Straightforward Website and email provision

I was approached by Ged Dennis Sign Writers - a local company that wanted a very straightforward website, but wanted to keep the cost below £100.

They already had A5 sized flyers, and really just wanted that duplicating as a one-page website.

I explained how a multi-page web site would be quite easy to set up and would enhance their search engine ranking, but it was agreed to "start small".

After all, once everything is set up and running, changing the actual pages is quite straightforward.

So;

Step 1 - The domain name

We looked at a couple of names, such as "geddennissigns". They were already using This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for their email, so they decided to go with "geddennissignwriters.co.uk".

Because the pronounciation of "Ged" is very similar to "Jed", we also registered the alternate spelling of jeddennissignwriters.

Step 2 - Email

It is important to get the contact details sorted out before making any sort of advertising. I suggested using "enquiries@" for three main reasons;

1. You can separate 'general' emails from personally addressed ones.
2. You can apply more extensive spam checking rules
3. It gives you the flexibility in future to have other members of staff check the email.

Because they were already using a Googlemail account, I set them up using Google Applications Standard Edition. This is the business version of Googlemail, which allows you to use your own domain name for up to 50 users.

The added benefit: you can specify a 'catch-all' address. So, as long as either domain name is used, all email comes in to the company.

I also transferred all of their mail from their old accounts to the new ones, and set up forwarding rules for ony further email.

Step 3 - The website

I was provided with the A5 flyer and a set of photographs to use. The flyer had a logo on it, which I redrew as an Adobe Illustrator file.

Designing for the paper medium is quite different to designing for a website, because you don't actually know what "size" you'll be getting. It could be a huge widescreen monitor, or someone browsing on their mobile phone!

So, I did two versions of the web page - one very similar to the flyer and another one slightly modified to better suit a variety of screens. It was decided to go with this second option.

Step 4 - Search engine submission

The final stage is to get the new website into search listings. I explained that this would be tricky with a one-page site, and encouraged them to sign up to any business listings they came across. I also submitted the site to all the major search engines.

The End Results

They had been talking about having a web page and custom email addresses for some time, but of course were not sure how to go about it.

We were able to go from our initial discussion to having a registered domain name, up-and-running website and transferred email within 24 hours.

Once they are comfortable with the changes so far, I have no doubt they will want to expand upon their current page. The main thing is - they have their foot in the door!