Business Web Services

Domain Name Purchasing

There are many reasons to buy a domain name and, with the substantial savings offered with Solid IT, domain name registration is more affordable than ever.

For individuals, a domain name offers a personalised web/e-mail address that is easy for you and others to remember.

Commercially the right domain names will help improve the profile of your business and ensure you strengthen it on the Web. Domain names produce a feeling of professionalism. If you are trying to do business on the Web, a domain name is essential. There is a perception that sites hosted under their own domain names are more professional than free sites or ISP-hosted sites with long convoluted addresses.

Ensure that your domain name is both memorable and enduring. Like any brand name, logo, or trademark, your domain name represents your business/individual identity the world over!

At present, domain names are being bought up at the rate of several thousand new registrations a day. It is still possible, however, to find some good names as long as you apply some lateral thinking.

  • E-mail and web forwarding
  • Nominet Member
  • Free parking
  • No banner advertising
  • Transfer domain names in or out
  • Secure payment facility
  • No premium rate call charges
  • No restrictions on hosting elsewhere

    • Choosing a Domain Name

  • Try to keep the name short and descriptive.
  • Identify keywords that describe your business/interest to help create a useful name.
  • If you have difficulty coming up with a useful domain name, add a prefix or suffix to a keyword.

    • Common Prefixes

  • e
  • e-
  • the
  • online
  • cyber
  • web
  • virtual

    • Common Suffixes

  • site
  • shop
  • search
  • guide
  • directory

    • Other Considerations

  • Try hyphenating (-) your keywords
  • Consider the singular and plural forms of the domain name.
  • Search for generic words associated with your business/products e.g. coffee.co.uk.
  • Once you have found a good domain name, buy up all the alternatives e.g. .com, .co.uk.
  • Do not register trademarked names unless you are the trademark holder.
  • Do not "tailgate" off a trademarked domain name e.g. amazonforkids.co.uk.
  • If a domain you like is available, register it straight away. If you don't, you may be disappointed!

    • Domain Name Rules (.UK Domain Names)

  • Use only letters (a-z), numbers(0-9), or hyphen (-)
  • Cannot begin or end with a hyphen
  • Must have at least 3 characters, but less than 63, including suffixes such as .CO.UK

    • Domain Name Rules (.COM, .NET and .ORG Domain Names)

  • Use only letters (a-z), numbers(0-9), or hyphen (-)
  • Cannot begin or end with a hyphen
  • Must have less than 63 characters, not including .COM, .NET and .ORG

    • Domain Name Rules (.INFO Domain Names )

  • Use only letters (a-z), numbers(0-9), or hyphen (-)
  • Cannot begin or end with a hyphen
  • Must have at least 3 characters and less than 63 characters, not including .INFO

    • Domain Name Rules (.BIZ Domain Names)

  • Use only letters (a-z), numbers(0-9), or hyphen (-)
  • Cannot begin or end with a hyphen
  • Cannot have two hyphens in a row
  • Must have at least 3 characters and less than 63 characters, not including .BIZ

    • Web Hosting

    Solid, safe and reliable hosting. but there's more!

    Our hosting plans not only support diverse business models but also include many online tools and services to increase the value and utility of your business.

    Web Site Design & Development

    Our graphically creative web designers can use their skills to develop a visually stunning site for your company, with a simplicity and functionality that appeals to all. Our web programmers can develop various e-commerce solutions, order tracking facilities, invoicing integration, online estimation tools and lots, lots more.

    Search Engine Optimisation, Promotion and Marketing

    If you have invested time and money into building and maintaining a company website, you simply must submit your website online otherwise it will be invisible virtually, this means all your efforts spent in vain. If you want web users to know about your site and boost your revenues, the first thing you must do is make your website visible in places where people search for information, i.e. submit your website in multiple search engines.

    This is only a starting point as most major search engines may not even register your domain even if you submit it to them. There are other ways to improve your sites visibility and Solid IT can help. Firstly an analysis will be made of your current site and search engine optimisation procedures, Solid IT will then outline a new plan to boost your online presence.

    Usability Diagnosis & Re-design

    Often websites have been poorly designed in terms of usability, functionality and looks. Solid IT can analyse your existing site and offer advice on possible changes that could be made to help make your website more attractive and valuable for both yourself and the site visitors.

    Web Cams (Live Cams - Live Feeds)

    Webcams are a great way to stream live video and/or audio to audiences all over the world. Other Webcam providers would want you to believe a still image, updated every 60 seconds or so is a Webcam. We beg to differ. Solid IT employ our streaming video technology to provide your visitors with a truly incredible experience.

    Before you do anything, you must first decide on placement of your Webcam. The camera should be pointed at a relatively interesting spot to keep your visitor entertained and at your site longer. You can then insert paid advertisements into your video stream to generate revenue. The camera should not be pointing directly into the sun at any part of the day - this is an easy way to destroy it.

    Web Site Legal Info

    There are many copyright, contractual and legal issues a business should consider before purchasing business web design and hosting packages. Sites are produced to meet customer requirements and to match their perceptions, corporate identity, marketing and development plans.

    Legal and copyright issues associated with the web site, such as those involving statements made, price claims, use of graphics, etc, are monitored and respected within the limits of our knowledge and sphere of action.

    The customer owns the project on completion and receives a copy of the web site files, hard copy as well as a record of all associated information, passwords, licenses, and contracts. The customer is involved in the site development progress throughout. Costing is provided in advance and there are no surcharges or hidden extras.

    Care is taken to ensure that the content of the customer web site matches that supplied by the customer, including the careful proof-reading of web site text, checking of statements made, and elimination of differences with customer brochures and existing marketing materials, where necessary

    Web Site Maintenance

    Most companies now have a website and have it looking and working the way they want. However, in time, things change. Your company might offer new products or services, pictures and graphics on your site may be out of date, links to customer websites, supplier websites or other links can also get broken over time.

    Old information and broken links on your site are an inevitable way of losing credibility and with it you lose the trust of potential customers. Having a regularly updated site, clearly showing the latest information, can instil the confidence you desire from your customers.

    Keeping a site actively updated can be a difficult task in the real-life world of running a business. Finding time to update pages, monitor and maintain links, not to mention mastering the website design software to enable these changes to be made, is a real challenge.

    Solid IT can help maintain your site. Our services include:

  • Removing old and outdated content
  • Adding new content or images, or updating existing pages
  • Regular updates to your website, whether daily, weekly or monthly
  • Maintaining and updating News Pages
  • Link checking and repair
  • Usage statistics, monitoring and reporting