Before
you go on the web have a think first about why you want to do
it. Ask yourself some questions:
- What new information
am I going to add to that already available on the World
Wide Web?
- Is my information
accurate?
- Is my information
entertaining?
- Am I creating a presence
on the web to advertise my business?
- Am I offering a service
on the World Wide Web?
- Do I have the time
to keep my information up to date?
If
you can't answer yes to at least one of the first five of these
questions then maybe you should reconsider before you add a
page to the World Wide Web.
Web
pages basically fall into three categories, those of the individual
or organization, academic pages and those of commercial firms.
Each has a lot to offer and a lot to gain by publishing pages.
- The individual may
promote their hobby or talent and in doing so gain a clearer
understanding of it.
- An organization can
promote itself and inform the general public.
- An academic institution
can promote itself and share or publish knowledge at low
cost.
- A commercial firm
may advertise it's products or services and target this
advertisement at those who need to see it - far more effective
than blanket advertising in the media.
- A commercial firm
may use it's pages to sell it's products or services.
What
ever you offer the World Wide Web you first need to get a
web site and publish on it your pages. Which web site you
should use depends on your requirements.
If
you are a private individual
You can probably get a free web site which will fit your requirements.
You will get a URL which shows the free web site domain e.g..
http://www2.cybercities.com/j/jaydax
Either your ISP will offer you free space or you can get free
space from an organization such as one in the table below.
Perhaps
the easiest of these to use is the Zyweb site, however this
site is limited to creating only 4 'pages' in it's free membership
plan. Xoom and Geocities both offer simple web page creation
but Geocities now inserts a Geocities logo in the bottom right
hand corner of the page and opens a advertisement window also
which gets irritating after a while!
All the free web sites
restrict their users to non-commercial use and forbid what
they consider unsuitable material (that doesn't mean however
you can not find this on some of their pages). Most of the
free web site organizations will request you purchase web
space if your site becomes too popular and receives too many
'hits'.
Examples
A
Night in the Forest - Brandi's
Web Page
If
you are an organization or commercial firm and want simply to
advertise
You will probably be better off by buying web space and your
own domain name. You will get a URL such as http://www.jaydax.co.uk
You can buy your web space through your ISP or the commercial
areas of 'free web page' organizations or from one of the many
firms which sell web space. If your web site becomes extremely
popular you may be better placing a server at your ISP's location
or even obtaining a permanent connection to the World Wide Web
via a leased line.
If you are a business
you may like to consider getting someone else to manage
your web site for you, thereby taking a lot of the load
from you.
Examples
Friends of
the Earth - Greenpeace
- Dr. Pepper
- Hershey's
-
If you
are a commercial firm and wish to sell on the web
You will be better off by either placing a server at your ISP's
location or by using a leased line connection to the web to
your own server. Once connected, you may advertise your products,
take orders, take credit card payments, respond to customer
enquiries and collect information from the public and from your
staff. To do this properly you will require a full time webmaster.
This is not a cheap option but could potentially increase your
sales and give you access to a world wide market.
If your firm is well
known you will get lots of visitors, if not, however, you
will need to find some way of attracting visitors to your
website. Many firms do this by offering a free service of
some kind.
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