Getting a web site up and running is easy. You just click a button, and there it is. Bob’s your uncle. Right? Well, almost. There are a multitude of elements to consider; technical details to work out; styles to create; content to develop; and art to manage. Oh, and there has to be a reason for the site to exist in the first place. I can’t help you with that last one, although the answer is obvious - you have a message.

It might be that you want to inform and educate us about an idea; you may have a thing or a concept you’d like to make available to us; or that you hope to create an environment within which we’ll interact with one another. Or even a combination of these.

So now what? Well. There are some terms and concepts with which you should become familiar.

A Domain Name - My domain name is downscaledesigns.com and through a third party I pay a small annual fee to a worldwide organization so that I (and I alone) can use it. If I fail to pay the fee I stand the chance of someone else snatching it up when my registration period expires. Of course, this assumes that someone else deems my domain name to have value. But consider that back in the mid-nineties a fellow bought the domain name pizza.com for about $25, and that he recently sold it for more than a million bucks. The point is - once you acquire your domain name and want to keep it - make sure that fee gets paid. For most of my clients this is a service I provide, hence a responsibility I bear.

DNS Registration - Domain Name System Registration is the process and fee described above.

DNS Registrar - This is the third party entity through which you have registered your domain name.

DNS Registrant - The registrant is the owner of the domain name. e.g: I’m the registrant for downscaledesigns.com

Uniform Resource Locator - Or more commonly known as a URL. This is your internet address - the thing in your browser’s address bar that typically starts with an http://www and is followed by your domain name. You and I see letters, but it’s really a bunch of ones and zeros that have been magically altered to appear as letters. Each internet web page (even all those within a single web site) has a URL entirely unique unto itself. URLs don’t cost anything; but in order for it to exist your domain name needs to be registered and the digital file for the page it represents has to be on a server. For the page to be on a server you need a web host.

Server - The name given to a computer with a singular purpose. When asked to provide a specific web page, it “serves” it up to the specific computer that requested the page. Servers are typically huge banks of interconnected computer hardware that are protected by redundant power sources in storm and earthquake-proof structures. They have unbelievably fast and massive connections. They are in fact, the internet itself.

Web Host - This is the entity that actually has your web site stored on its server. The digital files which represent your site get uploaded from my computer to the host’s computers. When someone clicks on a link to a page within your site (or types one of your URLs into a browser’s address bar) his or her computer reaches out to all the servers worldwide, finds the one with your URL on it, downloads those files into their browser, and finally, Bob is indeed your uncle.

You could be your own web host, but why would you want to tie up your computer and leave it turned on and connected to the internet 24/7. What if your only connection is dial up? What if the power goes out on your street? Your internet service provider would probably have a thing or two to say about this as well. Instead, most folks have an arrangement with a company that does nothing but act as their server - aka the web host.

Arranging for the hosting of your site and coordinating with that entity on a regular basis is just one of the services I am happy to provide. It costs money to have your site hosted (but not much) and dependent on the arrangement you and I have this can be lumped with other costs or billed separately.

Web Design - At this point you’ve only spent a little time and even less money, but you now have a web site. Trouble is, it’s empty and screaming for content. Content is the catchall term used to describe whatever one sees on a web page - be it text, links, charts, twenty-seven 8x10 color glossy photos with circles and arrows, or whatever. It’s all content and right now, you desperately need some. And once you have it, it needs to be arranged and massaged so that it displays properly on a computer. Not just any computer mind you, and certainly not yours or mine; but on the one in Smackdab, Missouri; East Nowhere, Vermont; or where ever it may be that your visitors reside. Remember that message your web site wants to impart to others? Well, these far-flung locales are where your intended recipients happen to be and each of these people has a computer operating with varying degrees of “issues”.

As your web designer my goal is to ensure that your content displays properly on each of these platforms. But I have to do so in a way that conforms to the vision you have for your message. And I can’t do that until I’m as up-to-speed on your message as you are, and we have collaborated on the development of the needed content. This means that long before I get to push that fun little Bob’s Your Uncle Button I will have worn a number of hats with you and for you. Brainstorming Hat; Marketing Hat; Copy Writer Hat; Photography Hat; Voice of Wisdom Hat; Devil’s Advocate Hat; Art Direction Hat; Editor Hat; Hoyt! You Complete Idiot Hat; and so on.

Your web site becomes your newest employee. One that tirelessly works for you day in and day out, never gripes about overtime pay, and faithfully extends your message to everyone with whom it comes in contact. My mission and pact with you is to ensure that it all comes together in a cohesive and seamless manner.

Search Engine Optimization - Most folks just call it SEO; and it refers to the hot-button topic of the current day. The goal - yours and mine - is to ensure that when someone types anything which can or should be related to your site (remotely or otherwise) into a search engine (Google, Yahoo, etc) the resultant answer gets you as close to the top of the heap as possible. The key to effective SEO is to ensure that the words on your site are carefully chosen and the sentences carefully crafted such that they reflect your own unique message. Again, this is part and parcel to the basic service I provide.

Disk Space - Also known as Storage Capacity - This is the measure of how much of your data is stored on your host’s server. Hosts typically have packages which provide a set amount of disk space and bandwidth for a recurring charge.

Bandwidth - Also known as Transfer Volume - This is the measure of how much of your data is downloaded from the host’s server to individual computers worldwide. Like disk space, it’s typically measured monthly.

If I’ve lost you with all this, it’s an indication that you need the services of someone like me to help with your site.

So now what? Click for the answer.