1. How to set up a website involves setting objectives, assessing technical requirements, obtaining merchant status if selling products, testing the site thoroughly, and launching the site after promoting it. 2. Key steps include drawing up an outline, considering accessibility and legal issues, registering a domain name, optimizing the site for search engines, and monitoring usage effectiveness. 3. The cardinal rules are to set clear objectives, create a well-designed site using consultants if needed, promote and regularly update the site, and avoid being overambitious or launching without testing.

1. How to set up a website
Action List
1. Set your objectives: for example, copyright is assigned to you.
marketing to existing or potential
customers, providing product and sales 9. Establish design guidelines in keeping with
support, making direct sales or recruiting company style; aim for visual clarity and
employees. easy navigation; avoid complex graphics
which are slow to download; consider
2. Your objectives should be SMART – developing a site which allows users to
specific, measurable, agreed, realistic and access a text-only version.
time-limited.
10. Consider accessibility issues for disabled
3. Look at competitors’ and other websites to users and ensure compliance with the
generate ideas; draw-up an outline of Equality Acts 2006 and 2010.
what you want your site to include.
11. Register your desired domain name, for
4. Assess your technical requirements: for example your company name or your
example, how large the site will be, product. Keep it short.
potential number of visitors and whether it
will use any special technologies, including 12. Build the site ensuring that the site is
product ordering and secure payment. search engine optimised, for example that
pages include appropriate keywords, meta
5. If setting up a trading site, obtain tags and page descriptions to help search
merchant status allowing you to accept engines list them.
credit and debit card transactions; assess
legal and liability issues. 13. Test the site, using different versions of
various browsers, to ensure that the
6. Check all in-house and outsourced back-up design looks right, pages download
resources if establishing a trading site: quickly and page links work.
dispatch and delivery, customer support,
stock control and replenishment. 14. Assess the site’s appeal and ease of
navigation; ask employees and key
7. Confirm your Internet service provider (ISP) customers for feedback and suggestions.
will be suitable for hosting your site; check
costs, and the process for publishing and 15. Launch the site; register it with numerous
maintaining web pages. search engines to make it easy to find, and
identify other sites you can link to and
8. Source any technical or web design from.
consultancy you need; ask for references
and evidence of successfully completing 16. Promote the site: by emailing target
similar projects. Make sure that design or customers, for example; include its address
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2. in your letterhead, brochures and Cardinal Rules
traditional advertising.
Do:
18. Monitor usage and how effective the site is • set clear objectives
at achieving its aims. • create a well-designed site, using
consultants if necessary
19. Keep the site up to date; add new, • promote the site
time-critical material, particularly on the • keep it up to date
home page, to keep visitors coming back.
Don’t:
• be over-ambitious with a site you can’t
afford to maintain
• get carried away with complex gimmicks
• launch your site without thorough testing
• assume your website will automatically
create traffic and interest
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