There are a number of things associated with a new website.
Here are the basics, a couple do's and don'ts, as well as some training resources to help you.
First Step: getting a domain name.
You must acquire a domain name, which is your new website's address (yourwebsite.com). My best possible advice:
do it yourself!
Do not let your designer (or anyone else for that matter) do it. Why? Because it is where clients will find you. Do you really want a third-party controlling this all-important key to your business? I will be happy to suggest registrars that will secure for you your new domain name. My recommendations change almost monthly, based upon price and the user-friendliness of the registrar (do you really want to wait on hold for thirty minutes while they loop telling you how important your call is to them?). Cost: plan on spending about $12.00/year to get your domain name and plan to register it for at least three years at a time—my recommendation is often to sew up your name for at least 10 years if that is feasible. Finally, pick the shortest name you can get away with—your clients/customers are not going to want to type a hundred characters just to get to your new website. To check a website name's availability go to
whois.com
and click the "whois" link.
Second Step: hire a web designer .
So how do you pick one? First ask to see other sites that the designer has done. If you are going to have an on-line store now is the time to ask about that. Do you need photography? The answer to that is with only rare exception: yes. Can you get by with stock photography or do you need images directly related to your enterprise? Don't plan to shoot images yourself (I know, your smart phone takes incredible snaps, right?). Ask your designer who they use. In my case, I use Steve Jost (stevejostphotography.com). You could say I am comfortable with him—we have been working together for thirty plus years. Many of the photographs on my site are examples of Steve's work.
A professional designer is going to be asking you a lot of questions. Who is your target audience? Is your site primarily an information site or is it for selling product or securing appointments? A good designer is as much concerned about your site's effectiveness in meeting your needs as he/she is in making it look "good"—and yes, looking good and looking professional is important! Finally, your designer should be able to make your site uniquely yours—your customers today can smell a cookie-cutter template-fill-in-the-blanks site from a mile away.
A blatant pitch for me: I design all my websites using the Architect system from WOCode. Structured for professional designers such as me, it allows a nice level of creativity that many alternative technologies do not. There are also two advantages for my clients with this system: first, it allows you to see the site as it develops—even before it actually is published live, and second, it gives you the client the ability, using just your own browser, to come in and edit copy and even replace images. All-in-all, it provides levels of flexibility and creativity than even a couple years ago would not have been possible. Finally, all Architect-designed websites are hosted through Amazon Web Services, the fastest and most reliable hosting I've used in over 15 years of web design.
Third Step: costs to design the site
This should happen only after talking with the designer enough so you both know what is required. If a number of images are required that is going to significantly have an impact on the cost. If a designer says simply "I'll build you a site for $1000" without having thoroughly explored with you your needs—run fast the other way. Web design pricing should be similar to ordering dim sum in a Chinese restaurant. Each component of the site will require a certain amount of time and therefore, cost. Store-fronts cost more than one page scroll-downs. Basic sites cost less, complex sites, more. Be patient with the designer's questions so that he/she can be clear on what you need and what you will get. Some on-line job sites post web design jobs asking for "exciting graphics, bespoke functionality," custom SEO, blogging and so on and wish to spend $500 for this. That is not going to happen. Be realistic. Yes, you can get a basic site for your $500 and one that will even look good and professional—but it is not going to have the content and feel of a major Fortune 500 company's site. Remember, the designer you hire has to pay for his/her expenses, internet access, development software and access to a professional stock house for professional quality images if you do not have them already available.
Fourth Step: acquiring an SSL certificate
When your site actually publishes it should have an SSL certificate. SSL certification provides three basic functions: It ensures that your site is safe and secure from cyber-attacks. It identifies your website as a safe and secure site to your customers, thereby helping you to maintain and increase your traffic. Websites that use SSL technology are ranked higher by Google and other search engines’ algorithms. All websites designed here with the Architect System automatically include an SSL certificate.
Fourth Step: hosting for your website/email
Website hosting is not the same as registering a domain name. Think of it as you would your car: yes, you need to register your car and for which you get a license plate (domain name) but you also need a garage (hosting) to keep that car in. Add to that, you need email-hosting as well unless you are content with sending them all to your address at gmail.com—which is not particularly impressive to others. What should it cost? Assuming you are not General Motors, website hosting should run about $120.00/year for a modest enterprise. Add to that the cost of hosting your emails (yourname@ yourwebsite.com)—figure $50—150/year for basic mail hosting. I can suggest cost-effective resources (the internet is still the wild, wild, west, and costs and quality can vary widely. Some of the biggest names are sometimes your most expensive options).
That said, I design with a program called Achitect, which is from WOCode. After many years designing with resident-on-my-own-computer software such as Dreamweaver and Muse, I have moved to a browser-based design system (yes, using exactly the same kind of browser you are using to view this page). So, even before your site is published live for your Aunt Effie to see and admire, your new site will be visible to you through your browser to check progress and design. More importantly, when the site is done, using your own browser you will be able to easily make changes to copy and even swap out images (not always recommended). Using this system, your site will be hosted through a portal going to Amazon Web Services (AWS), which I have found to be reliable, fast and considerably less problematic than many other hosting platforms.
Resources for you
The strength of the WOCode's Architect system is in your ability to make many changes and modifications to the site after it is completed... that is assuming that any website is ever complete. Perhaps the greatest strength of any website is found in the ability to update and make changes on the fly with the results instantly visible. Here are three video tutorials that I have put together that will help you edit your own site if RLG|AD has designed your site using the Architect System.
Complete A-Z Training: 24 videos (1 hr 14min):
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvxfT0O-8p9ZxcKIVxlrJE1JDl2tegPFW
CMS (Content management system) Basics: 4 videos (11 min):
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvxfT0O-8p9bhSeP0x6F1uCNh18hXCPg0
Introduction to Blogging: 3 videos (12 min):
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvxfT0O-8p9YGs8s7u_RMhTQzxUpa9g7T