Having a Web Site, The Basics

The Internet and Domain Names

The Internet is a collection of millions of Web sites connected together. Each Web site is assigned a unique URL (Uniform Resource Locator), commonly referred to as a domain name. This name is the web address of a specific page on the Internet and is the name of your Web site. Generally the domain name is preceded by "http://www." and ends with ".com". A domain name is the similar to a phone number, but is only used on the Internet. It is how reach your Web site. All domain names are unique, an may only be used once.

Web Sites

Everything on the Internet is stored somewhere on a computer, called a server. These servers, located all over the world are like storage containers for the Internet. Web sites are just files, including words and images stored these servers. When someone types a domain name in an Internet browser, they send a request to the particular server storing the Web site's content. That computer, connected to the Internet, displays the files the visitor wants to see. This requires lots of hardware and software working in the background that the visitor never sees.

Putting a Web Site on the Internet

To have your Web site on the Internet, you must use a web server to store your files. You can buy the equipment and software to do this from your home, but it is very expensive. Most people decide to rent space on someone else's server through a web host. This is what is referred to as hosting costs.

1. How does Griffin Directories get traffic to SeeFloridaOnline.com?

Through a variety of means, which include promoting our site in the search engines, print media advertisements, crosslinks with other sites and pay-per-click search engines. We do not disclose the exact details of what we do....that would be like giving away the secret of our success.

2. Do you promote my page as well?

Yes, and some of our customers come up for searches that our own site doesn't even come up for. We do not guarantee that you will, only that we will keep pushing your own individual page in the search engines on a regular basis.

3. I want you to put words in my web page that cause my site to come up for certain searches. What can you do for me?

We will happily change your page, free of charge, and then you can submit your page to all the search engines you want. However, putting certain words in your site, doesn't necessarily mean that your page will appear in the top of a search.

4. I don't have a Web site. Can you help me?

We have made many sites for our clients. They range from the simple $100 Web site, up to the $2000 variety. See our client list for more details. Fees are based on an hourly rate. Estimates are free. An average Web site, consisting of 6-8 pictures, your logo, a map, your rates, and your copy can usually be completed in 4-5 hours.

5. Do I really need my own domain name?

If you are serious about investing advertising dollars on the Internet, don't create a Web site without having your own domain name. Your domain name gives you a permanent identity on the Internet. It also gives you complete control over your Web site.

When you publish a Web site address containing someone else's name, you are giving them free advertising. They don't do that for you! Plus, on your Web page is probably a banner or link to someone else's Web site. That takes your visitors away and sends them to your competitors. Did you know some search engines -- including Yahoo -- do not list sub-domains? Those are visitors to your site that can not find you!

With your own name, you have the ability to have an email address from your own domain name, such as info@yourname.com. It looks much more professional than using the email address supplied by your Internet Service Provider, such as AOL or a free service such as Yahoo or Hotmail.

5. What is Hosting?

After a Web site is completed, it needs to be published on the World Wide web. To do this, a copy of the site must be placed on a Web server (computer) that is connected to the global network that we call the Internet. This is most commonly referred to as "Hosting". The fees charged are for "renting" of the space on the Web server.

There are a number of companies around the world that will give you Hosting server space at no charge. You will, however, be required to include banners or icons on your pages to promote their free hosting service and their sponsors. In many cases with a "Free Host" you will end up with banners and ads from the web sites of your competition being placed on your pages. You will not be able to regulate content of those ads and you will be advertising your competitors.

Another reason we never suggest the use of "Free Hosts" is because your web site will become just a secondary web page located within the Free Host's web site. Secondary pages are not recognized by many search engines and some free hosting services have even been banned from being listed with major search engines.

We offer excellent paid hosting services in which your Domain Name will be shown online as a primary address with only the content that you place in it. There will be no ads or banners placed on your site other than your own

6. How do I know how many people are seeing my site?

Web traffic analysis software is available to create reports detailing this information. Most hosting services provide reporting software as part of their services. If your host doesn't provide statistical reporting, there is free software available. Ask your Web master to install it on your site. Keep in mind, every reporting tool handles your data slightly differently. It is difficult to compare traffic numbers generated by different softwares.

When discussing traffic, many people talk in terms of hits. This term is meaningless. A Hit is a request for anything on your Web page. When someone looks at your Web site, your computer requests each image and photo. Thus each image creates a hit. How many do you have on each page? That is how many hits one person creates when they look at that one page.

Counting sessions is a more accurate way of determining the number of visitors. A session follows a visitor from the time they enter the site, until they leave or are idle for 15 minutes.

7. There are so many paid listing services, and they all want my money. How do I compare their services?

Most traffic reports have a category called referrer. It lists information regarding Web sites that are bringing visitors to your site. This is very important information. It can even include search engines. These reports allows you to decide how best to spend your advertising dollars.

If you are paying for links on Web sites, it is really important to know how the site is linking to you. There are unethical Webmasters that can inflate the number of hits coming to your site. If one referrer , has five or ten times the numbers of other referers, that is probably what is happening. If you want more information about how that can happen, call us, we will explain it in as non-technical terms as we can.