Six website words you need to know
It’s my mission to help small business owners accomplish the daunting first step of creating content for, designing, and launching their new websites. My hope and goal is that our creative partnership leaves them empowered to take over management of their websites after our work together is done.
Website technology, explained in six words
As I worked with clients, I noticed there were six words that came up in questions to me during our consultations. Even if you’ve never created a website, you may find some of these terms familiar. So I decided to collect these terms and their definitions so you could get an overview of them all in one place. Becoming familiar with these website components and how they work together helps you manage and maintain a healthy website for your business.
Domain
The domain is like the address sign in front of your house. It’s a unique name by which your website is found on the Internet, such as myfirstbiz.com. There are two parts to the domain name: the business name and the top-level domain. The business name is the part of the domain name that is unique to your business. The top-level domain is a choice you make from a list of available choices, such as .com or .biz.
With the Squarespace websites I create, you don't need a domain before you start. You can wait until you've created your website to get the domain. Then register your domain name and renew it from year to year to maintain ownership. If you do already have a domain, you can bring it over to Squarespace before you launch the website. The domain is registered for a year or sometimes multiple years, but you must continue to renew the registration to keep your website active. You only own the domain for as long as you pay the registration fees, so this is an ongoing cost to keep your website running.
Host
The web host is like a house you rent. This company provides the equipment to store the text and pictures you use for your website. It also provides the management platform and developer code that merge your domain name with your website files to display your website on the Internet. Web hosts often provide do-it-yourself website building programs (as Squarespace does). They also provide a way to connect your website to a domain, providing the equipment and platform to make your website visible. You pay for a monthly or yearly hosting plan to have those services, so it’s an ongoing cost to keep your website active.
Website
A website is like the furnishings you bring into your rented house. It's made from the text and pictures that you add, combined with files provided by your web host to allow your website to be shown in website browsers like Chrome and Safari or on mobile devices and tablets. Your website is identified on the Internet by the unique domain name you chose when you registered the domain, which is connected to your website files. The best thing about creating a do-it-yourself website is that you don't need to know how to write code to make the text and pictures display properly.
Do-it-yourself websites, like those on Squarespace, are also responsive, meaning they look equally good on a desktop computer, a laptop, a tablet, and a phone. The website text and pictures change width to accommodate the width of the screen.
Page
A page shows all the information you can scroll through from top to bottom without having to click a link to go to another page on the website. Websites for a small, individually owned business usually have anywhere from four to seven pages of information. You fill a page with pictures, text, buttons, links, and online forms. You decide where the elements that make up a page are placed and how they are styled so they are visually pleasing, as well as easy to read and understand. All the pages together form your website.
The Home page is the entry point for your website. What you do and actions people can take on your website should be located “above the fold” on the Home page, which means visitors should see that information close to the top of the page when they open the website.
I also want to remind you that pictures on your website need to be legal to use. If you don't have your own good-quality photos, download pictures from pixabay.com and unsplash.com, which are free for commercial use. If you have to buy stock photos, shutterstock.com has reasonably-priced options.
SEO
The goal of search engine optimization (SEO) is to increase the odds that your website will show up as a suggestion when people do a Google search for certain keywords or phrases. SEO is improved if text and image filenames and captions on your website include the words people are searching for. Use the Google Webmaster tools to help Google find your website after you launch it.
Navigation
People navigate to different pages of your website using clickable links that are usually placed at the top of your website or, if you have many pages, at the bottom of your website. Each page gets its own navigation link when you create it. You decide the order of those links. The Home page is usually the leftmost link (if it’s shown at all) and the Contact page is the rightmost link in the top navigation menu.
Ready for the next step?
I recommend choosing Squarespace for your DIY website builder because of its many beautiful designs and add-ons like scheduling and mailing list campaigns. Choose a design you like and create your pages. When you’re ready to show your website to the world, buy a Squarespace hosting plan, choose and register your new domain, and launch your website. Then sit back and prepare to be complimented!
Working with me
As they work with me, my clients begin to understand website technology as part of the website creation process. If you need help creating your new website, please check out my Services page and see if I can be of help. I also pass along a few perks with my professional membership as a Squarespace Circle member.
