website services

There are many components to creating a functional, successful web site. I have written short overviews of some of the components of a website, including how to choose a domain name, hosting services, creating content, and marketing. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

choosing a domain name

When you open a web browser, such as Internet Explorer, Mozilla, or Netscape Navigator, you often type in a URL to reach a specific website (ex.: http://www.kathyjacobs.com).  Choosing a domain name for your website is an important component of developing an online presence.  Your domain name should represent your business or organization, be easy to spell and remember, be relatively short, be easy to say over the phone or on the radio, and should, if possible, contain some keywords.  Spelling and being easy to remember are very important.  Your domain name should not include any odd characters or words that are not commonly used.  Although I will provide some recommendations for you, you should come up with one or two options for your website.  If you would like me to, I can assist you with purchasing your domain names.

hosting services

Every website must have hosting services.  This is the physical location where your files will be uploaded so that they can be viewed on the Internet.  There are many companies that provide hosting services, but you should select one that is reliable.  There may be local companies that provide hosting services.  You want to make sure you do your research and get a company that will be around for a long time and has a history of good customer support and service.  You can usually pay for this service by the month or annually.  Costs will vary depending on the amount of space you wish to have and other features that you select.  I can set up this service on your behalf.

keywords

Keywords are the words and phrases that online users will put into a search engine to find goods and services and information.  For example, if I am looking for a place to stay while on vacation in Starkville, MS, I might enter the keyword “bed and breakfast Starkville.”  If a website does not have these words on them, it will not be returned in the search results.  When developing your website, you will go through a process of brainstorming keywords that should be included on your webpages.  I can provide additional research assistance to find more. Including analytics on your website will also improve your keyword research as people begin to visit your site.

Additionally, if you would prefer to have assistance in writing the content for your website, my business associate, Tom Knecht, can provide technical writing services.  He will interview you, draft the content, and provide it to you for review prior to publishing it on the Internet.

usability

A website can have the best information on it or offer the best services, but if the website isn’t user friendly, you will lose potential clients before they even learn about what you have to offer.  There are many things you can do to improve usability, but one of the most important is providing an easily navigable website.  One of the first steps to organizing your content is to create an outline.  I will work with you through your first draft to make sure that the information is clearly organized and easy for users to find.  Your website will be developed with a checklist of usability issues in mind with the goal of creating a user friendly design.

For more information about usability issues, I recommend the following resources.

• Don't Make Me Think by Steve Krug
• Homepage Usability: 50 Websites Deconstructed by Jakob Nielsen and Marie Tahir

marketing

Although a website might get significant traffic from search engines, if designed well, it is very important that you market your website online and offline.  Placing your website in directories, garnering links from associated sites, participating in paid advertising (ex: Google AdWords), in combination with the production of brochures, business cards, radio advertisements and other types of marketing will help get people to your site.  I can provide recommendations for you to advertise your website and business or I can provide the service of advertising your website and business or organization through various avenues.

• A listing of marketing resources can also be found on the Natural Resource Enterprises website at Mississippi State University.