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This article will aid you in comprehending the complexities of online marketing. If you plan on setting up a business online, the first thing to do is to get a website up a running for your business. Generally a web developer will construct a website, and the website must be connected to a server in order to operate. What is a server?

The dictionary defines the word ‘server’ as ‘a computer that provides clients with printer and file access as a shared resource amongst a network of computers’. Once you have a website established, you must have a domain name. Who gives you your domain name? There are a variety of ‘website hosting’ companies which are ready and willing to provide a domain name for your site.

Every domain name is unique in the sense that there can never be two identical domain names. The job of a ‘website hosting’ company is not just limited to providing a domain name to you; it also provides you with a ’24×7 client backup system’. Choosing the right hosting company is not a difficult thing to do if you know the ins and outs of hosting.

You’ll need to think about some specific things when you pick a hosting firm for your web site. First, request at least a gigabyte of storage. You shouldn’t ever compromise on your website management. You’ll need a user friendly hosting interface, provided by your company. You’ll also need e-mail accounts, which are simple to establish through this interface.

If you want to build a web site using which you can sell goods and/or services, then you must deal with only those ‘web hosting’ companies which are familiar with the concept of ‘shopping carts’. There are a number of hosting companies which have made their mark in the field of electronic commerce.

In addition to supplying your technical support, a quality website hosting firm can also give you first rate scripting support. Don’t ever settle for a cheap web hosting company. Also, you should speak to web site developers, requesting their advice before you choose your firm.

The process of designing and developing a website can be quite overwhelming and challenging. A lot of thought, effort and discussions lead to the launch of a ‘perfect website’. Knowing how hard the entire process is, it will be a good idea to divide the website development process into different stages. This will also lead to effective team management and proper control to achieve maximum quality. Following are the steps of a web design project lifecycle:

1. Analysis

Why do you need a website? Make sure you have an answer to that one before even thinking of going further. It is particularly important in the case of Business Websites. A business must analyze why it wants a website (a business model) – to promote the business, generate revenue or offer support to customers. The website is going to a part of the system. How the web based application or website will help the existing system or the business should be basis of the analysis.

After analyzing requirements from a business perspective, it is then time to focus on user needs. Make sure you can clearly classify your target audience and establish functionalities the user will require. Never assume that you know what a customer wants. In fact it will be a good idea for a business to consult actual or potential users and discuss key factors that might affect the website (from a client’s perspective).

Input: Interviews with clients, supporting documents and mails, discussion notes, model sites etc.

Output: Cost, Size of Team, Hardware-Software requirements, supporting documents, approval, work plan

2. Specification

A ‘functional’ specification is a blueprint or a detailed plan of the website. After carefully considering business and user requirements, the next stage will be to form a website specification. What should be included in the menu, how content will be structured, how tasks should be generated etc. are some of the questions to be answered at this stage. A designer gets information on what should be presented and the programmer concentrates on functionality. Prototypes, mocked up web pages or illustrations of how a website will work are also prepared at this step.

3. Design and Development

Drawing from the information gathered in the above two stages, it’s time to determine the look and feel of your site. The web designer will create one or more prototype designs for your web site. A lot of suggestions and changes to be made are exchanged between the client and designer at this stage. Design is concerned with how the website looks and if it fits the client requirement. User Experience (UX) and Usability both come into play here. And once the layout/design is finalized, it will be safe to move to the next step of developing. The developmental stage is the point where the website itself is created. The developer takes all graphic elements from the designer and uses them to create an actual functional site. Developing requires a lot of technical knowledge and programming. Content writing for the website is also done in this stage. You can hire professional content writers or write the content yourself.

Close interaction between the design and development team is necessary at this stage. A well designed functional website should be the ideal output at this stage.

4. Testing and Delivery

At this stage, the entire web development team comes together to have a close look at minute details and test the website. Following is a checklist of things to test on your website before launching/delivery: (there are various tools and testers available online)

In web design, there are a number of things that need to be considered, such as ease of use and how fast the web page loads. The use of white space is important, too, as is the use of bullets and elements like bold and italics. White space is the space surrounding the text – everything on the page that isn’t words or visual elements. By allowing enough white space on a page, the eye will be able travel across the page more easily, thus assisting the user in more easily finding the information they seek. Further, by utilizing things like bullets and bolded text to delineate various sections of text, you will draw the visitor’s eye toward that which you want them to see most. In the same way, organizing text in short paragraphs will increase the readability of your site.

There are standard conventions online for things like hyperlinks, and you would do well to follow them. By indicating a link in typical colours (such as blue), you will be eliminating the guesswork on the part of the users. Similarly, don’t overuse underlining on your site, as underlined words are often construed as being hyperlinks. If a user can’t click on an underlined word, they may think it is a “broken” link.

In essence, the goal of creating a user-friendly site is to reduce the amount of guesswork and effort required of visitors to your site. Content should be succinct, easily navigable, readable, and well-organized, and visitors should have access to you via an email address or other means in case they have questions. If you consider all of these things, you’ll have an effective site that will keep visitors coming back again and again!