A website allows a business to store information about itself online rather than printing pages and distributing them. It has a web address (domain name) that identifies where the pages are hosted. To create a basic website, pages need to be written in HTML format and uploaded to a hosting provider. For a simple initial website, businesses can expect to pay between €500-€1200, which covers website creation, hosting, and domain registration. It is important to choose a website company you can easily communicate with for support.

1. I Don’t Know the First Thing About Websites ! Part 1: What is a Website? Sales - +353 (0) 21 731 9647 Web: http://www.grangewebdesign.com

2. Websites Grab an A4 pad and write 4 pages about your business in simple language About your company Your products Your contact details History of the company Staple this together Photocopy this 1000 times and give it out to everyone that comes into the shop If you have a bin outside your business that is where most of these will end up I guess

3. Website Storage In its very simplest form a website is a set of pages (like the A4) that allows you to store information on your company, its products and its business Website pages are stored on a central computer (the buzz word is hosted) and you pay a yearly fee for this hosting (storage) However you need to identify this location with an address and this is where a web address comes in A website address (like http://www.example.com ) tells people where your pages are kept. This is known as a domain name You pay a fee to get a specific domain name that helps people know what type of pages are at this address (like http://www.sharpjavelins.com is more than likely a set of pages about sharp javelins) Once you have hosting (the storage) and a website address you can then put your pages on it.

4. Emm… How You need to write your pages in a format that can be read by an Internet Browser (like Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox or Safari – these are some of the browsers out there you probably have Internet Explorer on your PC) This format is called HTML You need to have this content converted to HTML Once it is converted it is then transferred to your hosting under your web address and it can then be viewed How well it looks depends on who you use to create the pages

5. Is This Where The Hard Sell Comes In No! Putting content on a website can cost you as little or as much as you want. There may be many things you want your business website to do but in the first instance get the content up on the website. There are many website companys out there who will do this for you. Ask them how much it would cost to create a simple 4-5 page website to include hosting and registering a domain name. You will get many many different prices Speak with them on the phone – if you don’t like their phone performance then don’t use them. If you are technically literate then ignore this point as you will be able to solve all your problems yourself. If not then if you cant get on with them on the phone how is it going to be when you have a problem!

6. Your Advice My advice (and always is) is to get a company who provide the website, support and who you can deal with. You will pay between 500 and 1200 Euro for a site from different companies. The ones you pay the low end price may give you a low end service. MAY I said! Sites you update yourself may cost more (I said MAY!) Get a written proposal and make sure you understand it. Pay a deposit as this secures the services. Agree a timeline Agree a design (best companies will do a design as a separate service) Agree what is meant by complete!

7. I Think I Understand What Should I DO Next A website is a 24x7 advertising medium for your business It can take the place of the 1000 stapled pages above and keep the bin empty At a minimum register your domain name. Contact a website design company and explain like above what you want. This is ONLY the first step for a website but is an important one.