This document provides a step-by-step guide to setting up a professional website. This
document offers alternative choices and contains money saving tips and tricks. In
addition, this document contains a series of appendixes that can be customized to
further elucidate the requirements of the website. These appendixes include:
determining the functionality of the website, HTML resources, and web design software
comparison. This document can be useful for individuals or small businesses that want
more information about how to create a functioning and proficient website.
Ten Steps to Creating a
Functional Website
An Organized Approach for Establishing Your Presence
on the World Wide Web
Ten Steps to Creating a Functional Website
This checklist will walk you through the steps in getting a website up and running, and will
provide you with information you need to know in order to build the site that is right for you, and
that fits within your budgetary constraints. Where you have alternate choices, this document will
point that out, and includes money-saving tips and tricks.
STEP ONE: Determine Functionality of the Site
Before you can begin the process of designing your site, which is for most of us the fun part, you
need to figure out what you need your site to do for you and for the users of and visitors to your
site. In order to make this step a little easier for you, we have included a worksheet attached as
Appendix A. This worksheet will help you to consider all of the functionality that will be needed
to make your site effective for its intended purpose.
STEP TWO: Establish Your Domain
Definition of Domain: A domain is an identifier
of an Internet site, made up of characters (usually
words and dashes), and separated by periods. An
example is “www.example.com”.
The most difficult part of establishing your domain name will probably be coming up with what
you want it to be called and finding one that isn’t already taken. Domain names are available for
no cost, or you can pay a fee to have a little more convenience (and choice) in setting one up.
These fees can range from $10.00 to $35.00 or more. Think, first, however, about what type of
domain you want.
The most widely recognized are the ‘dot com’ sites, as well as .net, and .org. These days,
however, domains can have a variety of different extensions. There is a non-profit organization
commissioned by the government, and known as the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names
and Numbers (ICANN), that oversees top-level domain name system management. ICANN
recently allowed for new top-level domains that include the following extension types: .aero;
.biz; .coop; .info; .museum; .name; and .pro.
You will first need to check to see if the domain name you would like to have is available. A
domain name registrar can assist you with this. The registrars are entities that have been given
authority by ICANN to register domain names and will usually offer a selection of web hosting
services as well. You can find a partial list of these registrars on the internet by typing the search
term, “list of domain name registrars,” into your web browser.
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When you select the registrar you wish to use, there will be two basic steps; (1) search for
availability of the name you want; and (2) finish the process if yours is available. You will need
to be somewhat flexible here, as the name you have selected as being ideal for you might have
already been taken, and you will need to keep trying until you find one that is not. Although
there are millions of domain names already in use, don’t be discouraged, as there are millions
more that no one has thought of yet.
Tips and Tricks: Be careful during this process that you are not agreeing to other
services that you do not wish to purchase.
STEP THREE: Obtain a Hosting Site
Definition of Hosting Site: Companies that provide space on a
server for websites. These companies may own or lease the servers
on which the web site will reside.
There are several things that you must consider during this step in the process.
Cost: If choosing a “free” site, you must consider whether or not it is really without cost. Sure,
there may not be a fee to pay up front, but you could end up paying in the form of allowing
advertisers (not of your choosing) to post ads on your site – sometimes even ads that are for
products or services that are in direct competit