Tech with Tom: Get a Web site, part 2

Editor’s note: Tech with Tom Kirkham is intended to provide practical information about a wide range of electronic products, software and communication issues. Tom has promised to use layman terms, where possible, and to avoid geeky acronyms unless using said acronyms are the build up to an off-color joke built largely around sophomoric innuendo. Seriously, this should be good stuff and it will post on Fridays (barring any breaking news from Steve Jobs or elsewhere in the Tech world). Enjoy.

In my previous post, we talked about why you needed a website, and the first step of getting a domain name. Now we’ll discuss the basics of website design and website and email hosting.
 
I mention website design first, because it is common for the website design firm to provide site and email hosting. In most cases, its best to use their services because the Web site they are designing may have special hosting requirements.

What you need to know about website and email hosting is how it works. A website is nothing more than a bunch of files that are stored on a computer. These files are opened by sites visitors in their web browser such as Internet Explorer or Safari — just like .doc files are opened in Microsoft Word. The server typically functions as a mail server, which is nothing more than a computer that stores your email messages until you download them to Outlook or view them on a Web page.

Having said that, it is important that the website and email server physically exists in a professionally run data center, not the back bedroom in someone’s house. A professional data center will have greater uptime and more security. And if your website attracts hundreds or thousands of visitors a day, it will need the data center’s much larger Internet “pipe.”

Expect to spend between $100 to $500 per year for hosting on a non-dedicated server, depending upon server features and level of support. Dedicated servers typically start at about $150 per month. Only large traffic sites need dedicated servers.

If you have your domain name and hosting selected, I recommend immediately changing your email address over for the reason I mentioned before. It’s OK to have a parked page for the website while it is under construction, just make sure it is not a “monetized,” spam-like website. And please don’t put “Under Construction” with a little man and a shovel — this is only slightly better than designing your website with a crayon while drunk.

How Much Should a website Cost?
This question is the first thing most people ask. This is similar to asking “How much does a car cost?” I generally responds with “How much money do you have?” websites, like cars, vary greatly in price, and websites, like cars, vary greatly in features and capabilities. I know some website firms that will build sites for as little as $300 (which I do not recommend). I also know firms that will not touch a website for less than $50,000. Obviously, an e-commerce site will cost more, and just as obviously, a website firm such as Kirkham Systems will cost more than one built by your neighbor’s 16 year old.

How a website is constructed and marketed is directly relevant to the costs of the website. We will cover the ins and outs of this over the next couple of parts.

Notes on Tom
Tom Kirkham is the publisher and co-owner of The City Wire. Tom also is host of the Tom Kirkham Show on Newstalk KWHN 1320 AM, which airs each Saturday from noon to 1 p.m. He also owns and operates Kirkham Systems, a computer, communication and networking company. Tom has more than 20 years of experience in business and technology, and claims to be a photographer, jazz lover, Cajun food expert and dog rancher.

You can reach Tom at [email protected]