1. Your own domain.
Your domain is the online address for your website and email, it might look like this: www.thisismybusiness.com.au. It is where your customers find you.
There are many options for your domain and your extension (the .com, .com.au or .au part of the address).
We suggest choosing an Australian extension (.au or .com.au or .org.au etc) where possible because Australian customers trust other Aussie businesses and often prefer to shop locally. You can choose a .com.au, .org.au, .net.au and one of the brand new, highly sought-after .au domains HERE.
2. Hosting
All websites and email services need a place for their data and information to reside. This is called hosting. These are the physical servers and hard drives that host your website, email and data and make it available for the internet – and your customers – to see.
Choosing the right hosting is extremely important. Choose a company that has enough available space for you and won’t crowd your customers out because of limited bandwidth. Most companies offer various levels of shared and managed hosting according to your needs and budget.
Make sure your host provides excellent security, backups and service. Where your website is hosted is like the suburb your home is in. Choosing the best suburb possible gives you peace of mind, quality and security.
All-in-one website packages like WIX and Squarespace package the hosting together with the website. This makes getting started easy but gives you fewer options to upgrade as you grow and need more bandwidth, and no control over where your data is located.
3. Your Website
Once you have a domain and hosting – you are ready for your website. There is so much to think about when choosing and building a website – so here are our top 3 tips:
- Create a faster, better website with clean code that is developed by a professional. Speed and design are important because customers form their first impression within the first 8 seconds of looking at your site! Search engines evaluate your speed and use it in their ranking too.
- Seriously consider WordPress. WordPress websites are fully customisable and will be ready for you to add pages, a cart, a customer or staff portal and other custom applications as you grow.
- Choose a semi-managed WordPress website to get regular security check-ups, theme and plugin updates and prevent the risk of downtime, compromise and hacking. Read more HERE (link to other blog)
4. Antivirus
Quality, up-to-date antivirus software is not optional for businesses that rely on their website, email, and computers for their business and operations. Technology is rapidly progressing and so is malware created by thieves and hackers who are looking for vulnerabilities and opportunities to steal your data and scam your customers.
Investing in quality software such as ESET antivirus (home use) or Endpoint Antivirus (for commercial use) helps to reduce your risk by protecting your computer from viruses and malware, helping prevent attacks and stopping hackers from accessing your system.
5. Professional Email (and applications)
A custom and professional email address helps you build a strong brand and demonstrates your business credibility.
A full-featured email service allows you to interact with a professional profile and take advantage of features such as calendar invitations, meeting confirmations, shared documents, and integrated online meeting platforms. These make online business interactions easy and trustworthy.
Microsoft 365 [link to webpage] is the industry standard for business and offers features that other providers simply cannot. Choose your affordable entry-level email solution, and upgrade when your business is ready.
WE OFFER THESE!
Here at Perth Web Hosting, we are a local Perth company offering a full suite of products, with various options to suit your business needs and budget.
If you are a start-up on a tight budget, we will help you get set up with services that will allow seamless expansion as you grow.
For larger and more complex businesses we offer a full range of website solutions, dedicated hosting and supporting services so that your customer experience and data management are the best they can be. Spend less time on the systems and more time serving your customers.