When developing a website design, focus on the website design's ease of use.  Viewers will click away from a website in frustration  if they can't quickly and easily find the information they are looking for.  Keep your web pages clean and simple to keep too many pieces of information from competing for attention. Make sure the links to additional topics are clearly identified and easy to find.  Keep color schemes complementary and page layouts visually soothing. Avoid animated graphics or scripts that could make a viewer dizzy.

When adding graphics and images to your site, keep in mind the file size of your pages. Some Flash programs and java applets can take more than a few seconds to load, even when a viewer has a broadband internet connection such as cable or DSL. Many internet users still have dial-up internet connections, and internet volume can limit dial-up speeds to a slow 28.8, even when users have modems capable of higher speeds.  Web pages heavy with photos and clip art can take up to two or more minutes to load on a dial-up connection, prompting some viewers to leave those pages and go somewhere else.  Try to use GIF files when possible, since this type of art file is typically a smaller file. If your photos are  jpeg files, try to make the files smaller by reducing the images' canvas size.

Selecting a domain name for your website can be one of the hardest aspects of starting a website--or one of the easiest.  Brainstorm ideas and words that are related to the content of your website and start a list of possible domain names. Think of names that will be easy for customers to remember and easy to type into their browsers.  When evaluating possible names, keep in mind the words that describes your business, or  keywords that customers would type into a search engine to find your website. Use your business name if it lends itself to quick, easy typing. Another suggestion is to use the initials of your business name.

There are sites on the internet that are dedicated to helping new website owners create new domain names.   These sites can guide you by listing frequently used search terms based on your keywords, and then generating combinations of these keywords or search terms as possible domain names. Try this link to generate some domain name ideas. http://www.cheap-domainregistration.com/domain_name_search.shtml

Once you've decided on some ideas for a domain name, the next step is to see if the domain name you have selected is available. If so, consider registering variations of your domain name that customers may use or competitors might want to use; for example, the plural version of your domain name. Use this link to do a quick check on the availability of the name you've selected. www.domainsearch.com/

How many pages you have in your website depends on how much information you want to offer your audience. A good rule of thumb is to have a separate page for each topic on your site, then design the page specifically for that topic. One advantage is that each page can act as an independent draw into your website. Each page can be designed around its own set of keywords and other search engine optimizing techniques, and broaden the range of visitors to your site. 

There are many fine internet hosting companies that will store your web pages on their servers. Prices range from under $10/month for basic web space to over $200/month for web space with advanced features such as shopping cart software and real time credit card processing. The level and complexity of the hosting package you choose will depend on the capabilities you want to have for your website.

Features to Consider

Storage Space: This is the amount of space your website files take up on a hosting company's server. Basic hosting plans typically offer around 20 to 25 MB of space. A basic website that includes from 10 to 12 html pages and 30 to 40 medium-sized graphic images takes about 2 MB of space. Click here to see a website that uses about 2 MB of storage space.

Data Transfer: The amount of bandwidth allowed for your domain. Basic plans provide for around 2000 MB of data transfer per month. Date transfer depends on the size of your website as well as the number of hits your website receives. To see an example of a website with a monthly total data transfer of approximately 520 MB based on 2 MB of file space, a monthly total of about 2,600 page views and a monthly total of approximately 17,000 hits, click here.

CGI-Bin Access: A CGI-bin is where you store CGI scripts. Hosting packages that include a CGI-bin allow you the capability to use CGI scripts on your website that will generate online forms, chat rooms, guest books, shopping carts, hit counters, and more.

FTP Access: FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is the method you use to transfer your website files from your computer to the host server. Many hosting companies offer the capability to use an FTP program, such as CuteFTP (click here to learn more)  and also provide a file manager that can be used to upload pages to your website if you don't have access to FTP.

Think about what your visitors would like to know about your organization. Try to offer your visitors as much information as you can to help them make a good decision about your product or service. See if you can organize the information into small manageable segments, such as products, services, special offers, experience or expertise. Try creating a diagram or a flowchart that breaks down your site information into organized manageable parts.  

Keywords are individual words or two-to-three word phrases that describe the content of your site. When developing keywords to use in your website, identify the terms that visitors might use to search for sites like yours. Then look for synonyms and other  words that are similar to your key terms.  Search engines often go beyond the keyword meta tag in the header of the web page, and look for keywords in the content of a web page to determine if a page meets the search criteria entered by a user.

You can apply to search engines such as Yahoo! and Google several ways. The first way is to pay a fee to have your site's address, or URL, included in the search engine. For search engines like Yahoo!, all commercial sites must pay a fee to be considered for inclusion.  One major benefit of paying a fee to be included in a search engine is that your site, if accepted, should be indexed faster than if you submit it without paying a fee.

The other way to get your site listed on search engines is to submit your URL for free inclusion. There are many sites on the internet that offer to submit your site to many search engines for no charge, but they may not include the top search engines that you want your site to be listed with. You can also visit each search engine and manually fill out an application to add your URL. One disadvantage of submitting a site for no charge is that it could take weeks or months for your site to get listed with a search engine.

The Open Directory Project  is another avenue to consider when submitting your site to search engines. Several search providers, including AOL Search, DirectHit, HotBot, Google, Lycos, and Netscape Search, are partner sites with the Open Directory and use listings its data. Listings must be submitted manually and are reviewed by category editors.   (Click here to submit your URL to the Open Directory: http://dmoz.org/add.html) Even if your site is accepted into the Open Directory, it could take anywhere from two weeks to several months for your site to be listed on its partner sites. 

Most search engines do have guidelines that websites need to follow in order to be considered for inclusion, whether it's a paid inclusion or a free inclusion. Failure to comply with these guidelines could lead to a search engine dropping your site from their data base.

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