I get people asking me about any of the 1000s of free website components and tools that exist all of the time. Sometimes these tools (shopping cart, ad rotator, content management system, etc.) might only provide 85% to 90% of what they need. Other times there might be a fee associated with it, and that is fine too – because when used properly a component can reduce the development time (and potentially cost) of your site.

In a perfect world, these components can be dropped them and work with your existing system. Well rarely is it that easy.

So before you rush in to use this new free tool, here is a list of 5 questions to ask before you choose a software component to add to your web site.

1) Will this tool provide the solution that you need? I have recently started integrating Word Press into some of my clients sites because it provides a robust solution to allowing someone to write, update, and add their own content (with in reason). While it is not the only solution, or a solution without faults, it does a good enough job in most circumstances.

2) What type of support do you have with this tool? One of the reasons I went with Word Press was because it is still being developed and made better. The developers are actively developing it, and there are other developers who provide add-on plug-ins to provide functionality in a timely manner or with something that might not make it into the main stream product. If your tool is being given away, it may not be developed as the developer looses interest or has to take paying work. Likewise, there is an active community of people who can help new users get the system up and running.

3) Can the tool be easily modified? This is important, especially if it only provides 85-90% of the functionality you need. If you need that extra 15%, will you be able to get it, or can you live without it? I’ve looked at different tools in the past that were too difficult to “fix” to the clients needs. In some cases, I’ve rewritten entire systems because it was faster to do it that way than figure out the problems with the old system and fix it the hard way. Again, with Word Press, I can make modifications to the way it looks (the theme) as well as some of the underlying functioning if need be. This was a huge advantage to going with this tool.

4) Are their any security concerns? No one wants to admit it, but there is always a risk of your site being hacked. Some of the biggest complaints about Word Press is the level of security is provides. It does well in some areas, but not as well in others. This can cause obvious problems – but other’s have provided tips on how to reduce the chances of their being a catastrophic issue.

5) Will it integrate into your existing site? Many components are just that, components. If they look like they stand out – then there is a problem. How many times have you been to a site where the wiki or the forums look just different from the rest of the site? (These are the worst culprits in my opinion.) This is the integration problem. Your uses should not notice when they move from one section of your website to another. It should be smooth and seamless. Being able to control the theme for Word Press has allowed me to change navigation structures, colors, and other look and feel opportunities. In many cases, the switch from the Word Press portion of the web site to the non-Word Press portion of the site has been completely seamless.

In our last posting, three things that make up a website, we mentioned the three things that you need to have a website, your domain name, your host, and your files.

We also talked about picking and getting your domain name. Remember to talk to your web designer/company, they should be able to help you come up with some good names. If not, you might need to consider a different web design company.

Get some web server space

This is the next item that needs to be taken care of. Your website, while a virtual thing out on Internet, has to reside on a physical server some place. When you request a web page, a computer will send the page and accompanying files that are requested. Most modern servers will also handle databases, sending e-mail, and e-commerce activities.

Web hosting will vary in cost from $4/month on up to tens of thousands of dollars a month. The reason for this difference is the levels of service that are provided such as:

1. Number of tech calls
2. Applications loaded on the server
3. Number of servers
4. Type of server
5. Etc.

Most web servers have multiple sites on the same server. The cheaper the cost of the server, the more sites they have to put on each server, which can cause the performance of your web server to degrade as more and more additional websites are loaded on the server.

In my experience with different hosts, working with different companies, I have found that host charging less than $7 or $8 a month are not worth having if you are going to host your company on it. This does not mean that more expensive is better; it is just a general rule to follow. Cheaper hosts may work wonderfully for a little while, or be fine for personal websites, but I generally do not trust them for a professional website.

I usually recommend this to be second, because until you have a host, the company that you register your domain name through will put up a “parking page”. What this means is that you will see a page that looks like the image on the left. This is allowing the domain registration company to earn money until you have web server space of your own, and update the DNS servers. (Your registration company should be able to tell you how to do that.)

You can always have a “temporary page” what is displayed while you have your main site being developed. This is something I commonly do for companies, that way we can express some information, while allowing your company to build a brand for itself on-line.

Depending on the type of site, as well as your host, you might have the choice between several different hosting “packages”. Each will provide you with different options for different prices. The two biggest line items to change will be your storage space and your transfer amount. You will probably want to find a host that will allow you to upgrade your hosting package easily, if you need the extra space/transfer allowance, as your website grows. This will allow you to save some money while your site is young and not as popular, and then expand as your on-line needs grow and you can afford the changes.

Publish the website file(s)

This is the only step that many people think is required. However, while it is important, without the previous two steps, it is for naught.

This is where you go and hire a web designer, or do it yourself, to generate and create a website. Now you upload the files that make up a website to the server space that you acquired in step two. Now when someone accesses your domain name (acquired in step one), they will see your website.

As someone who works with getting companies on the web, often for the first time, this is a question I am asked all of the time. While it may seem straightforward “Make a web page”, there is a little more to it than that, although not a lot.

There are three things that go into getting a website published, beyond all of the details like, how to make it, what to put on it, etc.

1. Have a domain name
2. Get some web server space
3. Publish the website file(s)

Let’s take a quick look at each piece to determine what this means. You will want to go in this order as well, but you don’t have to. As we go along, I’ll explain why I recommend following this order.

This will be a simple two part post, with part two coming shortly afterward.

Have a domain name

A domain name is what is typed into the web browser that lets you go where you want to go, such as <>.

Because only one person/company can own a specific domain name in the entire world, you may or may not be able to get the name you want. If you try to request a domain name, and you cannot get one, then you have two options.

Attempt to purchase the domain name from the existing owner. This is fairly common and depending upon the name, and its value, you may be able to get the name for anywhere from $50 on up to several million dollars. Only you can determine if you want to purchase the domain for that price.

Choose a different name. If money is tight, or the owner doesn’t want to relinquish the name (and there is little that can be done then) this is another viable option. I did this for a church not that long ago. The church’s name was Dayspring Community Church; however, DayspringCommunityChurch.Com was taken by another church with the same name in a different state. We tried numerous variations of the name and it never worked. We ended up using DayspringOrlando.com because it incorporated the location of the church in the domain name.

You should be able to purchase a .com domain name for under $10. Some times the specialized Top Level Domains (TLDs) (the end of the domain name such as .com, .org, etc) will cost more. .tv for example costs usually about $35.

If you go to purchase a .com name, and they want more than $10, you need to check what you are getting for that price. I’ve seen people swindled at over $100 a year. Always check with a third party, like your designer if you are not purchasing the domain from them, if you can. You can usually save yourself a decent amount of money this way.

You “purchase” a domain name’s rights a year at a time. At the end of the year, you can renew your rights to that domain name if you like, or walk away. As the current owner, you have the first dibs. To make some things easier, you can usually purchase several years at once, usually 2, 5, or 10 years. You may even receive a discount if you purchase several years at once.

Because only one person can have a domain name at a time, I recommend that you purchase this as soon as you have a name you like. It is quite possible for a name to be available one day, and not the next.

You should always note that your web designer, be a firm or an individual, should be able to help you pick the right name.  The name doesn’t have to be part of your company name, but it should be easy to use/say, and it should help describe your  business it’s not your name.  This will help convey what you do to your customers, and help your search engine efforts as well.

In the next part we’ll look at the server space you need, what it should cost, etc, and then also the files you need for your site.

Let’s talk college football (American style) briefly. Michigan recently lost to an unranked team by two points. The going into the game they were ranked 5th in the nation, after the game, they were scored to be out of the top 25. This is something that hasn’t happened before, (falling so far so fast), which led me to ask some questions. Basically I came up with two scenarios.

1. Michigan should have never have been ranked #5 to begin with and was just riding their past history, or
2. Their opponent (Appalachian State) was better than thought, and should have been ranked (they can’t because of other conference rules), or
3. Dropping them out of the top 25 was an over reaction, and will be corrected over time.

I don’t follow college football. So if I were to guess, it would be foolhardy. It is hard for me to say which is more accurate because I don’t know the bigger picture and understand what losing by 2 points means when its to an unranked team. Yet I see this happen with my clients occasionally.

It usually starts with everything is fine, then something happens (traffic to the site falls for one day, someone else enters “their” market, etc.). Next thing I know, 10 minutes later, I’m getting calls wanting to know what we are doing about it, what has to change, and why we’re not already doing it right now.

Just like with a normal “brick and mortar” store, it is important to remember that your website will go through phases and cycles in its business. Last week you might have had stellar numbers, however you ran a 25% discount last week, and this week you are not. Last Monday you ran a e-mail blast to your previous customers on your mailing list, this Monday you didn’t. (It’s not Christmas this month like it was last month…I could go on, but you get the point.) Events like this can cause numbers to skew high (like Michigan’s initial ranking), then cause later performance to look foolish.

Don’t take the initial numbers at face value without understanding them first. Does this mean ignore the numbers, NO! But understand their context.

There are two things that you should do in a case like this.

First, work with your web master to know what this change means.  Is it a hiccup, such as a holiday weekend when people were at the beach/lost electricity while being snowed in, or the start of a trend. If its a trend, look to what it will take to fix the problem, in the long run.  Don’t create a knee-jerk reaction which will “over correct” and have to be corrected itself later on.

Second, always be working on the site.  Small steady improvements to your website will help make its content fresh, it will help fend off the sudden upstart, and it will keep downward trends at bay.