What is a website?

• Your website is the window of your business open to the world 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• Your website provides a professional online presence for your business.
• Your website spreads your brand awareness throughout the world.
• Your website is a marketing tool. The primary reason for having a website is to generate more business. If you get it wrong then it is disaster for your business but if you get it right then it contributes to the success of your business.

Many businesses reach more customers by having a website. This guide is intended for potential clients who are thinking about having a website designed and built or considering re-designing an existing one.
In the vast majority of cases, a website is primarily used to disseminate information to current or potential customers. This reduces the time spent explaining the same information over and over again on the phone or in person, speeds up the decision process and frees up staff to be more productive.

What type of website?

The first thing to establish is whether you require the website to perform any functions (eg: ecommerce shop, visitor registration/membership, client administered content or any other kind of data storing that will change over time).

No - no database required

This type of website is typically referred to as a static (ie: no database) site: who we are, what we do, how to get in contact. There may be some minimal functional requirements such as an enquiry form that sends the data to your email. In these cases, try to make a list of the pages you think are required and include a sentence describing the content you think should be included on each page.

Yes - I think I require a database

Unless you require something totally unique it is likely we can build managed content into your site or there is a pre-built off-the-shelf solution available which we can utilise and modify to suit
Examples of pre-built solutions are ecommerce shopping carts, forums and discussion boards

Other things to Consider

Your website address

This is referred to as a domain name - typical costs are £20 for .co.uk or £40 for .com every 2 years. If you wish to register a domain name, visit 123Reg - this service makes it very easy to point the domain name to any server. You may have already registered one, in which case ensure you have the username and password for the registrar's control panel where you purchased it.

Company identity and logo

Creating a company identity/logo is separate to the cost of designing a webpage, although a logo will likely appear within it. A business logo is an integral part of a company's identity in the market. Whether you’re starting a new business or looking to revamp your image.