So you want to be on the internet do you?
Well you might think that gaining an internet presence only involves the
cost of designing a web page - but if you think that then you might be in for a
shock. There are a large number of costs involved in getting an internet
presence which can be roughly divided into 3 categories:
- Initial costs
- Web Site Costs
- Implementation Costs
1. Initial Costs
You may already be connected to the internet and taking advantage of all it
has to offer - but if you don't, these are the requirements to be
connected.
Hardware
The internet is a rapidly changing medium and one of the biggest issues at
the moment is bandwidth. What this translates to is that large file sizes take
a long time to download, so this is where having hardware which can cope
helps.
The following table shows the type of PC you should be looking at getting.
Anything less will send your frustration levels into overdrive while you wait
for pages to download (trust me - this is NOT an option you want to take).
Prices for new PCs are continually dropping and you can get a pretty good
computer for under $2,000 these days.
| Component |
Minimum |
Recommended |
| PC |
Pentium 100 MHz |
Pentium III + |
| Memory |
16 Mb |
128 Mb |
| Hard Disk |
1 Gb |
8 G + |
| Video Card |
2 Mb |
8 Mb + |
| Monitor |
14 " |
15" (or 17" if you can) |
| Modem |
28.8 k |
56.6 k + |
| Operating System |
Windows 95 |
Windows 98 + |
 |
Software
If you go with the above minimum configuration then chances are you probably
already have Windows 98. If not - upgrade now! While I'm not a huge fan of
Microsoft, it has many advantages over Windows 3.1x, not the least of which is
ease of use.
The other software necessity is a web browser. This lets you access the
Internet and you can't really do much without one. The two main players in the
browser stakes are Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer. Both of
these are now free to businesses as well as for non-profit, educational or
non-commercial. Netscape used to be the king in the browser wars, however it
has since been toppled from its throne by the ever present Internet
Explorer.
You are currently using
Latest versions of these browsers can be downloaded from TUCOWS or direct from Netscape
or Microsoft.
Internet Service Provider (ISP)
Most ISPs range between $30 and $40 a month for unlimited access. Don't go
for the fixed fee per hour deals unless you know your internet use will be
minimal.
Domain Name
On top of that you need to consider whether you want a domain name for your
business. You can still have an internet presence without a domain name, but
the address of your page is likely to look something like this: www.yourisp.com/~yourcomp
If you have your own domain name then it will look like this: www.yourcomp.com
The difference is cosmetic (you're still located on the same server but it
appears differently). The advantage of using a domain name is that it shows
you're serious about being on-line and is easier for customers to remember (and
usually quicker to type).
Your ISP will register your domain name for you for approximately $50 for
two years. There are extra costs involved, depending on how much space you want
on your server, or whether you want an email alias (ie; sales@yourcomp.com),
but you could expect to pay between $200 - $300 per annum on top of
registration.
If you decide that the costs of connecting to the internet as well as having
a web page are prohibitive, there is an alternative:
Take advantage of a subdomain name, which will look like this: yourcomp.yourisp.com for around $40 a year (plus the ISP
costs)
If you want to know whether a domain name is still available, then enter
your desired domain name below (without the www) and press submit.
Further information on domain name registration can be found at www.internic.net
Web Hosting
You can also choose to host your web pages with someone other than an ISP.
You can e-mail me for more information on my hosting plan. You pay a fixed fee per month to host
your web site with us. This doesn't always include dial-up access so you need
to have an account with your own ISP. You still require a dial-up account if you want
to connect to your web host to upload pages.
2. Site Costs
These are the actual costs to build your web page. These can vary greatly
depending on the type of impact and image you want to have. Click here to see our easy 3-step process.
3. Implementation Costs
More hidden costs! These are the costs associated with making sure your
business and all of its employees gain the most benefit from your web page.
Before the rest of the world beats a path to your on-line door, you need to
address the following:
Education
Educate your customers, educate your colleagues, but most of all; educate
yourselves! Make sure you get the most out of your internet presence by:
making sure that everyone knows about it
making sure that everyone knows the right information
making sure that everyone understands what and why you are
doing this
Many a time I've rung up to ask for a web address and been given an email
address instead. At least you can guess the web address from that - but it can
be frustrating and time consuming when you get "I know we have one but I'm not
sure what it is..."
Promotional
Why go to the trouble and expense of creating a web site without promoting
it? Advertise your email and web address on all company stationery. Any
advertisements should also include this information - and it shouldn't cost you
any extra to do so. You should also be mailing this information to all your
existing clients - and maybe take the opportunity to generate some new business
at the same time!
But your biggest promotional tool is your staff. Make sure they mention your
presence to all the people they come in contact with (but first make sure you
have a web site WORTH mentioning).
Maintenance
The cost of running a web site does not end with uploading the files to the
server and announcing its presence! Depending on the type of site you have,
information is going to change on a fairly regular basis and you must make sure
your web site reflects this. You can do this two ways:
Train someone in-house to maintain your web site. This is a good solution
if the content is light and will not involve much maintenance. On the other
hand, you may not have someone who is in a position to add this task to their
job duties and this is where the second option helps:
Let David Adams Studios take care of it from $50 a month - This way you
don't have to worry about learning new skills, messing up the page or finding
the time to update.
The choice is yours!
Future Development
And finally, let's not forget the future development of the site. The great
thing about the internet is that it is so dynamic and new technologies are
constantly being developed - and your needs may change as well. You may want to
further develop your site or simply change the whole look every now and again -
just don't forget about it!
If you would like more information about the different types of sites
available, or have any specific questions, then please email me at adams@rollanet.org
.
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