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HOW TO GET YOUR BUSINESS ON THE INTERNET

You know what the Internet is. You’ve heard and read the success stories. Maybe you’ve even surfed and seen companies like yours, maybe even your main competitor, on the Internet. How do you get in on the action?

With the rapid growth of the Internet, more and more of your potential customers are going to be online looking for the products and services you offer. Where once they may have looked in the yellow pages for their needs, they will be turning more often to the Internet. Can you afford to lose business because you’re not there?

Believe it or not, getting your business on the Internet is very easy. Simply follow the five steps I have outlined below, and you will have everything you need to be accessible to your customers on the Internet.
Step 1-Register Your Domain Name

It is important to register for a domain name so your company will have a unique identity on the Internet. This domain name is how your company will be known on the web, for your website address and email. For example, if you own a company called Acme Enterprises, you might want to register your domain name as acme.com. Your web address would then be http://www.acme.com and your email name would be addressed as username@acme.com.

Registering for your domain name is easy. Most Internet Service Providers, including GWI, will register your domain name for you for a fee. GWI also provides a lookup service on their website so you can check to see if the name you want to register is already taken.

Step 2-Domain Name Service (DNS)

Once you have secured your domain name, in order to get your name on the Internet you will need to sign up for Domain Name Service (DNS) with an Internet Service Provider. Often referred to as "domain name hosting", DNS is what allows your customers to access you by your domain name.

DNS translates these names into a string of numbers known as an ISP address. Each computer attached to the Internet is assigned a unique IP address. Typically, you will incur a one-time set-up fee from your Internet Service Provider to get your DNS up and running.
Step 3-Create Your Website

In order to have a presence on the web you will need a website. This website will be accessible to your customers via the domain name you have registered, and is how your customers will find out about your products and services. Websites may range from the very basic to extremely complicated with features such as shopping carts, search engines, catalogs, password-protected areas, etc.

How complicated your website will be depends on the nature of your organization and what level of business you want your customers to be able to do with you over the Internet. There are many website design companies that can help you create a website to meet all your Internet business objectives. If you want a simple website, there are several software programs available that will enable you to design your website on your desktop computer.
Step 4-Virtual Web Server (VWS)

Now that you have your website ready, you will need to get it on the Internet. The easiest and most economical way to do this is to obtain a Virtual Web Server (VWS) from an Internet Service Provider. A VWS allows you to use your domain on an ISP’s web server while giving the impression that you have your own dedicated web server.

Available through many Internet Service Providers, VWS typically carries a set-up fee and monthly service fees based on space and amount of data transfer needed. Also, additional services such as Secure Socket Layer (for secure transactions) and FrontPage extensions (used to design and load webpages) are often available.
Step 5-Virtual Mail Domain Services

If you want your customers to be able to email you using your domain name, i.e. username@yourdomain.com, you will need Virtual Mail Domain Service from your Internet Service provider. Typically with this service, you can establish any aliases and mailboxes you want using your domain. Since each domain is unique, you can pick your addresses without worrying about a conflict.

The advantage of using Virtual Mail Domain Service is that your Internet Service provider owns and manages the server. The main disadvantage is that this service will not interface with your company’s existing internal email system. Each user must connect to the Internet Service Provider’s server to receive their email. However, most Internet Service Providers offer dial-up mail delivery service whereby your internal system would be set up to connect to their server periodically to download and uploaded all queued email.

Now that you’ve completed these five steps, you should have everything you need to do business on the Internet. Make sure your customers know how to find you by publicizing your web address. Include this information on business cards, in advertisements, direct mail pieces, business cards and stationary, literature, virtually everything you send to your existing or potential customers. Key to the success of your business on the Internet is letting people know you are there!

By: T.C. Hazzard,
President, Great Works Internet
Published: Profile Magazine, October 1999