Whether you are setting up a new business, or launching a new product, you need to start thinking about a Business name, a web site, logo, etc.
I hope you have come up with a good name for your business. Only you can do that. But we do have some tips.
To put your business online as well as offline, it is helpful to include in your business name, what you do. By including words related to your niche or product, you will help potential customers find your online business – people will know instantly what you are about.
A good way to test a name is to do a domain search. Try http://www.prositesetup.com/ to search for domain names, and use the feature to have ProSiteSetup suggest available names for you. To make your business name unique and get the name you want, consider including your name in it.
Some examples:
yourproductbyyourname.com
Newmycompany.com
companynicheonline.com
myproducttherightway.com
Once you have picked out a business domain name, register it. I recommend that you register your new domain name and purchase your hosting account at the same service to keep things simple. As a side note, check on your name as a domain name. If it is available, I highly recommend registering it at the same time for future use. Why have a domain name?
- It gives you a professional image
- You will send your emails from your business, rather than from hotmail, yahoo, etc.
- You will have an online “brochure” telling the world who you are and what you do
- You will have several free email addresses to send your clients emails from, such as, support@yourdomain.com, yourname@yourdomain.com,
yourbusiness@yourdomain.com - You’ll have the ability to check your email online with webmail, and download it into your email program on your computer. Be sure to choose a service with good email s*pam filtering.
You will need a “host” for your web site. A web host is the place where you will load your business brochure into a file on the Internet, and from there it will be available for the world to see. This will be your web site. People will access it by using your domain name in the URL address box of their browser.
Hosting a web site is rather inexpensive. I strongly advise you not to use free hosting accounts. Free normally involves the free service attaching their advertisements onto your web pages. This distracts from the reason you have a web site – to sell your services. Hosting at ProSiteSetup is less than $5 per month. Included in your service is email and a blog. If you have already made this type of purchase and have a registration company and hosting company, we recommend that you purchase your new domain and hosting through your current service if it is satisfactory for you currently.
Next comes the issue of how or who will get your information into your hosting account.
You have a few options.
- When you choose your hosting, you can subscribe to a service at ProSiteSetup called WebSite Tonight. It’s just what it sounds like – a template driven way that you can enter your own information, upload your own photos, logos etc. They guide you right through the process.
- If you have a web site editor such as FrontPage or Dreamweaver, and feel comfortable creating your pages and loading the site, you can do that. If you need help, ProSiteSetup has free 24/7 customer support. We can also help.
- Or, you can hire a web designer to create a site for you. Your site will not need to be extensive, but it will need to tell visitors the benefits of your product or business. Web designers are available at many rates and at various companies. You can have a custom site created, or purchase a template online.
Side Note: When creating your website, whether you create it or you have someone do it for you, make sure the keywords, meta tags, title and description is in the code.
- Content can be created by you or you can have a professional write a Sales Letter page for you -
http://www.copywritingcourse.com/
Now you have your business, a business name, and your electronic brochure (your web site). We recommend that you give your business a brand. Branding your business or product with a logo is one way of making it memorable and identifible to prospective customers. You can hire an expensive designer at Elance.com.
If you would like help with setting up your web site online, you may contact kathy@yourvirtualresource.com
