Many clients get overwhelmed by the prospect of developing a website. Especially those who have little knowledge of computers in general, let alone the Internet.
The following are some basic elements and information you will need:

• What do you want your site to do? Do you want to sell, just give some information, etc.
• Who is my audience? Who do you want to attract to your website.
• Logo. If you have an established business, chances are you have an electronic version of you logo. This is helpful to a web designer.
• What information do you want on your site? Store hours, profile, photos, video? Remember, content is everything.
• Your site visitors. What information do you want to collect from visitors to make your site better?
• Research. Find other sites like yours and see what the popular ones are doing to attract visitors. This is also good for design ideas.

Organizing your content can be the most frustrating part of planning your site. However, do not get frustrated, just try to layout the general structure of the site. The better your site is laid out, the more time your visitors will stay.
Here are a few tips on how to organize your content:

• Decide what information and content you want on your site.
• Divide all of your information and content into categories. For example, decide if the the content goes on the "About Us" page, etc.

Your domain name is basically the centerpiece of your site since it is the first thing most users see, especially if your site is commercial. When deciding on a domain name, keep your central theme in mind. Although many other extensions are available, .us, .biz, .me, etc., we still feel that .com is the gold standard. However, its extremely difficult to secure a premium .com name due to all of the domain resellers buying them up. If you are already in business, it can be harder to select a domain because you are limited by your existing name. If you are a start-up business and have not yet selected a name, it is much easier since you can select from available domains.
The best advice we can give when selecting a domain is to keep it simple. Try to stay away from domain names that will confuse your audience. A relevant doamain can also help with organic search engine placement. See Also: Other Services - Domain Name Selection

If your site is a basic site that will not include many pages, a basic hosting package will work. Before selecting a hosting provider, see if they have a toll-free number, or at least a customer service number, and call them. See how long it takes to reach someone, if they are helpful, and if they are 24/7. This is a great indicator of what type of company they are. We recommend a Clas A provider such as GoDaddy. Their customer service is great and you can usually reach a cutsomer service rep in 2-3 minutes.
In regard to cost, a basic hosting package should cost anywhere from $5 to $10 per month. However, you should be able to get a premium or deluxe package for around $10 - $12 per month.
Features to look for in a good hosting package:

• Disk space: at least 10GB for a basic plan and 300 + GB for a deluxe or premium plan. For a basic site, 10 GB is plenty of space.
• Bandwidth: at least 300GB for a basic plan and over 3000 + GB for a deluxe or premium plan. For a basic site, 300 GB is plenty of bandwidth.
• Email: Unlimited email and email storage is preferrable. However, most sites only require 10 or less emails. Also, almost all hosting companies allow your web mail to be incorporated into your Outlook or forwareded to another account, so unlimited email storage is not imperative. Auto responders and mail forwarding are nice features too.
• Misc: Look for features such as site statistics, subdomain capability, parked domains, etc. These are standard with all major hosting providers.

One of the biggest misconceptions is that just because they have a website, that it can be found. The next major step is marketing, even for basic sites with a few pages. More than likely, you had your site built so that a certain group of people, or demographic, can find it. The trick is to help that group find your site. Your site must be optimized for search engines.
The subject of search engine optimization is too vast for this section, but is vital to your marketing strategy. Your specific marketing strategy will depend mostly on your particular business model. Are you stricly web based? Are you a brick and mortar business and just using you site to compliment your existing advertising? Everyone's situation is different and that will determine your strategy.

Fresh and relevant content is a major key to the success of your site. Search engines constantly look for fresh and relevant content. In addition, your visitors will keep coming back for fresh content. There are basically two methods of updating your site, either you web desiginer can do it for you, or you can use a Content Management System (CMS).
A CMS provides the site owner with a login system and access to a web interface. This is usually done through your Internet browser. You can then edit parts or all of your website, such as images, text, etc. Digital Vision Design provides custom CMS to suit each client's needs. Many web development companies provide a "one size fits all" CMS solution. We realize that client needs are unique, so we build your site around your business.