Design
HostingDomainsPromotionMaintenance
Design| Despite what many technically minded people may think, this is probably the most important factor affecting the success of a website. A typical Internet browser will have typed a key word or phrase into a search engine like Yahoo! or excite and will have been confronted with a huge list of results, many of them frustratingly irrelevant to what they were searching for in the first place. |  |
If they happen upon a home page that is slow to load, unattractive or garish, is difficult to navigate around or simply has poorly laid out content they will return immediately to their list of other sites. Even if your site is full of useful content and information you risk the customer moving on to the next site if it is poorly designed. Of course individual and company preferences vary enormously but the essence of good design is to make it as simple as possible whilst still making the site aesthetically attractive through the use of images. Navigation controls need to be easy and logical to use, especially for those visiting the site for the first time.
Please take a look at our demo store for an example of a cleanly laid out website that is both functional and attractive.
In addition to the widely used HTML format we can also produce sites using Macromedia Flash 4, which is capable of producing presentation quality levels of animation and interactivity. Please see our sister site for a demonstration of what can be done.
Other forms of media include movies using Apple Quick Time using models of engine parts or suspension systems - the possibilities are endless.
In order for you to be able to deliver your beautiful new web site to potential customers it need to be "hosted" on somebody else's computer. Briefly, this means that all the information contained on your web site is "served" to the public form a very high speed computer through a very high speed communication network.
You will have read the adverts or received the literature through the door promising you free web space with your Internet connection deal or are already contemplating using your "free" space. Whilst this space may be adequate for personal web sites there can be a great many limitations when you want to put your business online.
Much of this web space is subject to a very low limit on usage (limiting the amount of data that browsers can access in a given time) and access for site updates. In addition, and perhaps most importantly, you cannot have your own domain name on a site of this nature. If you require interactivity in terms of specialised forms and databases then these sites will almost certainly not be able to fulfill your needs.
As a reseller for RapidSite Verio, supplier of web space to more than 102,000 companies worldwide, we can offer you first class web space. RapidSite's U.S.-based facilities occupy over 70,000 square feet (utilising the old IBM headquarters) and they have invested millions of dollars creating a world-class data centre that provides our customers with unmatched performance, reliability, and convenience.
What this means to you is that your customers will very rarely if ever experience the error messages and slow connection times that can be commonplace when accessing sites hosted by less professional companies.
Just as your house must, every site on the Internet must have an address. As the use of the Internet grows, addressing and how people find you becomes one of the critical choices a Company or Individual must make. A Domain name is a key part of your address. www.scion.co.uk is an example of a Domain Name. A Domain name is also an important part of an email address. When used for an email address, the Domain name follows the @ sign, this meaning that browsers or interested customers can email you on "anything@yourdomainname" and still reach you.
You might have seen long Internet addresses like www.coolnet.com/members/joebloggs, these mostly belonging to private web site owners. In order to have the site addressed as yourfirm.co.uk you need to register it with the appropriate authorities. This will ensure that nobody else can use your unique name and that if somebody knows your company name they can take a rough guess at your domain name (the vast majority of UK firms' addresses carry the affix .co.uk).
Once you secure a Domain name no one else can use it without your permission. In addition, customers generally take you more seriously if your site is accessed using a specific Domain and often gain the impression that you are a large Company - even if you aren't.
Scion can offer you a full two years domain registration for only £40 if taken with any of our web hosting plans.
This is probably one of the most important and often most overlooked factors affecting the success of a web site. Many people commission the building and publishing of a web site and then expect it generate sales immediately. This is akin to having a catalogue produced and the failing to distribute it.
There are many ways of promoting your site, many of them through traditional channels such as magazines and flyers and some via the Web itself.
Performance Online can advise you on the correct route to take or will take on the job of marketing themselves.
Nobody wants to visit a web site that has information that is two years old yet this is what we all too frequently see. Your site needs to be up to date and our shopping cart system has been designed so that your staff can do this easily and quickly. However there may be aspects of the site that need more professional attention and Scion are able to offer a cost-effective maintenance plan .If you don't want to worry about HTML coding, updates, and changes Scion can take care of this on a fixed or hourly rate basis.
Please note that the Scion web design plan includes limited text and graphics updates.
