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Soooo....... You're finally on the Internet! You have an Internet Service Provider (ISP, sometimes referred to as dial-up service) and the provider includes, to your amazement, FREE website space!! Wow, people are so nice out here, eh?
Before you begin thinking that your current profitable business can utilize the FREE website space provided by your ISP, take just a moment and read through a few rules and lingo of the Internet world. Be aware that your Internet Service Provider may not have the time required to fully educate you on this subject. You need to make it your responsibility to become informed about the pros and cons of each offering and then decide the webspace that is best, based on your specific needs. Remember, each type of webspace has different qualities and benefits.
To begin, the FREE webspace that comes from your ISP is usually for personal home websites. Now, just what is a personal home webpage?
Basically, the focus should be on the word personal. The difference between personal website space and business website should seem fairly clear, however, let's take a closer look.
If you want to place family photos and poetry on a website, the FREE personal website space would be perfect for you. Moral of the story: Your family will probably not find you by using a search engine; you'll need to notify all interested parties on your own.
If you are running a business (home-based or otherwise) and selling items to make a profit, you may need to think about moving up to a business account.
Usually only a few dollars more, but worth it if you are serious about marketing on the Internet.
The key? If you are serious about a website to market your products, you'll want a business account, as well as a domain name. (We'll talk about this further in a bit.)
Now note, when you do have a free website, do not be fooled in that the website address will look like www.nfl.com (nice and short; easy to remember). It will more than likely look like: www.ispguy.com/johnsmith or www.ispguy.com/~johnsmith
A website utilizing this type of address is like renting an apartment. Everyone goes to the same location (www.ispguy.com) just to a different apartment (johnsmith).
Most of the time, this type of website will not be recognized by search engines because the majority will only search the first page (home page) of a website, which in this case is www.ispguy.com. Since this is a personal website, you'll need to notify family and friends of the website address yourself.
The example using www.nfl.com is only available if you purchase a domain name for your website. Each domain can be compared to a single family home address. 123 Grove Street. One family lives there. No apartments - single owner. There is much more to know about domain names. Be sure to ask someone with that specific knowledge base. Check the pricing and registration costs, too!
The disadvantage of using personal website space for business use is that the site cannot be registered with the majority of the top search engines. Again, most search engines and directories will only register the first page of a website.
Sooooo -- if you are out to market your business on the Internet, think about securing a domain name utilizing a business account with your Internet Service Provider.
Gail Hughes is owner of A+ Computer Solutions, LLC
A+ Computer Solutions offers:
Website Marketing services (development & design training available)
Software Training & Consulting for Microsoft Office Products® (Access, Word, Excel, Outlook)
Is your site just for collecting cyberdust? Then it's time to take an informed look and make some required changes to make your site "search engine friendly?". If you're serious about getting traffic to your site, please contact us. Contact us to apply Basic Website Marketing and Design Strategies to your site.
A+
Computer Solutions, Inc.
Boise, Idaho
Phone: (208) 377-1794
email
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last updated 11.24.04
