What do you need to do to make a website function? There are three components required to make a website work - you need a buy a domain name, web hosting and a website. You can easily organise buying the domain name and web hosting online or alternatively over the phone. (We can help you decide what you need) Solutions Indata will design, develop and then load up your website live once you have organised your domain name and web hosting.

Usually you will have a business that either is already set up or you are thinking of starting up a business. The obvious choice for a domain name is the name of the business. For example a business name "Green Frogs" would have the domain name www.greenfrogs.com. Even better if you can include a keyword that is a large part of your business and what you think people will type into search engines to find you.

Even if you have a business that has a very long name you are better off using the full name than abbreviating it to something that makes no sense to anyone. There are two reasons for this. The first is abbreviated business names turned into domain names often end up being misunderstood in phone conversations and are also difficult to remember. Another reason is that search engines like descriptive domain names and website content - It will help your overall ranking if you have keywords in your domain name.

The extentions on the end of the domain name indicate what country the business is located in, or what country you want your business to target. For example .com.au is for an Australian business, .co.nz is for a New Zealand business, co.uk is for the United Kingdom. You are best to go with a domain name that is located where you want your business to come from. If you are an Australian company wanting Australian business go for the .com.au.

You can buy your domain name at the same place you buy your web hosting package or alternatively you can buy it from a domain company such as www.GoDaddy.com. What is Web Hosting?
Web hosting is like Internet real-estate. If you want to build a house, you need a place to build it and roads to get to it. Similarly, if you want to build a website, you need server space to store your files and bandwidth (speed) to access your site. There are many different web hosting companies out there with varying prices. Many of our clients choose a web hosting company depending on their needs and budget. We will help you work out the best option.

IMPORTANT Print out/Save email and keep all domain and webhosting details in a safe place.

What about images for my website?
Ideally all images should be in digital format that have been saved correctly for a website. Websites that have large pictures that are not saved correctly can take an extremely long time to download and in turn lose potential customers. If images are provided in non – digital format these can be easily scanned and then saved for the website, however this will add to the cost of your website.

If your company logo is supplied in a digital format and it is not of high quality, or you are unable to find the original artwork for the logo it becomes necessary to re-draw it using a graphics software package. This may be time consuming and difficult to match up colours. This will also add to the cost of your website.

Any artwork, logos, photos, and brochures that you have needs to be collected together - this will all help in the design and outcome of your website. Your company's logos, product photography and Text should all be available in digital form. (TIFF, EPS, JPEG, GIF or other)

Where can I buy good quality photos for my website? If you dont have any images for your website we recommend buying some images from www.istockphoto.com . iStockphoto is the internet’s premier royalty-free stock photography community, where you can search and download over 2,000,000 images, starting as low as a $1.00 each. Just enter the keyword in the Search box at the top. Use the Advanced search options to specify your search results, or Browse our categories to see related images. (The majority of images on this website were purchased at www.istockphoto.com )

What about Copyright?
When material is supplied to us for publishing on the web, obtaining permission to use any copyright material is the responsibility of the client supplying the material. The owner of the website needs to obtain permission to use photographs, graphics, music, video, and text etc. from the author, photographer or artist. We will assume that our client has obtained such permission.

How do I supply the content for my website?
The information you have on your website is up to you. This requires some work on your behalf – it is important to have current information on your website and this needs to be done by you! Thorough editing and updating of your text is necessary to complete the website. The text may be typed up in a word editing program such as Microsoft Word.

Do you design Logos?
We can design a professional website for your business and prefer to leave logos up to designers who make it their speciality.

First impressions are crucial, especially in business. Many times, your logo is the first thing prospective clients will see. In seconds, they'll judge you on your logo. With attractive pricing, quick turn around times and an extensive portfolio of happy customers, LogoImpress is an excellent choice for your new logo.
www.logoimpress.com.au

If you would like to have a go at designing your own logo online then check out is LogoYes. LogoYes is the leading provider of do-it-yourself logos to small businesses around the world.
Easy, Affordable DIY Logo Design

Mailing Lists?
One of the easiest ways to keep your customers informed is to have a autoresponder setup with a company that specialises in this field. Once your email list of clients grows to more than about fifty and you are struggling to send out emails through something like microsoft outlook distribution list you will need to invest in one of the best in the business. We use and recommend www.aweber.com . You can also try before you buy.