Website Basics

If you’ve never had a website before, following is some basic website information that may be helpful while planning your Internet marketing strategy.

 

What are the components I will need?

Any website requires three main essentials to work:

1. Domain Name - the name/address/URL of your website, such as www.integritivity.com.  
2. Website files - a group of website files that make up the content of your website. These files can be built by web designer, such as IntegriTivity.
3. Host – a location on the Internet where files will be stored.

 

What should I name my website?

Your domain name has become increasingly important in how you rank in search engine results.  In other words, Google evaluates your domain name when determining whether your website meets search criteria of its users. Your domain name should be something easy to remember, but if you can put a keyword in it, you’ll be giving yourself an extra boost from the start.  In other words, www.mathmasters-tutoring.com is better than www.mathmasters.com.  Words in your domain are best when separated by a hyphen. 

 

How much does a website typically cost?

 

1. Your Domain Name must be re-registered annually, usually at a cost between $2 and $15 per year (you can register multiple years at a time for a discount). Many domain registrars offer coupons. Beware, registrars often try to get you to renew earlier than you really need to, and other companies will try to get you to register your domain name with them instead. Check IntegriTivity's Recommended Partners page for domain promo codes.
    
2. The cost of the website files themselves varies according to what pages you want to have and how complicated they are. This portion is dependent on the rate of your web designer.  Integritivity has affordable web design rates and doesn't charge for time not actually spent on your project (in other words, you aren't billed by the quarter-year or quarter-hour; many maintenance items only take a few minutes). But it’s also because IntegriTivity is FAST!
   
   
3. Host – Large hosting companies will give you a hosting account for between $5-8 per month, billed on an annual basis.  In other words, you can usually get your first year of hosting for around $60.  However, the rate usually goes up to about double that in the following year, so it's often worth paying for a 3-year hosting plan up front, if you can afford it.    

 

Do you recommend any particular host?

Yes, see the Recommended Partners page for links and promo codes.

 

 

How does my website get found on Google (or other search engine)?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the way to let search engines know you're out there. Many factors affect your search ranking (your position when someone searches for the terms you wish to be found by). It is rumored that Google has over 200 elements in its secret search algorithms! Many of these factors are built into your pages but there are other strategies as well.  Integritivity specializes in optimizing your website on-page and implementing off-page strategies to get you a good search engine results position with Google and others.  IntegriTivity can also help with Internet Marketing, which is more about getting your website used by any method, not just search engines.