By Jennifer Shaheen, The Technology Therapist®
As featured in Women & Biz magazine and Women's Radio

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Many growing businesses do not know the necessary items or have control of their information if they decide they want to work on their web site themselves.

Do not be held hostage by the technology jargon! Here are 3 things you should know that will give you the keys to your company’s web site.

1. Domain Name: Your domain name is your web site address. This is how people find you on the web. Mine is technologytherapy.com. Your domain name should be registered in your name not your designer's name. The designer or developer can and should be the technical contact but the ownership of the name should be yours. You should have your own account with access. The following companies are some of the most popular places to register domain names:
a . Godaddy.com
b . Register.com
c . NetworkSolutions.com

2. Hosting Your Web Site: Most small and even large companies rely on a third party service to host their web site. This company provides you with space on a computer to put up your site along with a way to be seen on the World Wide Web. For you to access the space on their computer to change or edit your web site, the hosting company will provide you with the following information which you should know and have control over:
a . ftp log in address
b . user name
c . password

The ftp log in may be as simple as ftp://yourdomainname.com or it may be a series of numbers like this 192.54.105.200. These numbers will always be spaced by a period (.) and will be in a block of 4. This number is referred to as an IP (Internet Protocol) Address.

User name & password. These are the keys to control what is seen on the web. Even if you are not going to maintain or edit the site yourself you should have a copy of this information and be the only person able to change this information. These are the keys be sure you hold a copy in your possession.

3. Understand how your site was created: Knowing what the designer used to create your site will quickly and easily allow you to know if a site is easy to take over or if you will need an expert. Here are three types of frequently used formats in setting up a website:
a . HTML & Programming languages
b . Modules, templates & Content Management Systems
c . Flash

HTML & Programming languages
All sites use HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language). This is the language that the Internet was developed with and around. With the advancement of technology other programming languages have been integrated into web design to increase functionality. JavaScript is used to create interactivity like the way a button changes color on a web page. ASP (Active Server Pages), JSP (Java Server Pages) and PHP (Perl Hypertext Preprocessor) are used to create a site that may collect and store information in a database. These languages are used in e-commerce web sites to store your information in a database. Technology is always changing and there are other programming languages used on web sites but these are some of the more prominent languages used today. Managing an HTML and JavaScript site can be done with some training and the correct HTML editing software such as Microsoft FrontPage or Macromedia Dreamweaver. Sites that use more advanced languages like ASP, JSP, or PHP will require a specialist to edit in that particular programming language.

Modules, Templates & Content Management Systems
Today you can use companies that provide you with basic structure for a web site without having to pay a designer a lot of money. Template based sites are effective and can save you money at the beginning. They offer little in the area of creativity but can be a great way to get going. If your site uses any of these templates, modules or content management systems, it is easy to maintain but may be difficult to transfer if you decide to redesign or move to another provider.

Flash
Flash looks cool but it is the most difficult to edit and some designers will not provide you with the original Flash file for editing. Some designers view this as part of their intellectual property. Without the original Flash files referred to as ".fla", you can not edit your site. It will need to be recreated by a new Flash developer and this can be costly. Beware of Flash. If you decide Flash is the look you want for your site, try using Flash elements in portions of the site like the navigation bar or add animation in certain key places for emphases. Try to avoid creating the entire site in Flash.

Take the time to find out if you have the keys to your site, and if you are just starting out use these 3 tips to keep from losing control.

©The Technology Therapy Group, LLC
Jennifer Shaheen - The eMarketing and Technology Therapist

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