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Web site design

There are essentially four elements to getting your website up and running:

• preparing the content of the site - the text and images that will tell visitors what you do
• designing the site - choosing an attractive, accessible and appropriate style, and fitting your content into it
• registering a domain name which people will use to access your site
• arranging for the site to be hosted on the Internet so that visitors can reach it

Content

At its simplest, content (both text and logos or other images) can be lifted straight from any printed materials you already use. If you prefer, I can copywrite or edit appropriate text for the site according to what you want to tell visitors. And I can adapt or produce suitable images to illustrate the site.

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Design

An existing organisation style for printed documents may provide a perfect backbone for designing an online style. Or you may want something completely different. I can incorporate an existing style in a simple web page structure or produce an entirely new design.

Content and design costs will vary according to the amount of work needed and will be negotiated on the basis of what you want to achieve and what you can supply.

If you want something more 'interesting' then, depending on the image you want to present and the needs of your site users, I can include more colour, a range of animated graphics, forms, Java elements, etc.

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Domain name

Your domain name is what people type into their browser when they want to reach your site - like the www.tmade.co.uk you used to get here. If you don't already own a domain name for your service, I can arrange to register one on your behalf for just £20 including registration fees. Redirecting visitors from www.yourname.co.uk or www.yourname.org.uk to the place where your website is actually hosted is automatic and completely invisible to the user.

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Hosting

Finally, you need your web site to be hosted on a server connected to the Internet. Unless your organisation is large enough to run its own web servers this is likely to be with a third party. I can arrange hosting with any company you prefer to use (perhaps one that already provides your Internet access and e-mail) or with the company that I use: Easily. This will cost about £50 a year.

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A word about search engines

You may read that registering your web site with search engines and designing the site to be in the first few results of any relevant search are critical. This is undoubtedly true for commercial sites serving whole countries and expecting visitors to reach them by searching for product names or types. For local organisations it isn't such an issue. The majority of visitors will come to your site either having seen your domain name and typed it straight into their browser or via a related, broader drugs site such as DrugScope's or www.drugs.gov.uk.

It will be important for you to include your domain name on as much of your printed material as possible and to arrange with relevant organisations for a link to your domain name to be included on their sites.

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