Enterprise Nation

When starting out in business, a website is likely to be one of your most important investments.  Julie Hall suggests a few things to think about before you make decisions on how to design, develop and launch.

Choose the right domain name

It can make a difference if you use a .com or a .co.uk domain.   In the UK a .co.uk domain will get a click 70% more often than a .com.  This is because we know that a .co.uk is likely to suit our needs a little more closely than a .com as it is definitely targeted towards a UK audience.  This is particularly important for online retailers.

Choose the right host

Apparently there are two factors that Google uses when it determines if something should rank in the UK.  The first is the domain name, the second is where your website is hosted.  If you are selling products or services in the UK and using a .com domain, I highly recommend you choose a hosting company that is based here rather than the US or Asia.

Do it yourself sites

For some small businesses the cost of a professionally designed site can be prohibitive.  But a web presence is necessary.  Here are a few options that will potentially give you a decent web presence. My preferred option is Wordpress - a free blogging platform that can also be used effectively for website design... Some people who have been on our workshop include: www.divinecommunicationstrust.org.uk , www.theconfidencehub.co.uk  and www.karmicangels.org.uk . These sites work because someone else has already put the hard work into the design through creating a template and these companies have been able to take that design and make it work for their business.

There are lots of other options that you might want to look at; Moonfruit is an online content management software, Mr Site is a low cost option and Getting British Business Online is offering a free website and domain as part of their get 100,000 businesses online in 2010 campaign.

I would just like to add a caveat here... it has been my experience that home-made websites tend to look home-made because visually they lack cohesion; the images look skewed, the creator has used multiple fonts and selects garish colours that don’t go together.
Be honest with yourself when you look at the fruits of your labour because if you think it looks home-made, then odds are other people will think it does too. There are no short cuts on this.  If you do go down the DIY route, make sure you invest the time in getting your site right. First impressions count, so make sure yours is a good one.

Choosing a designer

For those that are looking for a web designer, or any kind of designer for that matter, have a good look at their portfolio.  If you like the style of sites that they build, odds are you will like the kind of site they build for you.  I know it sounds obvious, but I’ve lost count of the number of times people have said to me that they chose someone because of a recommendation, but didn’t really like their work.  Budget matters.   If you pay £500 for a website, you are not going to get the same amount of support, design, features as if you pay £4000 or £15,000.

Make sure YOU own your domain

Don’t let a web designer, partner or employee purchase your domain name for you.  Your domain name is one of the greatest assets that your business owns and you don’t want to give ANYONE else the ability to manage or control this.   It’s so easy to buy your own domain, that there is no excuse for not doing it.  My two preferred options, purely for cost reasons are www.ukreg.co.uk and www.reg123.co.uk .

Julie Hall is the founder of Women Unlimited, a women’s networking organisation