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Kramers Designs for a World-wide Audience
Phone: 719 542-3974 -
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To enable everyone to get a good overview of what may be involved to get onto the internet and maybe have your own company website, I have compiled this short(ish) introduction to what’s what.
Getting organized
Although it is tempting to just copy your basic sales
literature and have it reproduced on your website, there is more you should
concentrate on.
First, determine your site’s goals. All websites should be
drafted in an easy flowchart, highlighting how the various pages will interact
with each other.
A typical basic site displays general information about your
company: it’s products, services, contact information and a few images,
including the company logo. Think of such a design as a CV for your business,
that is available online.
In contrast a more sophisticated site would
incorporate more pages, more graphics as well as increased functionality such as
direct product sales, frequently updated news and information, advertising
banners and a host of technologies, like Java, Java Script, Quicktime Movies and
secure transaction systems for credit card payments.
These sorts of sites
take advantage of the highest functionality of the internet, but at a cost, that
may be prohibitive to the average business without the ability to spend a
fortune on IT technologies and specialists to operate.
It’s not surprising that most websites look more like the former example than the latter.
Also you need to consider your target audience: how many people
will be visiting your site, and how technically minded are they going to
be?
If you expect a high level of traffic, you’ll need the back-up to ensure
that any problems are fixed almost instantly.
Speaking of staff, ask yourself
how often you will be updating the content of your site and who will implement
changes.
You may choose to hire an external agency/contractor (like myself)
or contract employees to create the site and do all the updating for you, or
hire a permanent member of staff to do all the work for you.
Again this is a
question of cost, which I shall explain later.
But with all the cost involved, remember that your site may initially only be seven pages long. In just a year later with regular updates and changes it could easily be thirty, and the count goes on and on...
Finding a Partner / Provider
No matter how simple or complex your site is going to be, you’ll end up with a useless collection of computer data if no one can access your site. To make your site available on the Web, you’ll need to store your files on a server that is connected to the internet - a dedicated computer whose only function in life is to send and receive information to and from users’ Web browsers.
Many companies still think that they must set up a dedicated
Internet connection and Web server on site (ie. their offices) in a spare
corner. This is certainly one route you could take, but you’ll need to have
quite a thorough understanding of IT technology, or at least have someone who
does.
Far easier is the option of having your site hosted by an Internet
Service Provider (ISP) like Aculink, Royal Internet Services, AOL, Compuserve, etc.
Some ISP’s offer you
‘free’ webspace (between 2Mb and 25Mb), which may be quite sufficient for the
majority of small businesses (one of my clients got 10Mb with AOL, and still has
almost 9 Mb spare, after publishing approx. 40 pages plus graphics ).
One
drawback is, however, is that you may not have the option of using a
personalised URL (Uniform Resource Locator), which is like having a personal
number plate for the internet.
Another potential (and surprising) downside
is the possibility that your site may become popular, i.e. the traffic may swamp
your ISP’s server and they may terminate your contract and force you to move to
a different ISP.
Not everyone needs to have a personalised URL. With a basic
site, you may choose not to pay the current registration fee of $100 covering
the first 2 years and subsequent years at $50.
But there’s a certain stature
associated with a custom URL, high traffic site probably should have one. In
order to set up a custom URL for your site, you need to make the name easily
recognizable and then you need to register it. Choose a name that is fairly easy
to remember and don’t forget to check that it has not been taken,
yet.
Another type of provider may be referred to as Internet Presence Provider (IPP) who usually offer you no more than an e-mail account. Though some of them may also offer you the option of connecting your own office based server, which you will have to maintain on site, hopefully with an IT specialist. Again it all is a question of cost. As I have not got enough in-depth experience in IT technology and maintenance I shall not go into more detail on this.
Your Website design
At last, it’s time to get down to business on the actual
website design, layout, content, buttons, graphics and other visible elements
etc. that will impress your visitors.
As a small business owner you may want
to hire an outside designer (like myself) or do the work yourself, depending on
the scope of your site and your IT knowledge.
Either way, there are some
fundamental elements of Web design that are good to know. You’ll find dozens of
books on the subject, ranging from the most basic design to fully fledged
programming HTML (the language used in Web design/programming).
By far the
most important and most overlooked aspect of good web design is the navigational
aspect of the site. As the Web is interactive, visitors should know where they
are in your site at all times. And most importantly how to get there and back
again. This is where it is vital to draw up a flowchart that describes the
site’s structure and links.
Web design as a whole is the creation of HTML
(Hypertext Markup Language) documents. HTML is the standard programming language
used to create documents for the internet. An experienced designer can create
documents incorporating text, graphics, sound and animation.
The market with Web designers is growing constantly. But how do you choose the right one for you?
Many Web designers are 'Backroom HTML'ers', just like myself, who design sites as part of their income, and not as a get rich quick scheme or 'Phoenix' operation. Some individuals are good, some are not. The best way to decide, is to ask them for access to previous work they have done, as any web site created will have details of the author listed somewhere on the index (first access) page of the site.
Basic Design TERMINOLOGY
Page: A 'page' is a single HTML document, which should contain no more than 3000 characters, or 400-600 words. These pages may contain graphics, links, forms, email links and other things.
Image: An 'image' refers to anything graphic, which may be pictures in various formats i.e. gif or jpg. These pictures are usually scanned , whereby the printed picture is converted into computerised code. This process is used to scan company logos or photos to be used in web design.
Java / Java Script: This is relatively new and I am not an expert on this new language (but I am working on it). In simple terms it is in used in addition to HTML to offer the designers possibilities to make the writing more interesting through animation in various form.
Frame(s): This is where the screen is being divided into smaller screens and each one can have its own page content. This form of HTML use is very much frowned upon, as it has been overused by many designers without thinking that not all browsers support these.
Browser: This is the program you will need to read any HTML pages, such as Microsoft Internet Exporer or Netscape to name just two.
COSTS
With all projects there is a cost factor involved. The same applies to the web design. As I already said before the sky is the limit in terms of cost. The more you spend the better the technology aspect of your site. But as a small business who wants to take advantage of the new media, there are ways of advertising your business without having to sell the business or your home...
As a flexible business aiming to meet my clients expectation and requests for designs, I do offer alternatives. Should any of my prospective clients wish to have their site ready in the shortest time possible and at the most reasonable cost, I offer the option of a color co-ordinated 'Shelf-Design'.
These are basically templates used with your details added. Those contain around 4 pages, which are standardized and leave little room for individuality (i.e. No Graphics or links to other sites). But they are reasonably priced at $25 per page per site. With this low price you’ll have to remember, that there are many other sites which may look exactly the same as yours. But beggars can’t be choosers...
These costs are based on average charges, the market currently demands. Obviously charges do vary, so check.
But IT technology is also getting cheaper all the time, so my
suggestion would be to have a computer with a 2 or 4 Mb graphics card, a Pentium
233mhz processor, a 2 - 4 gigabyte hard disk and a 56k modem.
With the
current prices this should set you back no more the $1200, Contact us we might
bet able to help you find a refurbished system for alot less.
Now you are ready to surf....
Protect against those viruses. Unfortunately, there are some
strange people out in this world, that find it funny to create viruses that will
invade and destroy other people’s computers. Get yourself a good virus
protection program, preferably one that can be updated regularly to track the
latest invaders.
Ignore my advice and you’ll pay for it later...