How to set up a website
From SwissEntrepreneur
Setting up a website is something most if not all entrepreneurs will want to do, usually sooner rather than later. For those not very familiar with the internet and IT and such, I imagine the topic of setting up a website conjures up images of black magic, secret incantations and magic wands - and quite rightly so.
Well, it's not quite that bad, but there is obviously a certain amount of technical skill required. It is probably also a topic that is very well explained in numerous articles on the internet, so the immediate answer to "How do I set up a website?", is "GIYF" or "Google Is Your Friend". Nonetheless, the question has been asked over and over again on the Swissentrepreneurs list, so I thought it might be a good idea to get rid of some of the black magic, and perhaps explain some of the magic incantations. The magic wand (aka. the technical skill) is still required though.
Note - with sufficient technical skill you'll be able to do all of this yourself. Whether you'll want to or not is another question - the job is quite often best handed to a professional who can get it done right and (usually) on time. This explanation is not meant to encourage people to do it themselves, it is only intended for you to be better equipped when you start looking for someone to work with.
Contents |
Overview
To start with, I'm going to try to summarize the process here, then hopefully others will be able to elaborate further on some of the subtopics.
The domain name
Your website needs a name, a domain name. When you see a website URL/address: "www.swissentrepreneur.ch", "swissentrepreneur.ch" is the domain name and "ch" is the TLD (Top-Level Domain). There are quite a few possibilities here, some with restrictions, some without. Generally speaking, we divide the TLDs into generic TLDs and country-specific TLDs.
Domain names need to be registered such that other people know that a certain name belongs to you. For Swiss entrepreneurs, there are probably two or three TLDs of particular interest: "ch", "com" and "biz":
- A "ch" domain name is most easily registered directly with SWITCH. Today 4 May 2009, the fee is SFr17/annum, but it is being adjusted, usually downward, to the actual costs all the time. I think the fee has been adjusted three or four times in the last eight years since 2001 when it was SFr35/annum.
- "com" and "biz" domain names are offered by numerous registrars on the internet. Personally I am a long-time customer of Network Solutions, but I also use joker.com and gratisdns.dk.
There have been controversies about Network Solutions search/registration policy: Wikipedia on Network Solutions controversies
InterNic provides a list of accredited registrars. It lists two of them in Switzerland:
CORE Internet Council of Registrars Switzerland
The CORE Internet Council is not a registrar, though, but again lists other registrars. The following ones are based in Switzerland:
Axone Services & Developpement SA
The name server
In order for other people to see your domain name, you need to publish it. This is done by delegating it to at least one name-server, usually two. When you register a name at SWITCH, you are asked to provide the names of your name-servers.
Name-servers are typically part of the service when you pay a hosting company to host your website, but name-servers are also available for free:
- dns24.ch
- gratisdns.dk
- dyndns.org
- many more
Using a free name-server is probably best suited for people who are somewhat experienced with using name-servers.
The web server
The web server is where your website "lives". Assuming you don't want to run your own server, these are your possibilities:
- Shared hosting
This is probably the most popular solution. A single webserver can easily host a few thousand websites. Shared hosting is offered by thousands of companies around the world. In Switzerland, some of the better known providers are perhaps: Hostpoint, Hoststar, Bluewin, Solnet and Genotec, but the complete list is very long.
Advantages - affordable, easily available, one size fits all. Disadvantages - one size fits all, little support.
- Specialized hosting
If you need special software, for instance wikimedia, moodle, CMS, blogging, ColdFusion etc., you may need to look for specialized provider who offers those particular services. This is really just a special case of shared hosting from above.
- Dedicated hosting
If you run a very busy website or if you have special requirements, a dedicated host might be the right thing. It will require a lot more technical skill, as you will be left to sort everything out yourself.
- Virtual hosting
A special case of dedicated hosting.
If your business is in Switzerland and you have a .com domain, it helps Goolge to determine where you are if your hosting is in Switzerland, too.
The website contents
To begin with, website content is really just text and virtually anyone can create it. Having said that, not anyone can make it look right or just the way you want it or just the way that will attract your customers. Building a website involves some or all of the following:
- graphical design
- graphical work/editing
- programming (java, php, perl etc.)
- user interface design
- translations
- specialized programming (Flash, Silverlight etc.)
- ecommerce
