Given the vast amount of information that regularly passes through our hands, it’s not unusual for us to gloss over information that we don’t consider to be necessary in our daily lives. As technology advances, more terms come into use and things can get a little confusing for people who don’t work in IT—but never fear! It’s always okay to stop and ask questions. And if you’re the type to do some research before getting involved in something like creating your own website, then look no further. Here, we’ll outline a few basic terms that you can benefit from when delving into the world of web design.
This one is short and to the point. Your domain name is the name and address of your website: a critical piece to any organization or business. It is used for website addresses and email addresses, and what internet users will search for on google or type into their address bar when looking for you. Securing a domain name can be tricky. It is common for business owners to have a friend of a friend setup a website for them (we’ve seen it too many times), and then completely lose control over their domain name. Imagine spending 5 years of promoting a website and using your email address and then having to change it because the person who owns the domain name moved and is unreachable. Make sure you control your domain name or have a professional firm like us manage it for you. At only $50 a year per domain name, it’s cheap, and will save you from another headache. Website. You might not know it, but a website is a piece of software that’s built to hold information--like a digital copy of a brochure, or a book. It is probably no surprise to you that most people turn to Google when searching for a service or to purchase something. Businesses and organizations know, since so many people turn to the internet for information these days, that you must have a strong online presence if you want the chance to be found. Web designers use several programming languages to develop websites. Your website can be as simple or as extravagant as you want--it can be BIG AND LOUD or small and quiet. If built on a proper foundation, nearly anything is possible. You can expand your website to implement several things such as selling goods, paying for services, blogging and getting followers, getting to the first page of Google, taking payments, filling out forms, and so much more! Websites can be made up of one or multiple web pages represented by a single domain name. Simply put, your website is the finished product that’s placed on the internet for the world to see.
Website content refers to the text, photography, stock images, animations, graphic design, sounds – everything on your website! It is your website’s personality—unique information used to convey a specific message to the people visiting your site. Content can be implemented in a variety of ways from target advertising, to language that directs traffic to your website through search engines like Google and Yahoo!. A professionally designed website is representative of you through its visuals and writing, and will add a level of attraction to your target audience that might otherwise be missed. Hosting. Web hosting is a space on the internet where your website lives--like an apartment, or a house. Most of the world’s websites are on a shared host, which is the cheapest type of hosting. At Satlmedia, we offer what’s known as private hosting. Since we specialize in websites, we only offer the best, and often for roughly the same cost as shared hosting. Our private, dedicated hosting is decked out with loads of features! With us, you can expect blazing fast website load speeds. We have all been to a website that takes a long time to load, and after waiting a minute or two we either reload or click the back button. You won’t have to worry about that if you choose Saltmedia, since our hosting service offers speeds of up to 20x that of shared hosting. We also require all our clients to be on our care package when you are hosted with us. This is a manual monthly security software check we do to ensure your website and website software are constantly up to date. We also have 24/7 monitoring with daily, weekly and monthly backups.
Otherwise know as Search Engine optimization, SEO is THE strategy for putting your website on the map. Using a customized set of keywords pertaining to your business, SEO can be used to land your website on the first page of a Google search. Some SEO is done to the website (all our websites have a strong SEO foundation) but most SEO is done on the internet. If you have competition online, it is important to have a well-made website to get to the first page of google. Out of any online marketing strategy, SEO has the highest ROI. Being first on Google means that you will receive more phone calls, more requests and more business.
Saltmedia offers a wide variety of services intended to create success online. We specialize in web design, search engine optimization, graphic design, and offer web hosting as well as writing services. We’re passionate about creating the perfect website and love making content jump off the page so that customers know they’ve come to the right place.
For more information, call us at 780-539-7258 and speak to a Saltmedia representative today!
We live, work, and gather on traditional, unceded, and treaty territories of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Peoples from coast to coast to coast. We’re committed to our collective responsibility to the original caretakers of this land and to listening, learning, and acting in ways that support reconciliation.
