At Primomedia, new clients often approach us with a basic idea of what they want but typically are not aware of the more technical aspects of beginning a web design project. So, to help make the initial consultation process smoother and faster, below you will find all the things your web designer will ask for before starting your website and how you can get them!
1. WEB HOSTING – WHAT IS IT?
Web hosting is quite simply where your website is stored and a web hosting provider is a service that connects your website to the server where it is stored. Think of your website as a party, the web hosting is the “host” of your party. There are a range of hosting providers out there, the tough part is picking a host service that is affordable, user friendly (easy to navigate) and preferably based in or near Australia so your site loads faster. Over the years, we’ve worked with plenty of hosting providers and for your convenience, we’ve narrowed them down to our top 3:
- PANTHUR – Domains from $12 a year and hosting from $5 a month
- NETVIRTUE – Domains from $24 a year and hosting from $4 a month
- VENTRAIP – Domains from $13 a year and hosting from $7 a month
Organising your website’s hosting with one of these three providers is a pretty painless and easy process – but if you’re having trouble you can always contact the support team or ask your web designer to do it for you. However, make sure the account is set up under YOUR name using YOUR contact details, YOUR business name and YOUR ABN. This will ensure that you have full control of your website and help avoid any legal pain in the future.
2. A DOMAIN NAME? WHAT’S THAT?
A domain name is what you type into the URL search bar when looking for a specific business or web page. You can’t have a website without a domain name and it should optimally be your business name. Nearly every hosting provider will allow you to pair a domain name with your hosting package – you can also search for availability of the domain you want, so keep this in mind when choosing a name for your business. To make it easier for yourself and your web designer, it’s preferable to purchase your domain name and hosting from the same provider. The hosting providers we have listed above in the previous section sell domains at affordable rates.
3. HOW DO I GET A LOGO?
Your logo is a critical aspect of your website. Not only is it your corporate identity, it allows your web designer to choose fonts and colours to use on your website that will flow seamlessly with your logo. Your logo should be crisp, clear and professional and when complete make sure your graphic designer sends it to you in JPEG, PNG and PDF format. If you aren’t sure how to check this, simply right click on the image file and click “Properties” at the bottom of the menu. In the box that appears, there will be a row called “Type of File” – this is what you are looking for. At Primomedia, we work exclusively with Ben Clark Design and would highly recommend them based on their consistent high quality work and affordable rates.
4. IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE I NEED?
The last element we would recommend you prepare is high quality photographs of your products, services or place of business. And by high quality, we mean clear, crisp photos of 1920 x 1080 pixels or larger. A large clear photo allows your web designer to crop and scale as necessary, whereas a small blurry photo is quite limited usage wise. If you don’t have any of your own photos, your web designer will source relevant images for use on the website but we always prefer to use your own. If you are wanting an e-commerce website, original and high quality photographs of your products are a must.
Additionally for e-commerce websites, come prepared with a list of products, details about your products, prices and shipping and payment options. We also recommend that if you require a point of sales software integrated into your website, have it paid for and set up from the software end to reduce wait time on the completion of your website.
If you have any other questions about how to prepare for your new website, drop a comment below or email us directly on info@primomedia.com.au. Our friendly team are available 24 hours 7 days.
