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What are the basic elements of starting your
own small business on the Internet? There are three (with a fourth
that is not absolutely required, but inconceivable to be without.):
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Domain name - This is the "URL" that you
see in the address bar at the top of the screen in your browser. It
identifies your site to the Internet and can help users understand
what your site is about. The URL for this site is: "http://www.small-business-consultants.net".
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Web hosting company - This is the
company that "hosts" your web site and makes it available to the
Internet community. Looking at a site will not reveal where the
site is hosted. Your files that make up your web site are stored
on a server operated by the hosting company.
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Web site - This is the group of files or
programs that constitute your web site. The page you are looking
at is a file named "Start_web_business.htm". It is
stored in a directory named "Library" on the URL above.
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Internet Service Provider - You need to
have a way to get to the Internet to see and work on your site,
and this is the arrangement required to do so. It may or may
not be the same company that hosts your web site. (Technically
speaking, you could have a business on the web without having web
access. It is just hard to imagine a situation where you
would want to do that.)
These are the absolute minimum requirements for
getting a business started on the web.
If you plan to develop your site yourself, you
may find that your hosting company provides basic tools as part of
your hosting plan. Some of these tools can be adequate for a
business site, but many of them will have limitations that do not
help you to market your site. For any commercial site, marketing
is one of the key elements of success, and your site must be
designed properly from the beginning to be effective.
Each of these elements involves a continuing
financial commitment. Your domain name is registered on the
Internet for a specified time period and must be renewed
periodically. Your hosting account will be a contract for a time
period and usually means monthly expense, but is payable on an
annual basis. Your ISP is also a monthly contract for service, and
is separate from your hosting contract.
The web site requires a "start up" expenditure
to get it established, and does not require any monthly expense
from that point forward, but maintenance will be necessary to your
site performance. That will require an expense or a time
commitment on your part.
To learn more about getting your business started and operating,
spend some time reviewing material that can help you with subjects
you may not be familiar with. A list of
reference
sites that can help you fill out your understanding of is
available under "Marketing
Your Business on the Internet" elsewhere on this site.
To see some examples of businesses that have been successful using
the Internet, browse the
"success stories" I have collected. |
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