Develop A Great Pitch

Why should people part with their money to support your startup? This is what you need to consider while working on your pitch. Develop several slides to deliver your pitch, including your startup’s brand, motto, management details, and the value you bring to customers and investors alike.

Get Noticed

Make sure your startup appears on AngelList. As long as your business concept, product idea and proof of concept are good, you should have no issues being noticed by the top guys. Get an AngelList member to recommend you to the list influencers.

Develop A Video For Online Investors

A video can help establish your proof of concept more clearly than other forms of content. Keep the video clever, fun, engaging and informative. You want to appeal to investors and the general audience. Look up other videos on Startup-Videos.com.

Use Crowd Funding Platforms

Platforms such as Rally, IndieGogo and Kickstarter are great early-sales platforms. If your product is physical, these platforms can help you get the attention of the general public, who can pledge money towards the project for product units, rewards, and recognition and so on.

Show You Have Traction

Get your startup registered on accredited lists to show VCs that you have traction. Here are some good ones – Deloitte Fast 50 and Telegraph 100. VCs go through these sites to look for potential hidden gems for investment purposes.

Enter Visible Pitch Completions

Sign up for visible pitch competitions to get VC attention. There are several viable, reputable ones, such as LeWeb’s pitching competition and Startup Bootcamp’s Tech Allstars. Look up more such competitions.

Go After Media And Blog Coverage

You know that any VC worth their salt will do their due diligence on your product, company and team. It helps to be featured on a well-known media outlet to that VCs can find out more about you.

Leverage Social Media Attention

One of the best ways to get attention is to create a buzz on social media. Launch surveys and competitions to get feedback on people on your products and services. Come across as a subject matter expert; answer questions on LinkedIn, Quora, submit guest posts and so on.

Start Your Own Blog

A blog of your own is the quickest way to establish your own voice within the community.  Grow a dedicated audience – get up close and personal, respond to comments, ask questions and build a strong community around your blog. You will get noticed.

Do Due Diligence In Advance

Get to know your industry intimately. Know who the movers and shakers are, and who will be the most likely VCs. Narrow down a list of the most likely VCs and study their portfolio and preferences before asking for an introduction.

Jane Myers writes for GoGetFunding.com an online fundraising website where you can raise money for anything that matters to you.

I want to see that changing.  Or at least moving up (or onto) those To Do lists.

The fact is that digital technology can save community organisations time, hassle and even money.  There are many amazing digital tools out there which are FREE (or very low cost), and which have been designed to help organisations do the things that are important to them – like event management, volunteer coordination, fundraising, profile raising and much more.

A recent survey amongst the relatively tech savvy network of UK online centres revealed that while 92% believed technology could make their communities better, 88% knew their organisation wasn’t doing enough to harness its power.

That’s why we have teamed up with Nominet Trust to create the Community How To service, which launched last November.  We wanted to make doing more with digital tools quick and easy – and most importantly, free. .

Community How To brings together top digital tools under one roof, alongside case study recommendations by the community organisations already putting them to good use.  The idea is to help people working in communities to find the tools that could help them do more of what they do best.  We’ve done all the hard work for you by collating some brilliant tools,  making them easy to search, and including peer recommendations so you can pick the brains of other community groups.  By registering on the site, visitors can also add their own tools and case studies, leave comments and join discussions.

Since it’s launch, the Community How To site now contains more than 70 top digital tools, and has had more than 6,000 visitors.   If you think your organisation could be doing more with digital, come along and pay us a visit.  If you like it, pay us back by saying hello, or adding your own recommendations to the site.

The more we share, the more we can achieve for all of our communities – and that’s what Community How To is all about.

Helen Milner is Chief Executive at Online Centres Foundation. You can find the Community  How To service at www.communityhowto.com, and find out more about UK online centres and OCF at www.ukonlinecentres.com. 

No matter how well organized and careful a small business owner is, accidents can happen. When they do, it not only puts the company at risk but could result in injury to customers or the public. Though it is not required by law, every small business in the United Kingdom should seriously consider a public liability insurance policy.

Why public liability insurance is important

Different businesses face the possibility of personal injury litigation coming from different sources. While contractors might face court action if their work causes damage to personal property, the most common type for retail stores comes from wet or slippery floors. No matter what the circumstance, public liability insurance can help protect any business.

• When a business causes injury to a member of the public the owner of the company can be sued for negligence or breach of duty. Public liability insurance is offered to businesses in the United Kingdom as a way for them to protect themselves from penalties or court cases that can cause financial difficulty for the small business.
• If something does happen and someone is injured and sues, the public liability insurance policy will provide coverage toward any incurred costs of the business, including damage. It will pay for legal fees, expenses and medical treatment required for the injury.
• Without public liability insurance, the business owner or the company will be responsible for paying the total amount of the claim brought against it. If a claim cannot be paid, the court will turn to the business’ assets for payment, or even the business owner. This could lead to the end of the business.
• While cutting costs can be seen as a way to increase profits, cutting corners with public liability insurance is not recommended. Doing so can result in the business not being completely covered. A lack of coverage can mean the business will still have to pay out a large amount of money in the event of legal action. There may even be some minimum requirements needed for some businesses, so be sure to ask about any that might apply when shopping for policies.
• Some liability policies will have certain exclusions that should be checked out before purchasing. For instance, any business using scaffolding for work will want to ensure there are no height limitations included in the policy. It is a waste of money to pay the monthly premiums for coverage that will not serve its purpose. Specialist policies can be found that are geared toward specific businesses. These can be especially helpful because they will meet the individual needs of the company.

There is no law in the UK requiring a business to purchase public liability insurance, but it is a good idea for a company to have such a policy. The coverage can keep a business solvent even if something happens that injures a person or damages property. It protects the business and the owner, as well as the public.

Charlotte Fletcher writes for monkey.co.uk an insurance comparison website that offers more advice on public liability insurance.

Here are small steps to take when sorting through the tax process.

The Legal Structure of your Company

The legal structure of your company will have a big impact upon your taxes. You may have already decided what kind of trader you are, a sole trader or a limited company and if you are now in the process of starting your company then you will have made this important decision. As with every decision you will make over the next few years, each one may have implication upon your taxes.

If you are expecting your business to have high financial growth from day one, then you will most likely be trading as a limited company. If you have set up a limited company then this gives out the idea that your business is going to be around for the long term, which is also as HMRC will view it. The main advantage of having a limited company is the limitations of liability, thus meaning that the company and only the company will be liable to paying off debts in the future. This is the safer option in terms of your own personal finance.

Sole trader businesses are the easier option to set up and start, this is the most commonly picked for a business start up as it is certainly easier and can help you get used to running and managing a business. Choosing to act as a sole trader does mean that you, as well as the company, will be liable for any debts in the future, however they come with less administration fees.

Your Start up Expenses and Future Expenses

There are many expenses you will acquire when starting up your new business, everything from stock and rent to the nitty-gritty supplies you may need. It is important to note that you can include your expenses within your taxes, for as far back as the last seven years. In order to make sure that all your expenses can be proven as start up expenses, not payments incurred during trading, you will need to keep all receipts including VAT evidence. It may sound like an obvious statement to make, but keeping your records up to date is imperative to making sure all your taxable deductions are made on time.

Deciding To Register For VAT

Deciding whether to register VAT on the first day of company creation will really depend upon the area of business that you are operating in, however it is important to remember that it does need to be done at some point. Once your company has reached a turnover greater than £77,000 then it is compulsory to register your VAT.

It is important to note that VAT incurred from start up initial costs cannot be reclaimed, however if you do begin trading without a VAT registration then you may find sudden price increases are added onto the VAT registration process, not great for a brand new business.

The areas of start up expenses that must be recorded

One of the most confusing parts of tax declaration is what payments come under which heading, initial expenses are just one of the confusing forms. Here are some of the most common expenses to be declared.

• Marketing and promotion – including website build
• Business plans and legal costs
• Equipment – including any fixtures and fittings
• Office equipment
• Insurance

Make Sure That You Are Complying With All Taxes

This may be the most obvious tax tip, but that doesn’t make it any less necessary. There will be a multitude of taxes that will arise during the life course of your business, from payroll to expenses and the most important thing to remember is to get your company’s taxes filed on time.  Currently, there are 40 chances for a business to get hit with a penalty over a 12 month period. To ensure that this isn’t you, you need to keep accurate records of all your businesses outgoings and incomes, covering everything from employees’ pay, through to buying a stapler, every £1 needs to be accounted for.

If in any doubt, then joining an accountants would be the wisest move as they can keep track of all this for you, especially during the declaration of taxes process. There are many accountants out there who will help you with your taxation processes.

This post was contributed by Alexander & Co. - Manchester Accountants that deal with emerging businesses and start-ups.

Datadroid Forms Pro

The Datadroid Forms Pro is an excellent app that removes the need for paper forms. The app includes a form builder program and once the form is created workers can remotely complete the form, add a signature and attach GPS co-ordinates or photos. Datadroid Forms Pro is quick and easy to use, even by those with limited computer or smartphone skills.

These electronic forms can be exported to PDF or Excel, printed and may also be used offline. This smartphone app is ideal for surveyors, inspectors and couriers or any other business personal that need to complete forms.

Platform: Android

PocketCloud Remote by Wyse

The PocketCloud Remote app is one of the most useful tools for any business user who may wish to have access to their computer or laptop’s files via their mobile smartphone. After downloading the software users can access their computer remotely via their smartphone.

After entering a user set password the mobile phone displays the computer’s screen just as it is seen directly on a PC. Scroll around, check emails, open files or do anything else you might whilst sat at your PC. There is a fair bit of zooming in and out required so business users may want to download a dedicated app for accessing files like spreadsheets where they automatically re-size for use on a mobile phone but other than this  this is a great tool with endless uses.

Platform: Android, Apple iOS

Expense Manager by Bishinews

The Expense Manager app is without doubt one of the most useful apps available to business users. The app will allow users to enter expenses or incomes that can be categorised along with a description and tags for finding expenses at a later date. Each expense can be accompanied by a photo of the receipt and a payment method can also be attached.

A series of graphs and pie charts can be viewed by day, week, month or year and these charts or even individual expenses can be sent out by email or via Skype, making this app a great solution for offsite workers and reps.

Platform: Android, Apple iOS, Windows Phone

Evernote

The Evernote app can be installed onto a smartphone, desktop or tablet PC and is designed to capture and help remind the user about everything. Capture photos, text, audio notes, images, links and websites and then synchronise them will all your devices.

There are many advantages to having this app on a mobile phone including recording audio clips of meetings , making notes or capturing ideas when out and about and so on, with each note or recording accessible on any other device when you return to the office.

Platform: Android, Apple iOS, Windows Phone, BlackBerry

Fring

The Fring mobile phone app offers a very similar service to Skype with free calls, messages and video calls to other users but Fring goes one step further for business users. Group calling and video calling is the key new feature and it is free of charge, connecting up to four people at the same time. This service is offered by Skype but a premium account with a monthly charge for at least one caller is required to use this feature, so Fring is a great money saving business app.

Platform: Android, Apple iOS

This article was written by Michael Brown on behalf of Mobilephones.com, specialists in providing mobile phones to the UK market.

I’ve been on crutches for the last 10 days, owing to sudden and so far unexplained swelling and pain in my ankle and foot. On Sunday, partly because I had a mild case of cabin fever and partly because I felt my poor husband deserved a bit of support (!) I went to Tesco. Kindly driven and greatly assisted by my long-suffering husband.

Now, I’ve been to Tesco many times.  And on many occasions I’ve been there when in pain. (I’ve struggled with lower back pain and stiffness since my early 20s).  I’m a working mum, I have a full-time, demanding job, and to be honest, I really do like food shopping (but don’t tell my husband).  But, armed with my crutches on this occasion, I couldn’t help but notice the looks of sympathy I received and how people looked as though they would have been more than happy to help me, if needed.

It got me to thinking about invisible pain again and the challenges faced by many who struggle on with a long-term condition that is invisible to most around them.

It’s World Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) Day on Saturday 4th May.  Whilst advanced AS can cause fusion in the neck, spine and sometimes other areas and hence a change in posture, it can often be invisible. Not many people know much about AS, despite the fact that it is not a rare condition.  It also is a form of arthritis that affects young people. This lack of understanding by the general public can make it incredibly challenging for anyone with the condition to feel understood.  This is further complicated by the fact that often a person with AS will have good and bad days.  When it’s good, they might try to bring some normality back into their life. When it’s bad they might feel overwhelmed by their pain, fatigue and inability to do the things they had planned.  These good and bad days are often difficult for the outsider to understand, leaving the sufferer to feel on occasion like a fraud.  Some people get no respite from their pain and fatigue.  All of this can have a significant impact on the sufferer’s well-being.  The psychological impact of AS is probably as significant as the burden of pain and fatigue.

And let me tell you this other shocking fact.  The current delay in the diagnosis of Ankylosing Spondylitis is between 8 and 11 years!  I will leave you to imagine what unnecessary suffering and possible permanent damage that a person might endure during this delay…

So, if you’ve got time, read on and find out a bit more about this difficult to pronounce condition (go on … for World AS Day).  And, I guess something we should all bear in mind is that often what’s presented on the surface might not represent the true picture. A person in pain is not always easy to spot.  Next time a young person on the Tube fails to give up his/her seat for an elderly person I hope I might not be so quick to judge…

1. Ankylosing spondylitis is pronounced an-ki-low-sing spon-de-lie-tis and is called AS for short.
2. AS is a painful, progressive form of inflammatory arthritis. It mainly affects the spine but can also affect other joints, tendons and ligaments.
3. Ankylosing means fusing together. Spondylitis means inflammation of the vertebrae. Both words come from the Greek language. Ankylosing spondylitis describes the condition where some or all of the joints and bones of the spine fuse together. Other areas such as the eyes, bowel, lungs and heart can also sometimes be involved with AS.
4. AS affects an estimated 200,000 in the UK — that’s twice the number who have Parkinson’s Disease or multiple sclerosis.
5. Research is still ongoing into the genetics of AS but researchers believe that up to 20 different genes must be involved.
6. Symptoms usually begin in early adult life, with the average age of diagnosis being 24.
7. There is currently no cure for AS. It is managed by a combination of pain relief and stretching exercises.
8. AS, especially in its early stages, can be an invisible condition. People with AS are often battling on a daily basis against pain, stiffness and fatigue. This can lead to feelings of isolation, particularly just after diagnosis.
9. As well as the inevitable pain of the disease, AS often generates feelings of frustration and fear. To help them adjust to their diagnosis it is important that they have the support and encouragement of family, friends and work colleagues.
10. Some common problems for people with AS include: pain and stiffness in the mornings make it hard to get going; sitting in one place can lead to pain and stiffness and not having the same amount of energy or stamina and getting fatigued easily.

Debbie Cook is the Director of the National Ankylosing Spondylitis Society (NASS).  She joined NASS as Director in June 2011. Debbie has her own personal patient journey which started in her early twenties. She was advised in 1997 after several years of lower back pain and episodes of psoriasis and uveitis by her then rheumatologist that she had ‘something in the Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) family’. A diagnosis of spondyloarthritis, has recently been confirmed.

Debbie lives in Lincolnshire with her husband, two daughters, a huge Bernese Mountain dog, and many other pets! You can find Debbie on Twitter – @NASSdirector

If you’re thinking about setting up your own business there are a number of things to consider. We’ve highlighted the top 10 things you need to consider when setting up a business:

1. The Idea: Products and Services

Whether you think your idea is totally original or you’re looking to start a business based on selling your existing skills it’s important to establish if there is a gap in the market for your business. No matter how great you think your idea is there will be hundreds more wannabe businessmen who think their idea is just as great. With this in mind, it is important to do your research before launching into your business plan.

When you’ve settled on your business idea ask yourself the golden question: why are you different? What is it about your products or services that sets you apart from everyone else? Think about your competition, can you offer something cheaper, faster, or better quality than them?

2. What’s My Name?

Seriously, what’s your name? Your business is going to need a name and you’ll need to get it registered. There are numerous websites you can run potential names through to double check the name isn’t already taken and often these sites will also provide information regarding names to avoid.

Your name can reflect your business type or the products you are selling, if it’s a family business it can take your family name. Think about whether or not you plan to keep the business for a number of years or whether or not you will want to begin expanding in the future.

3. The Customer

Who is your customer? It’s important to establish this as early on as possible to ensure you are offering products and services that people will actually pay for. When you have worked out who your target customer is you can start planning how you will market your business to them in a way that encourages them to part with their cash.

4. The World Wide Web

Nowadays it is incredibly unusual for a business not to have a web presence. Check your business name through a domain checker to see if the domain you need is available. Even if your company isn’t an online business it is important to maintain an online presence as it can help to attract potential new customers.

5. The Business Strategy

There are many different business strategies, each one with its own positives and negatives. Some world-class companies have begun with a mere idea; others have created elaborate business plans or rigidly stuck to strategies like the lean startup method. It’s important to be flexible when starting a new business as things can change very quickly, but having a little structure will help to keep things on track.

6. Legal Eagle

You’ll need to make sure you stay on the right side of the law by following best practice regulations set out for your particular industry and also informing the relevant authorities as soon as you start your business. You must also make sure you are keeping your accounts in order and paying the correct taxes.  If you don’t play by the rules you could end up paying the price.

7. Marketing

It’s a sad fact that bad marketing can kill a company in an instant. There are plenty of ways to market your business so it’s important to do your research and choose methods that work for your particular brand. If you can’t afford to spend anything on marketing try using social media to market your brand.

8. Cash Flow

Starting any business requires money, but where is this money coming from? Do you have a clear idea of initial costs? Can you afford to pay yourself whilst the business begins to grow? Cash flow is incredibly important not only to start your company but also to keep it afloat; it’s probably a good idea to take deposits upfront for work that will be carried out to keep the cash coming in at the early stages.

Think carefully about setting money aside for your bills, including taxes.

9. Employees

Will you be working alone or will you need employees? If you need to hire people for your business you’ll need to think about the potential risks, costs and responsibilities associated with being ‘the boss’. There are numerous rules and regulations to follow when employing people to work for you and it’s usually best, for fledgling businesses, to do without extra employees for as long as possible.

10. Technology

There are some businesses that don’t require the use of technology, but most will need computers at the very least. Whether you are using technology to carry out work or just to store important information it is essential that you back everything up regularly; no one wants to lose everything they’ve worked hard to build.

There are many horror stories, complete with percentages, regarding the vast amount of businesses that fail each year. No one plans to fail, but if you fail to plan correctly when starting a new business that may be exactly what happens.

Ryan Burch a proud member of the team at High Speed Training Ltd, one of Europe’s leading e-learning providers. We actually formed in 2007 as a specialist consultancy in food hygiene but have since grown our offering considerably and now have over 42 high quality online learning products, created in partnership with a specialist company in each relevant field.  You can view the full range of career courses here.

Choose your trade show carefully as, particularly if your budget for the event is tight, you don’t want to waste money on a new and unproven event. Opt for a venue that has a good track record, with the right kind of attendees and good visitor statistics, with a well-established PR machine and a well-organised team. In particular, focus your attention on those shows that are going to provide access to your target market. You don’t have to opt for a show where you are going to be one of many similar businesses – it can also be effective to sign up for a trade show where you stand out – but make sure that this will still connect you to your target decision makers.

Start preparing straight away because these days the trade show itself is really just half the event. You can start your networking almost as soon as you have signed up to be an exhibitor – join various email groups, forums, social media groups and pages, as well as online conversations about the trade show. Start connecting with potential contacts well in advance so that you can arrange lunches and coffee meetings whilst the event is going on, and start contributing your views via comments and blogs on the event so that you can use the attention that it generates to build some profile of your own.

You might want to consider using the trade show as a platform to launch a new product or service, or to take part in panels, discussions and presentations to give your business profile on the trade show agenda. If you have the budget for it you could also look into some kind of give away, gimmick or competition to accompany your exhibit to attract people to it.

Make the most of every opportunity during the event itself, as there are few times when you will have such a concentrated number of people with the ability to help boost your business all in the same space. Make your exhibit stand out with a professional and eye catching exhibition stand and display set up that incorporates any features you need, such as display screens or information stands. Be sure to choose carefully those who you want to represent your business with you on your exhibit and invest some time in training them to talk knowledgeably about what you do. Don’t waste interaction opportunities by spending the entire time on your phone or laptop – speak to those around you and find out what they do, and what they can do for you.

Finally, once you have gone to all the effort of attending and paying for an exhibit at a trade show, be sure to follow up on the leads that it generates. Whether these are potential sales, networking contacts or members of the media, each one can play a part in giving your business a real boost after an event like this.

Article written by Amy Sawyer from Just Displays, a UK based exhibition stand design company.

Social media campaigns:

Making use of the social media platforms available is one of the best ways of increasing brand awareness, interacting with consumers and getting your website to the top of search engine page rankings. There are a number of social platforms available but as a standard, small businesses should have a presence on the ‘big three’ – Facebook, Twitter and Google+. There are advantages to all of these, but in simple terms: Facebook is good for gauging customers’ reactions through the ‘like’ and ‘comment’ buttons; Twitter is useful in fast-paced interaction and informal communication; Google+ has a direct impact on your search engine results and the +1 button allows users to share content easily. It’s worth noting that there are other social channels available for SMEs and sites like Pintrest, LinkedIn and Instagram can be worth investing in too if your business relates to the general user base.

Consumers today are more connected than ever before, so it is becoming more common for would-be customers to research a brand or business before making a purchase. Making sure that your social channels reflect positively on your brand is the first step and as you gain a loyal following, your business will reap the rewards of a good social strategy.

Blogger Outreach:

In very basic search engine optimisation (SEO) terms, one of the key ways in which your business’ site will climb up the search engine page ranks is through quality backlinks to your site. A few years ago, a now-black hat SEO technique of link farming was common practice, which basically means that webmasters would submit their link to a directory and the backlinks would flood in. However, as search engine crawlers have become smarter and more ‘human-like’ in their site analysis, websites that engage in these practices are now penalised in terms of page rank. So, how can small businesses gain quality backlinks and still remain within search engine guidelines?

One of the best ways of doing this is through blogger outreach and with the term ‘outreach’ comes the idea that it is more about building relationships than ‘quick fix’ SEO techniques. Blogs are a fantastic resource for SMEs because they are article-based, often reach a significant amount of web traffic and also are usually industry specific. High quality, original and creative content is your best friend in building links for your site and crawlers will put more authority on sites that have backlinks in a well-written article on a blog that has authority of its own. So, the first step is to write a number of decent-length articles or blog posts that have anchored, keyworded links. The next step is getting these pieces of content onto relevant blogs.

This can be a challenge and as aforementioned, blogger outreach is as much about getting your content out there as building a relationship with the blogger in question. While some blogs accept guest posts as standard, others are pickier about what they put onto their sites so it’s worth doing some in-depth research into the blogs that relate to your industry. For ecommerce sites, sending bloggers ‘freebies’ to review is a common practice, as is sending giveaway prizes for bloggers to run competitions for their readers. It is a good idea to keep all interaction with bloggers personal and relevant as ‘spammy’ communication could result in a negative reaction to your brand.

Hiring an SEO Agency:

Listed above are some of the key things to be thinking about when approaching online marketing for your small business and with the right strategy, any SME can reap the benefits. However, it is worth noting that there is no quick fix to improve your online presence and it does take a lot of effort to ensure that you have the right combination of social, content and other forms of digital strategy. If you run a small business, it is a given that the majority of your time will be spent running your company and ensuring that it is performing well. With this in mind, it can be difficult to find the time to commit fully to a successful online marketing approach.

For SMEs that have concerns about this, the best solution is to hire a specialist SEO agency to take care of your digital strategy. A good agency will take a ‘holistic’ approach to your business and create an online strategy to fit around your needs and budget. The experts can then create content in the form of blog posts, guest features and news articles to go on your business’ website as well as research blogs to put guest posts relating to your company on. They will specialise in keyword research, link building, web development, pay per click advertising, social media and analytics; so it is a good idea to leave your online marketing in the capable hands of an expert.

This article was written by Lauren from TMW, an independent media agency with a dedicated digital marketing team. 

What these figures mean is that now is the time to ensure that you have an online presence if you don’t already. If you don’t offer online services or sell things which can be bought online then you might think you don’t need a website – but this isn’t the case. Firstly, customers may still look for you online to seek out information and so you should at least have a website advertising your services and providing contact information or opening hours. Secondly, you may decide to offer online services at some point in the future and will be annoyed if by then you realise that the web address you wanted has been taken – so it is well worth registering now to avoid disappointment later.

Choosing Your Domain Name

One of the most important things to consider when setting your business up online is what domain name you are going to use. The domain name is what people will type into their browsers to reach your website, and so it needs to be something which people will remember and associate with you. Here are a few things to think about when choosing the right name:

• Keep it short and sweet – don’t risk losing traffic by having an overly long or complicated domain name which people are likely to forget or get wrong
• Include your brand – try to include the name of your business in the domain. It is probably the first thing which people will search for if they are unsure of the URL, so make sure you are easily identifiable
• Use hyphens – if necessary, hyphens can be used to help you find an available domain. Be careful of this however; it may allow you to use ‘Sarahs-Hairdressing.com’ if ‘SarahsHairdressing.com’ is already in use, but do you want to risk your customers accidentally going to the other site?
• Include keywords – if you want to rank better in search engines then consider using keywords relating to your sector in the domain

Which Extension?

When looking to register your domain, you will see that it is probably available on a number of different extensions such as .com, .co.uk, .net or .me.

Choosing a location-specific extension can be a good idea if your business is only a local one, however if you wish to have a global presence then you will be better off registering it on as many extensions as possible. As well as making you available to more people, this also stops other people from abusing your brand or getting web traffic from people who are looking for you but have typed in the wrong extension.

Where to Host?

When choosing a web host, there are a few things to consider to ensure that you are getting the best value package for your needs.

• Shared hosting or dedicated hosting? Shared hosting means simply that you are sharing the server with the host’s other clients. Dedicated hosting means that your site will be on its own server, and you can choose whether to manage this yourself or have the company manage it for you
• Bandwidth – some hosts will offer you unlimited bandwidth while some will have a cap. Sites with lots of large images and data will need more bandwidth than others, so work out how much you need to make sure your site can run correctly
• Location – choosing a host in the same country as you is a good idea, as access to support will be easier to come by, and uptime will be better

What next?

Once you have chosen these basics, you will need to upload content onto your website and give it some design. Web designers can be hired for relatively low amounts, or you can attempt a basic design template yourself. Once this has been done, consider promoting your site via Twitter or Facebook – making business accounts on these social media sites is a great way to get traffic to your website as well as making your online presence even bigger.

This article was written by Claire Cavanagh on behalf of Siteopia, a leading domain registration company based in Worcester.