It started out as a simple idea and before we knew it, we had a full
blown web site. Designing a web site template, formatting a home page, downloading
graphics and writing HTML seemed much easier than deciding on our domain name.
A starting list of possible domains was checked and quickly crossed off as we
discovered one by one that each was taken. But just as panic was setting in
(what domain can we possibly use?) we found a catchy name that was available
and we quickly reserved it. The hosting company took care of the details and
we went back to tackling the fun stuff.
Determine web site purpose
Determine web site general content and scope
Determine special web site needs based on purpose (shopping cart, blog, database)
Determine web site theme and color palette
Define responsibilities and assign if others involved
Identify a webmaster or technical person (outsource or self)
Pick Domain names and determine which ones are available
Research hosting companies – compare the following features
Domain Name registration included
Disk Space/Page limitation
Bandwidth (pages views per month )
Editing tools (templates, HTML editor, Front
Page available)
Website tools (guestbook, forum, hit counter)
Scripting languages allowed (i.e. Perl, PHP,
asp, Front Page extensions)
Email accounts/ email storage space
Email forwarding
Support – telephone, email, etc
Backups
Reliability
Operating System (relates to scripting language)
FTP accounts
Business Tools available (i.e. website
traffic analysis, search engine submit)
