Master Your Domain

Make your small business shine on the web.

BY MARGOT CARMICHAEL LESTER | ILLUSTRATIONS BY DAVID GOLDSTONE

When a friend or colleague mentions a new restaurant, product or company to check out, chances are the first thing you’ll do is hop on the internet to search for its website. And why not? A website should provide all of the information you need and want.

“In today’s fast-paced digital world, it is imperative that you have at least a one-page website containing a clear description of your product or service offerings and your contact information,” says Ken Wells, a founding partner at San Diego-based Alchemy Design Group, a graphic design and internet applications developer.

However, many small businesses haven’t created a place for themselves on the web because they simply don’t know where to begin. How about right here:

NAME YOUR DOMAIN

One of the hardest things about establishing a presence on the web is finding a domain name, or URL. “If a business chooses a domain name that has nothing to do with their business name or industry or is too long, customers and prospects won’t remember it,” says Roni Jacobsen, executive vice president of products at New York-based Register.com, which provides domain name registration and web services.

On Register.com’s home page, you can enter possible domain names to see if they’re taken. Even if they are, don’t despair: It’s possible to purchase registered premium domains that are back on the market.

HIRE A DESIGNER

If you need only a page or two of content, chances are your internet service provider has a set of templates from which to choose (and they’ll probably host a few pages for free). But if you want a site that is searchable, includes lots of links and images, and stands out from the crowd, you’ll need to have your own space on the information superhighway.

That’s why small-business owners like Chris Gaba outsource design and hosting. “I think one of the most important formulas for building a successful business is to know what you do best and to know your limitations,” says Gaba, co-owner and cofounder of Central Bark Doggy Day Care in Oakland Park, FL, who recently hired a professional to redesign the company’s website. “We are experts in dogs, dog behavior and doggy day care. We are not website people.”

To find a good designer, look for sites you like and scroll to the bottom of the page to find the designer’s name. Then, schedule a meeting to discuss working together. “A good designer will conduct a series of conversations, exercises, etc., that pull the client’s needs to the forefront,” Gaba says.

FIND A HOSTING PROVIDER

“Hosting costs depend on several factors, including amount of disk space you need, how many people you expect to visit the site, and what, if any, programming or database requirements you have,” says Mark Zawodny, president and CEO of Tivilon, Inc., a web design and hosting provider in Baltimore. “Basic web hosting packages will cost about $10 to $20 per month. Most hosting companies will offer a variety of packages that you can upgrade or downgrade depending on your needs. For more complex requirements, dedicated or managed hosting solutions can cost anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand dollars per month.”

HAVE A CONTENT STRATEGY

If you want your site to support your business well, focus on your objectives early. “What are you trying to accomplish with your site? Getting leads to the sales force, online sales and marketing are all common goals,” says Adam Kleinberg, CEO of Traction, a branding agency in San Francisco whose clients have included Adobe, Wal-Mart and CamelBak.

Flex Products—a Carlstadt, NJ-based designer and manufacturer of plastic packaging and closures— didn’t have a clearly identified goal, and it wasn’t getting much business from its online catalog. “Our lack of in-depth content caused us to miss opportunities,” says president Ed Friedhoff . “If prospects looked for ‘packaging’ through a search engine, our site wouldn’t show up, or it would fall to the bottom of the list. In addition, our lack of content and easy navigation wasn’t helping to keep prospects engaged. We had no idea how many sales we were losing to competitors.”

A redesigned site has resulted in higher sales and better service, a prime example of why it’s important to have a content strategy.

“Start with your objective—let’s say driving sales—and ask yourself, ‘What can I do to make that happen?’” Kleinberg says. “If by driving sales you mean ‘enabling e-commerce,’ you could have a special offer featured prominently on your home page. On the other hand, if to you driving sales means ‘generating leads for sales guys,’ then perhaps a link to a free webinar with an opt-in email registration is better content. Th e content on your site should map back to your goals, and a clear ‘call-to-action’ should direct users toward the next step in their interaction with your site.”

DRIVE TRAFFIC

Once you have a website, customers need to be able to find you. The easiest way is a search engine. “Google is the most powerful and easy-to-use tool for both the business and the customer,” says Dave Racine, strategic planner for Mindspike Design, a Milwaukee marketing firm. “Yahoo! has a simple-to-set-up business listing service, and a featured listing with a monthly fee—about $25—promises ‘premium placement’ upon relevant search.”

Another way to improve your return in searches is to update your site as oft en as possible. “Search engines rank sites that are updated more recently higher than those that are not,” says Jan Luongo, president of Alliance Communications, Inc., a Tampa, FL-based PR, marketing and advertising firm. “Keeping it fresh daily is the best way to give yourself a push higher.”

Lastly, make sure your site is user-friendly. “Never forget that any and every business is still a human experience,” Racine says. “Put a heavy importance on things that improve the human experience online—be it simple navigation, eye-pleasing design or simple cascading style sheets—and remember that Mom was right: ‘Please’ and ‘thank you’ still make for great communication with the customer.”

IS IT WISE TO SOCIALIZE?

Decide whether or not networking sites will help your business.

Unless customers know who you are and where to find you, the best website in the world won’t help much. “Just as in the real world, you have to get out and network,” says Joe Procopio, president and founder of Intrepid Media, Inc., a Chapel Hill, NC, management and technical consulting and services company whose clients include Lulu.com and Nerve.com.

“LinkedIn, in particular, is fantastic for building potential employee, partner, even customer relationships, and is a good stepping stone to more customers and/or sales,” he says. “MySpace and Facebook work from a more social perspective, and, thus, offer more social, less direct benefits.”

Even with the benefits of social networking sites, Procopio warns against making them your sole internet presence. “A private website not only is more tailored to your business, obviously, but it also establishes a sense of professionalism that social websites just don’t,” he says.