Web business explained

To run a website you typically need to use three different services. You most likely already have internet services provided by an internet service provider (ISP). Your ISP connects you to the internet so you can send and receive email, visit web pages and move files to an from different computers. Your ISP may be your phone company, cable company or a third party.

To actually serve web pages you need a web hosting service, or web host. A web host provides the computers and internet connections that make it possible to serve web pages to a specific portion of the internet, the world wide web. To provide your site with a name, like www.google.com or www.amazon.com you also need a domain name server (DNS). Without that your website can only be accessed by its IP address, which consists of a string of numbers like 127.0.0.1, which is not the easiest address to remember.

It is possible for any computer connected to the internet to act as a web server. However there are a large number of good reasons for not hosting your own web site. Web servers need a high level of security in today’s environment of hackers, crackers and viruses. Unless you are very knowledgeable and vigilant you don’t want to go there. In addition to the security concerns, you probably can’t provide the connection speed, bandwidth, or reliability of a good hosting company. I can go on listing reasons for not hosting your own web site, however, the bottom line is that most of us should not even consider hosting out own web sites, especially considering the low cost of professional web hosting services. The only exceptions involve organizations large enough to have a dedicated information technology or services (IT or IS) staff.

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A logo that accurately reflects your company is something that should not be left up to the typical web designer. I’ve created a number for clients and most have been happy with the web work but then ask for a copy of the graphic for their print media. What looks good on a web page doesn’t necessarily look good on a letterhead or business card.

Basically, what I’m saying is that logo design is a specialized field that is much more in the realm of graphic design than web design. When I think about this it seems a bit silly to actually recommend against my services. But the truth is the good print people that I’ve worked with have more experience with logo design and are generally able to come up with more versatile designs than I have or most any other web specialist that I know of. And they definitely do better than than people who practice web design without any graphic training at all.

What prompts this post is a request for a reciprocal link that I received from Kenneth at Kustom Logos.

I honestly don’t know much about the quality of the work offered by his firm. The logo samples listed on the portfolio page look nice and the prices are attractive. Not actually having worked with the service, I can’t say for sure, but the link request that I’m honoring here got me to thinking about the relative skill sets of web and print designers. Very often people offer both services but honestly I’ve seen few web designers, even highly skilled ones do a good job with print design and vice versa. Oh, the job gets done but not at the same level it would if specialists are contracted with. It does pay to hire people with narrower but deeper skill sets.

If you are considering refreshing your current website or in having a new site built, it is in your best interest to hire a designer or firm that will build you a future proof site that is designed to web standards.

I first read the term future proof in relation to websites in Jeffrey Zeldman’s book Designing with Web Standards. Zeldman’s premise is simple. Current web pages work in current web browsers, but if you want to insure that your site will work with future web browsers then then building a standards compliant website is the best bet. A good way to think of web standards is as a building code for web pages. Houses built to code are more sound than ones that aren’t. The same can be said of websites. However, unlike building codes that are enforced, web standards are voluntary.
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We all hate spam and in 2003 Congress attempted to make email spam illegal with the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 Wikipedia Article (actual text of the law here).

As with any legislation, the CAN-SPAM Act is a bit hard to read but fortunately there are a few simple guidelines that you can follow to keep yourself in compliance.
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Many web designers started in print first and bring habits and expectations from the print world to their web design practice. That shortens the learning curve and allows well trained designers to incorporate proven design  patterns  into their web pages. But web and print pages are not the same, and some print practices can actually hurt your website.
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Business blogging is a great way to promote your website and can even earn you direct income. It is not, however, a magic bullet. Blogging most likely won’t make you rich. It won’t instantly increase your page rank or bring you tons of visitors. It’s just a tool. If used correctly, blogging will help your business. If used incorrectly, it’s just a waste of time and resources.
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