Now that you've made the decision to create an Internet presence for
your small business, what do you do next?
Name and Address Please
First of all, you will want to choose a
domain name for your Web site and register it.
The domain name is that part of the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) that
tells a domain name server using the DNS (domain name system) where to
find a Web page on the Internet. The domain name is mapped to an Internet
protocol (IP) address (a physical point on the Internet). For example, the
domain name http://www.DFSBusiness.com locates an Internet
address for "DFSBusiness.com" at Internet point 161.999.999.999.
The "com" part of the domain name reflects the purpose of the organization
(edu = educational, com = commercial, gov = government). More than one
domain name can be mapped to the same Internet address. This allows
multiple individuals, businesses, and organizations to have separate
Internet identities while sharing the same Internet server.
You can now register domain names up to 67 characters in length,
including the ".com" extension. There are a couple of places to do this,
such as register.com and domainregister.com
Be sure your domain name is "catchy" and related to what your business
actually is. If possible, register the name of your business (it may be
taken--that is why you should have other options in mind).
Building Your Site
Now that you've got a name, you'll want to set up your site. In order
to do that, you will need a way to build it and a place to host it. There
are a number of options. You can hire a professional Web developer to
build your site (costs will vary, depending on the depth and detail that
you want your Web site to have) and an Internet Service Provider (ISP) to
host your site.
Now you are set to go. Your Web site is a blank canvas waiting for your
personal touch.
