[Ravi Panchal]

Hello Everyone,

What is the best way to launch a company website. I am into engineering/manufacturing business and want to expand its globally. I came across a few private website consultants/developers, but i need your input about the most easy and effective way to launch a company website.

Thanks and Regards, in advance.

[alden223]

Hi Ravi Panchal, if you are launching a company website....try to have a few press releases going up..and a few article submissions. My thought would be to go to a professional Search Engine Optimization company to gather momentum for your website....they can be very helpful to you...and if you have your finances right...it would be best for you....

[RLorenzen]

If you do not have web design skills hire a web designer. There are a few good ones on here which will probably respond to this thread. Once the site is built I recommend marketing it with Search Engine Optimization. If you are serious, you can PM me for SEO.

[Fadzuli]

When you say launch..meaning the site is not up yet? or already up?

[Fadzuli]

When you say launch..meaning the site is not up yet or already up?

[hackresponsibly]

Hire a really good LOCAL web developer / marketing company to do the work for you. You have the budget, and they'll get the job done!

[HostRail.com]

When you say "launch", I assume you mean to create a website?

My tips:

1. Find a web designer you can trust. Most people run to the "create your own site" places to save money. In the end, you just realize that there are programming things you have no control over and your site does not look professional. Make sure your designer asks to be paid per project, not hourly. How long it takes him/her to write a chunk of code shouldn't be reflected in the cost to you. Ask your designer if he/she uses a template. Good designers will work "from scratch" and use php. You can request to have your site designed from a template, which often cuts the price of the design in half because the designer has half as much work to do off a template.

2. Do your research. You want cheap web hosting, but not something so cheap that you will never get customer service or end up with your server down.

3. Expect to pay for quality. In the making of your site and the purchasing of your hosting options, you have to expect to pay for it. Your website may cost between $200-600 to have a web designer make it for you. Your hosting will cost around $20/month and your domain name about $8/year for a dot com name. If you are selling online, you need a cart system ($40/m) and an SSL certificate ($30/year). However, considering how much you spend for internet hook up and your cell phone bill, this is not very expensive. You have to look at it in a long term perspective. People are shopping online more and more. They are looking for your business online. If you have a presentable, well functioning site, these start up costs are totally worth it.

4. In web hosting, quantity is a lie. Most web hosting companies tell you they will give you 50,000GB of bandwidth and 500GB of Disk Space/month for a $30 web hosting package. This is a lie. If you ever used that much gigs in a month, they will kick you off. They are simply trying to dazzle you with large numbers because they know the average person isn't going to use that much anyway. Most small companies are lucky to even use 5GB of bandwidth per month and 1GB of disk space/month. Don't pay for what you are not using (or even getting in this case). Find a company that is upfront with you about prices and product.

5. Use people! People love to see people on a website. It makes a customer feel like they can associate with the site because there is a face there. Psychology i guess. Have your web designer use people on your site. It helps, believe me.

Good luck!