CAREER PURSUIT 2021

EXPERT ADVICE - SELF-EMPLOYMENT 47 WHERE TO START WITH BUILDING A WEBSITE tarting your own business can be one of the best ways to ease the transition if you are moving with, or leaving, the military. An essential item of any business is a website, especially given the current climate! I run a web design business, with over ten years experience in the industry. I also run a web hosting and domain name registration company. In this article, I’m going to break down the technical jargon and the process of creating a website that accurately portrays your business. There are two primary ways of setting up a website for your business: DIY or professional. Both have their pros and cons. Your budget also plays a massive part in what you can achieve. First of all, what do you need for a website? 1. A domain name 2. A website 3. Somewhere to host it DOMAIN NAMES In order for your website to exist on the internet, you need a domain name. So, what is a domain name? It is the address that a user would type to visit your website. It’s really a bunch of numbers called an IP address. A typical IP address looks something like 185.151.30.105. As that’s quite a difficult address to remember − enter domain names! Domain names were invented to overcome that problem and make websites easier to find. How to choose a domain name Choosing the right domain name is crucial to the success of your website. You can choose your business name or a keyword-rich name (e.g. B&Q’s domain is diy.com) . There are also a multitude of domain name extensions to choose from. I would always use the tried and tested ones such as .com, .co.uk , .uk, etc, as these are more familiar to users than .ninja, for example! Once you have decided on your domain name, it’s time to register it. A .co.uk domain starts at around £5.99 a year, depending on who you choose to register it with. Be wary of low introductory prices as the cost often shoots up in the second year. Once you have your preferred domain name, you will need a website. WEBSITES Should you do it yourself or have it built professionally? This really comes down to budget and how much time you are willing to put into the building of your website. DIY Some of the more popular website builders include Wix, and Squarespace. They all work in a similar way − you can design and launch a website with no coding experience necessary. A website built using one of these services is never truly yours, as it will be tied to each company’s own platform and is not transferable. • Wix starts at £8.00/month (for a no ads account). • Squarespace starts at £10.00/month. If you plan on selling products, then the prices will significantly increase. Things to note about website builders: • Website builders have limited customisation options. • They are time intensive. • If you decide to change the website provider, you’ll have to develop a new website from scratch. • With the free plans, advertisements show up on the websites. • There are no advanced marketing and SEO (search engine optimisation) tools in the builders’ software. So, you need a website. Are you feeling overwhelmed by all the different choices, things to consider, and costs? Stephen Hamill breaks down the basics of setting up a website for your business. S By Stephen Hamill