The three things that make up a 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.