So you've finally decided to take the plunge and invest in a new, professionally designed website.
Where do you start? Adult and escort web designers are a dime a dozen, we're everywhere! :)
The first thing to think about is exactly what you want and need.
You know you want a great looking site. That's obvious. Many designers do beautiful work but this shouldn't be the sole basis for your decision. You need to look deeper.
You know what you're willing to spend for your website. So you look for a designer whose style you like that fits within your budget. This is where it starts to get tricky. Beware of hidden charges and who has control over your site!
If this is your first website, you need to be aware of some things that go along with having a website.
First, you have to buy a domain. There are many registrars where you can buy a domain name cheaply and easily.
Some web designers offer domain registration as well, which makes the process easier for anyone unfamiliar with registering a domain. What you need to know is who will actually own the domain? Is the designer buying it in their company name and thus in ultimate control? Avoid this at all costs!
Find a designer who registers the domain in your name and provides you control over your domain functions. Privacy protection is usually available to guard your identity, so if this is important to you, find out if this type of domain registration is offered by your prospective designer.
Next your site needs a web host, which can be compared to a TV station that puts your website on the air.
Many web designers offer web hosting along with their website design packages. The problem is, all too often you'll read just the words "hosting included". OK great, hosting is included, but what type of hosting is it? Will you have access to your hosting account? How much disk space, bandwidth, email accounts, and other hosting benefits are included? If your bandwidth exceeds limits, what happens? Do you receive an unexpected and unpleasant over-usage charge? Is your website taken down until the fee is paid? Always ask for specific information!
Beware of any web designer that doesn't provide, in writing, exactly what you can expect from their included hosting plan before purchasing their design package. If you can't find this information on their website, contact the designer for these important details.
Now you need to consider website updates. Making changes is the nature of having a website, it comes with the territory. Sometimes you need to add a friend's banner or adjust your rates or schedule. Maybe you want to add or take away some text. And you definitely need to update your photos periodically.
Once your site is online, are you computer-savvy enough to make your own changes and updates? Are you allowed access to make your own changes?
If not, make sure the designer's package you choose includes website updates or at least find out how much your designer charges for updates and what their policy is. How quickly will your changes be made? The importance of knowing this can not be stressed enough.
It's a good idea to contact other clients of the designer for references as to the swiftness and reliability of website updates.
So those are the big three....domain registration, website hosting, and website updates. Primary importance. However, are you looking at the big picture yet? Not quite.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is very important for escort websites.
Many people don't know where to look for escorts, so they'll do a Google search. What is the designer you're considering offer as far as SEO? Are page titles and meta tags included? Great! Will the website be designed in a manner that's search-engine friendly? Even better!
With my company, I take SEO one step further. All of my adult website design packages include a Google Sitemap and submission to all major search engines, a sure-fire way to boost hits.
Now we move on to some options that are rarely included in web design packages.
Will you want to keep track of your website visitors? Surely you should for advertising purposes so that you can find out which ads brings hits and which don't. This is also helpful for screening, but that's a matter for another article.
I believe this is vital for any website so I include an invisible hit counter with every web design package.
Once a visitor fills out your contact form, what happens? Does the same page return with a simple message that the form has been submitted?
That's not good enough for my websites. After filling out your form, the visitor is re-directed to a custom thank you page. This usually contains a "thank you for submitting my form" message and can also contain anything else you like...a special photo or a quote you like. It's totally up to you!
What if someone types in one of your page URLs incorrectly? Do they get a generic white background "page not found" page?
Again, not good enough for my websites. I include custom error page for the four most frequent error codes. These error pages look exactly like your other website pages with the specific error message displayed. This not only looks prettier, it increases the security of your website.
These are just a few of the extra services I include in all my escort web design packages. My website also provides specific adult web hosting, domain registration, and escort website updates and maintenance information.
Please stay tuned for Part 2 of this article, which deals with what types of pages you'll need for your website.
