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Plan Ahead |
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Set goals for your web site and
define a clear objective. Like most endeavors in life planning
is the key to success. Your objectives will give you a better
idea about:
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what TLD (top level domain, COM, .INFO, .ORG, etc....) name
you require. |
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what Domain Name you should choose |
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what hosting plan you will require |
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What expertise will be required for building your site |
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Other services you may need in order to accomplish your
goals |
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2 |
Register your Domain
Name |
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Selecting an effective domain name is important
to your online success. Choosing the correct domain name
can make it easier for others to find you. It is sort of
like locating your business in an area that is easily accessible.
A domain name should be memorable and an indicator to the type
of business you are promoting. Also choosing the correct
TLD (top level domain, COM, .INFO, .ORG, etc....) name is also
important. Most commercial sites use .COM although you might
consider .BIZ a relatively new TLD for business use. Internet
or networking companies often choose .NET and non-profit organizations,
clubs and so on usually use the .ORG TLD.
What ever name you choose, you will want to
verify its availability and register it as soon as possible, before
someone else beats you to it. Once registered, the name
is no longer available to anyone else unless the current owner
is willing to give or sell their rights to the name.
Prairie 21 can take care of the registration
process for you and ensure your domain name, whether you choose
us for any other services or not. Our registration service
is free, you pay only for the registration time period for the
secured name. Many other domain registration companies charge
twice our price for domain names.
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3 |
Choose a hosting
plan |
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There are many options available for hosting your
site. Some companies offer free hosting which is fine for
personal home pages and simple dissemination of information.
If your goals include a significant online presence, you should
consider more serious hosting plans.
Again, some companies offer website/hosting
plans that allow you to build your own site by simply filling
our a few online forms. This is fine if you want to adjust
your needs and requirements to fit the predefined formats available
Individuals and companies that are serious
about their web sites choose hosting plans that allow for a wide
range of possibilities and features to be added to their sites.
Prairie 21's hosting
plans allow you to develop your web site using any of the
tools available on the market like FrontPage or Dreamweaver.
Whether you are hiring someone else to build your site, or plan
to do it yourself, our hosting plans give your the freedom to
do it your way. As your needs grow, we will be able to provide
your hosting needs.
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Build Your Web Site
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Once you have selected your hosting plan and provider,
you are finally ready to start building your web site. There
are many fine tools availble to help you do it your self, with
Microsoft FrontPage and Macromedia Dreamweaver being among the
best.
If you are intimidated of a bit overwhelmed
by the thought of doing it yourself, Prairie 21 as well as many
other companies offer web design services. We can even provide
you a package that includes building your web site and hosting
it for one set price. We will even give you a free domain
name when you choose our web design services. Our basic
plan is just $595 for your web site and one full year of hosting.
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Add E-Commerce Capabilities
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E-commerce does not mean huge costs. If
you have a product or service that you want to sell on line, you
will want to add e-commerce to your site. See our e-commerce
guide to help you identify the services and resources that will
meet your needs. |
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6 |
Promote Your Web Site
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There are many options available for promoting
your website, not the least of which is having valuable information
on your site for you visitors. Search Engines are also important,
but not the only means of bringing visitors to your site.
Advertising is important and there are many tools and resources
available to help you. Some
resources you may find
useful can be found in our resources section. Be sure to
browse the ever growing list of resources and visit some of the
listed web sites to help you prepare for promoting your web site.
Prairie 21 can also help you take advantage of many methods of
promoting your Web Site.
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Continue to evaluate and update
your site.
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One of the most classic mistakes made with web
sites, is building them and forgetting. You and your business
constantly change as do your web site needs. If you want
to be truly successful on the internet, you will want to consistently
update and evaluate your website. |
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