Your Business: It All Starts With A Domain Name

Get your business online with a helping hand from our online services.
The process of registering a domain name and launching a website is so simple that it can be done in a day, even by the most timid internet newcomer. This is how WestHost can help you to create a customer-ready website within a matter of hours…

1. Domain registration. It all starts with a domain name – the unique identifier for a website, and the address people will type into the browser bar in their chosen search engine. While this should relate to your chosen brand, it should also be a name that can be spelt easily. Try to choose something catchy and easy to remember, with shorter website addresses more likely to stick in people’s minds. If you offer products and/or services in a particular area, a domain name that acknowledges your location is handy for attracting local custom.
2. Website hosting options. Any website needs an associated email address for communications, so every WestHost domain name comes with a free email account. There are numerous options for developing and customizing the site itself; many people have created a WordPress website and want to get it online, while others need a dedicated business platform that can handle online orders and purchases. All of these options (among many others) can be selected from our menu of Essential, Business and Unlimited Business hosting packages.
3. Website/eCommerce site construction. Having chosen the type of site you want and given it a unique domain name, the next step is to create the perfect website. Or at the very least create a good first draft. You can edit and amend your site as much as you want through our bespoke CHI content management system, so you can always add more later. Choose from over a hundred professionally designed templates that look equally good on smartphones and laptops, and include as many photos, social media links, maps and pages as you want. You can add picture galleries and slideshows, link to video content on YouTube, and even offer customer contact forms.
4. Security. As you click ‘Publish’ and launch your new website to the world, you’re allowing anyone to view and access it, from potential customers to persistent criminals. Fortunately, WestHost provide standard security features that will automatically safeguard your site against threats. We offer Secure Socket Layer protection, which enables people to send information and make purchases safe in the knowledge that their credit card details and personal info are protected. Your website will be hosted on a secure network server with the latest integrated defences, so your content will remain visible and safe for people to use – at all times, and from any location in the world.
5. Online marketing. We’ve been promoting customer websites for almost twenty years, so we know a thing or two about getting your site seen by the right people. We can offer advice on exploiting the huge (and free) potential of social media accounts, plus ways to optimize your website’s content for search engines. This is a process known as Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, and our Website SEO Guru tool can offer free insight into improving search engine ranking results. Regularly updated content is another great way to achieve this, and we encourage our customers to create promotional blogs that inform and promote in equal measure, while also boosting your site’s position in search results…

Get started on your online journey today with online services from WestHost.