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CONTACT SCBJ Kurt Batdorf, Editor kbatdorf@scbj.com

Tech Talk: No excuse today for going without a Web site

We have been big proponents of business Web sites for years.

Back at the turn of the century it could be expensive and time consuming to have a Web site created. You needed someone to create the graphics, another person to create the code to display the graphics and yet another to set up hosting and e-mail.

Adding advanced options like eCommerce, blogs and any kind of interactive forms was pretty much out of the question for any business with a limited budget.

Today however, a mere 10 years later, it's almost too easy to create your place in cyber space. While exact figures are hard to nail down, it is widely believed that millions of new pages (not necessarily sites) are created every day. Some are slick and very professional. Most are pretty basic. All are accessible to almost anyone with a computer and an Internet connection.

That being said, it still amazes us to see there are small businesses that have no Web presence. There are a great many tools that allow even the most technically challenged business owners to create and post a basic Web page.

For example, Microsoft, Google and Intuit (QuickBooks) provide fast and easy domain name registration and tools to create a basic site in less than an hour.

Locally, GoGoPin (www.gogpin.com) is rolling out what appears to be a powerful platform that claims to allow users to create a Web site in less than ten minutes (we'll put that to the test in a future column).
The challenge with using a service like the ones mentioned above is that small companies go under and companies small and large change their focus or modify product offerings in ways that can have a serious impact on the do-it-yourself Web publisher. We recommend you explore the offerings of several providers before deciding whether this approach is for you.

If you want to have ultimate control over cost and content you may want to consider putting all the pieces in place yourself. We're going to break the process down for anyone interested in starting from scratch to create a basic Web site for business or personal use. It's not as difficult as you may think, but there are things to be aware of as you carve out your corner of the Internet.

Step One: register your domain name. Your domain name is what people will use to get to your Web site. There are many services that allow you to check the availability of domain names and register them immediately.

Visit sites like GoDaddy.com or Namesecure.com or simply search for “domain hosting” using your favorite search engine.

Step Two: set up Web hosting and e-mail service. Once you have your domain name you'll need a place to store your Web site files and handle your e-mail. In almost all cases you can set up these services at the same time you register your domain name. It's a good idea to research the plans prior to committing. Many of the “free” hosting and e-mail plans are ad-driven. You will also be presented with costly options that may not be necessary. We recommend buying the basic services and upgrading later if needs be.

Step Three: get the tools you need to start creating your site. This can seem like a daunting task, but it doesn't need to be. There are several tools that allow you to create “WYSIWYG” (What You See Is What You Get) Web content without the need to learn any arcane coding languages.

Our favorite is CoffeCup software (www.coffeecup.com). Their Visual Site Editor software lets you created quality Web pages in a very short time.

Our only complaint — if you can call it that (aside from the “I Love Coffee In a Cup” ditty that plays upon successful installation of the software) — is that there are literally dozens of products you can add to the Site Designer that will allow you to do almost anything.

There's the Form Builder, the Shopping Cart Creator, the Website Access Manager (password protection for sensitive pages), the Photo Gallery Creator, Form Builder and so many more. Thankfully, you can buy these programs in bundles and they all work together. Best of all, there are video tutorials for most products. And you can get free trials of pretty much every offering.

Lastly: Create Content. This is arguably the most difficult part. You need content that's descriptive yet brief and easy to read. You also need graphics that are distinctive and yet legal to use (no, you can't just “borrow” graphics you like from elsewhere on the Internet).

For the text use the same techniques you do for creating brochures and other marketing materials. Invite others to edit and review and feel free to borrow from your existing marketing materials. Consistency across your media is a good thing.

For images, use sources like iStock Photo (istockphoto.com) or search for “stock photos” or “royalty-free photos” on the Internet. You can get great images for very little money. Just realize your hot graphics may pop up in the most surprising places. Anyone can — and does — use these images.

The bottom line: there's no excuse for not having your business on the Web. If you have the budget it's great to be able to hire a graphic designer and Web developer to build your Web site. But if that's not practical right now, then take the bull by the horns and do it yourself.

Sven Mogelgaard is the owner of Mill Creek-based Byte Slaves Inc. (www.byteslaves.com) and can be reached by calling 425-482-9529. Will Rutherford is the owner of Bothell-based Computer Concepts (www.conceptsnet.com) and can be reached by calling 425-481-3666.