Web Hosting

Making your web site 'work'

Making your web site visible to others involves a few important steps:

1. Register a domain name (e.g. www.stowitnshowit.co.uk) that will be used to identify your site on the internet. This is an important step and we'll help you if necessary. You cannot always have just what you want (someone else might have registered www.diy.co.uk already. There is a small annual registration fee (not often more than £10) that is sometimes included in the cost of hosting (see below).
2. The files that comprise your web site must be placed on a web server that can be accessed by internet users. They occupy memory space on that server and use other facilities, for which you must pay. Free web space associated with your email address may not be reached easily by the search engines of Google, and it rarely offers response form and database facilities. For this reason we normally direct customers towards a low cost hosting package to suit the web site involved (in the range £5- £7.50 per month).
3. The files are uploaded from my computer to your web server and your domain name is 'pointed' towards the home page.

Site Visitors

1. Visitors find your site by typing search words into 'Google' or other search engines. We try to guess what people will search for by including suitable 'keywords' in hidden code at the top of each web page to attract them. They might also click on links to your site that are placed in other sites (for instance try the 'Web Examples' page on this site).
   
   IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU SHOW YOUR WEB ADDRESS ON ALL CORRESPONDENCE LEAVING YOUR OFFICE, WHETHER WRITTEN OR EMAIL, AND ON ALL ADVERTISEMENTS AND ON THE SIDES OF YOUR VEHICLES.
   
   It can take several months before a new web site is properly accepted by 'Google' and even then you might be competing for the top spot against hundreds of other businesses with similar sites. There are ways of paying for inclusion into directories and search engines, but they can be expensive for a small business.
    
2. If people find your web site and like what they see, the chances are that they will return next week/month.
   
   IF THEY COME ONCE THEY MIGHT WELL COME BACK A SECOND TIME.
   
   If your site has not changed between the first visit and the second visits, they will not be motivated to come back a third time. If there are regular new special offers, updates to schedules, news items or results, then you will attract return visits to your site and these visitors will eventually pass on your web address to others.
   
   YOU NEED TO ATTRACT SOMEONE THREE TIMES TO MAKE THEM A REGULAR SITE VISITOR.

Dave Titchmarsh

trading in UK as StowiITnShowIT, 4 Saxty Way, Sowerby, Thirsk, North Yorkshire YO7 1SA
tel: 01845 523637 email: dave.titchmarsh@btinternet.com