Getting a website: where are the costs? | Internet Marketing

By AshleyBryan
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So, you are going to get a website? It's a big step and you want to know what the costs are, what is involved with getting a website and what are the issues that you must understand. For business owners who are not so computer or Internet savvy, terms like "domain names", "web hosting" and "email hosting" can be quite confusing and even intimidating. Furthermore what are the features that you need in your website: newsletters, search facilities, blogs, forums and more. How much do they cost to add on?

The first step is to think of a suitable domain name. The name of your company can be a great start, so you get www.mybusiness.co.nz or www.mybusiness.com . Which do you need: dot co or dot com? I believe that a dot co domain name is OK for most New Zealand businesses, and that a dot com name still really implies an American site, although this is not a fast rule. Why not identify your business as a NZ one straight off and use dot co, which will promote our country to overseas net users? Something else to think about is whether the name lends itself to what your business does or provides. So the domain name www.circusanimalhire.co.nz (it doesn't exist, I checked!) tells you pretty much what the website is all about. A name like www.prsmythe.co.nz doesn't give as much information about the core business, and so users then have to actually view the site to determine what is provided. You need a lot of advertising, PR and brand marketing clout to get a name like www.amazon.com to be synonymous with books right? But it is possible as we know. When you've thought of your name, register it: $39.95 will secure you the name for a year.

Website development costs can vary from nothing for a free "do it yourself" website, to the sky is the limit for a website built by a web development company. There are pros and cons to both. A "do it yourself" website means just that: you do the work, and if you are busy trying to run your business, then that can be quite an ask. But you have control and can spend the time to tweak and get it right. A websiite from a web development company on the other hand can be delivered quickly and efficiently and possibly to a higher standard of professionalism, but will cost more (exactly how much depends on what you have in it).

As well as the domain name pucrhase and build of the website, be sure you factor in other costs such as website hositng and email hosting, as well as marketing and search engine optimisation services.

About the Author

Before you get a website built you should know and understand what the costs are. This articles reviews those costs.

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