KeyChange

Beginners Guide to the Web

The internet is a minefield of new words and acronyms  in fact it can be a great way to make a small fortune.......especially if you start with a large fortune.  This section is not intended as a detailed history or explanation.  It is intended to give you enough information to at least understand what you need and assist you in making an informed decision.

There are four basic components (read costs) when it comes to owning a web site.
1. Design
2. Domain name
3. Hosting
4. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

Design

Many people think the World Wide Web (WWW)  is the internet, but in reality the internet is made up of a number of areas.  The WWW is basically the system that allows you to browse using a 'browser" program such as Internet Explorer, Firefox or Chrome.  These browsers are intended to display information written in Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) on your computer.  The really clever thing about HTML is its ability to display information in a consistent way to all browsers, no matter what type of computer or screen size that you are using to view it with.  Or at least that is the intention, but there are some inconsistencies and these should be considered when designing a web site.

A web site is anything from one to possibly hundreds of HTML web pages which are presented to you as if they were all located in one physical location .   Normally the Home page is the entry point and this will provide the browser  with 'hyperlinks'  to all or some of the other pages within the site.    The Home page being the first page viewed, is therefore the most important single page on your site.  It is estimated that you only have 15 to 25 seconds to catch the attention of your visitor, before they get bored and click elsewhere.  So your home page must not only look good, it must provide your visitor with some useful or entertaining information within a very short time span.

The other pages in your web site can take a little longer to load however, they should all follow a consistent design and navigation concept.

So, Web Design is very important but it is only the one aspect of your web site.  It involves the layout, graphic design, photographs, the actual text information and the navigation (buttons or hyperlinks) for people to find their way around.    While an attractive web page is important, LOOKS AREN'T EVERYTHING!  In fact many attractive web pages use techniques that can be a downright obstacle when it comes to publishing your site.

Domain Name

Your domain name is your unique name on the internet.  Domain names are made up of two or three segments which function not unlike peoples names in medieval times.  My name is Andrew Hunter, so in medieval days I would have been Andrew the Hunter, where my surname tells you what I did for a living

In the WWW domains there are a limited number of surnames or extensions available these are  COM, ORG,EDU,GOV,NET and the latest BIZ, NAME and INF0.     The COM, NET and BIZ extensions are intended for business use.  ORG is intended for non profits while EDU is education and no prizes for guessing what GOV stands for.

My wife does all she can to ensure that I am an non profit so on the WWW my URL (Uniform Resource Locator or web address) should be www.andrew.org -    However there are andrews in Britain, USA and Australia so we use an additional extension  to identify in which country my domain is registered and in Australia I would be www.andrew.org.au   Just to confuse matters, I can if I wish, register my name in the USA and they don't have any country extension (as in the first example) whereas if I registered in Britain, my URL would be simply www.andrew.org.uk

The actual rules and conditions that apply to domain names vary depending on the country you wish to register in.  The USA controls all COM, NET and ORG domain extensions.  There are also new .BIZ and .INFO extensions now being released under new rules.  But at the moment anyone can register any name with any extension in the USA.  This situation led to 'cybersquatting' where unscrupulous or enterprising people, depending on your point of view, registered every name they could think of.  They then sell these names to the people who really want them, at a profit.  This situation has reduced somewhat by new rules that allow applicants to show that they have a more legitimate claim to a domain name and thus have the name transferred to them.  You must realise this when you apply for USA based domain names.  You can register USA based .com, .net or .org names through KeyChange, for as little as $35AUS per year with a normal two year minimum (subject to currency rate).

Australian domain names are more controlled.   To register AndrewHunter.com.au you would have to be named Andrew Hunter or have an association to the name such as a registered business named Andrew Hunter & Associates  or something similar.   Australian domains also cost a bit more to register, but then again they are probably more secure  and definitely an advantage if you want to sell into the Australian market.  It currently costs from $80 to $140AUD for two years registration. If you would like more information click here