After you have your domain name, you will need a company to "host" your web site. Web hosting is where you set up your web site on some other company's web servers (powerful computers dedicated for the Internet). There are many companies that provide web hosting services just look in the local phone book or ask someone for a reference. Most nationally known companies will only accept very large company web sites, however Verio ( www.verio.com) will accept small web sites to host. When setting up your account, you may be required to pay "set up" fees. These are negotiable depending on which service or services you decide to purchase from the web hosting company. Do not forget to ask to have these fees waived.
Some of the web hosting services offer both "UNIX" and "NT" platforms. There are more similarities than differences between the two. If you have already hired a web site designer and developer, check with them to see if they have a preference. If you are a small business, you might consider selecting a "NT" platform because of its popularity. One of the most important factors in choosing a web hosting service is the level of customer support available. Make sure you get references from the web hosting service and call on them. You will want to know how often their service was off the Internet ("down time") the last year and how do they respond to calls about trouble and general inquiries.
If you will require other services such as "streaming audio" and "streaming video", your web hosting service needs to have special software to provide this capability. If you will be selling items off your web site, your web hosting company will need to have "shopping cart" software for you to use. This is not a problem if they don't because you can use another company's shopping cart for a fee.
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