The very first step in the
process...registering a domain name. A domain name is your internet
name and address. Once you register your domain name (and as long
as you keep renewing it) you will be the only one who will own this
domain name. This is the name you put on your business cards and other
literature so people will know how to get to your website. For example,
we notate our business as www.nexuscreativeservices.com.
There are many
places to register a domain in many price ranges. We see no reason
to spend more than $10 -$15/yr to keep your registration even though
there are more expensive companies out there! We have found good success
with these two sites: GoDaddy
and NameSecure.
When you choose a registrar, you then do a search with the internet
name(s) you have in mind and see if they are available. You may have
to try several combinations to get one that is not taken by someone
else so prepare to be creative. When you find one you like and one
that's available, you may purchase it for a number of years. There
is sometimes a discount to purchase multiple years. It is vital that
your information is the contact information and that you have the
account information and password for your registration account. We
can register the domain on your behalf and invoice you for the purchase
and we guarantee it will be registered to YOU...not to us. YOU are
the owner.
Finally...we get to the fun part! Making a online presence for your
art or business! While there are lots of larger web design companies
out there, Nexus specializes in working one-on-one with artists and
smaller business that have a lower budget and that need less technical
elements on their sites. First thing you do is sketch out what you
need on your site...is it an online brochure only? A gallery? Do you
need to sell something? Do you have lots of photographs? Need MP3
sound clips? Do you have events? Each of these categories need a separate
page. So create an outline of how many pages you think you may need.
Gather your photos and text to see how much content we have to work
with. After you've done that, call us and we'll talk about your ideas
and from that, Nexus can work up an estimate for you.. (If you're
local, you're welcome to come out to the studio and see firsthand
how things work. Otherwise, we can work via email, phone, CDs and
mail! Isn't technology great?! )
Once we determine how many pages and what technical aspects you require,
the cost estimate and completion estimate are presented. You provide
all text and photos, etc. for your site and we create your online
presence. We create your site in our "backstage area" where
only you can see it. We require 1/2 payment down when we start and
once the site meets with your complete satisfaction, you will pay
us the last 1/2 of the contract amount and we will load your site
into your domain area. At that point you totally own the site and
design!
Now you have a domain and a fantastic looking website. The next step
is giving it a place to live on the internet. You pay monthly rent
to a company to lease space on the web. Nexus Creative Services can
host your site for $10/month. If you need a secure order page on your
site to sell something, there is an additional $5/month charge. Our
server's uptime is at 99%. If you use another company and need our
help "fixing" something, we will charge our hourly rate.
As long as we're maintaining your site, you may as well let us take
care of everything! We can, however, point you to other reputable
hosting companies should you wish to go elsewhere.
The site is now up and running...everyone loves it! But you have new
gigs that your fans need to know about. You have new art that people
are going to love. You're offering some great classes. The most important
thing of all is to KEEP YOUR SITE FRESH and INFORMATIVE! We are specialists
in making sure your site remains up-to-the-minute!
These are the bare basics of the project. We will fill you in with
more when we work with you. Please contact us with any questions you
have.