Website Essentials

The first thing you’ll need is a domain name. This will give you a professional online presence and enable you to use a professional email address. How often have you seen a local business with a professional web address but a Gmail/Outlook/Yahoo email address? It’s so easy to set up an email address @yourdomainname.co.uk and there’s no additional cost.

We encourage clients to register their own domain name. We don’t make any charge to show you how, if you would like assistance, but it is important that you have full control of this important asset. Expect to pay between £10 and £20 per annum, depending on the type of domain (e.g. .com or .co.uk etc). Certain domain extensions can cost considerably more, so it’s worth bearing in mind the ongoing costs when deciding on your domain name.

Next, you will require web hosting. This is a server, stored in a secure data centre, which is permanently connected to the internet. It’s this which enables people to find you online.

For the majority of small and medium businesses, what’s known as a “shared hosting environment” is appropriate. Only if you’re going to be operating an exceptionally data-hungry website (e.g. multiple video streams) should you need to consider dedicated hosting. 

We supply web hosting to most of our clients, but the decision is yours and you are welcome to have your website hosted wherever you like.

Our web hosting costs £120 per annum and includes everything you are likely to need:

• webspace
• content management system
• SSL certificate
• professional email addresses