Woah, do I really need to read all this?

No, of course not! (It’s a lot of blah blah isn’t it). Just pick the topics that you feel most address your questions! If you have a question about our service that is not answered here, please feel free to contact us.

Do I need a website?

Yes, and no. It’s really a case of looking professional, and best practice. Social media is great, but it can be awkward for your customers to follow, and your business will usually benefit from the extra space to offer clearly written, easily navigated information, portfolio and more.

What is a domain?

Put simply, a domain is like a postal address, but on the internet. When you own a domain, you can also create email addresses at the same domain name. For example, if you buy  ‘mydomain.co.uk’ you can also create and use email addresses such as ‘info@mydomain.co.uk’ and ‘enquiries@mydomain.co.uk’. Owning your domain brings a uniform, seamless edge to your business profile, which in turn helps marketing, and generates more customer trust.

Will I get the domain name I want?

This is a tricky one! If you have a fairly unique company name, then yes there is every chance you will! However, if your company name is well used, or you use your surname as a sole trader, you might find your desired domain is already taken. Sometimes it is possible to slightly adjust a brand name for a domain purchase, whilst still retaining the original name. For example, if you were ‘CL Smith’, a plumber, trading as ‘Smith Plumbing’ – we could try clsmith.co.uk or clsmithplumbing.co.uk or smithplumbing.co.uk or even clsplumbing.co.uk. Alternatively, you can choose to list as a .com, however that usually incurs a steeper yearly cost. There are other domain extensions available (.info .biz etc) but in our opinion these are at the moment more difficult for customers to remember – the biggest markets are still on .co.uk and .com.

What if I already own my domain name?

No problem! We can still design a new website for you, and help you to make sure your domain provider is pointing your domain to the right place.

Can’t I just still use my current Gmail, Hotmail or other email address?

You can, of course. However streamlining your business with matching email address and domain looks much better and gives the customer more confidence in you and your business.

How easy will it be to move my email over?

Very simple! We can help you set up a redirect so that no interim emails from current customers ‘get lost’ along the way. Once you’re happy that all your standing customers have the new email address, you can close your old email down.

What is GDPR?

GDPR or General Data Protection Regulation is one of a set of laws passed to protect personal data linked to individuals. GDPR is a legal requirement for any website in the UK that uses cookies, or offers user accounts. This is because certain types of data are collected from and stored about the individual using the site. If your company sells products or offers services outside the UK, you may also need additional data protection options. Essentially, your site visitor retains control over what information they wish to share.

Do I need to allow users to have accounts on my website?

No, not always. If you are a tradesman, or offer a service rather than a product you can side-step the more complex side of user accounts. All your initial business can be arranged via message, email or phonecall, with invoicing done in person or by email. If however you are a product maker and/or vendor, you may prefer to have an online store. This will usually require some form of login or guest account creation on the users part, and therefore generates a higher GDPR risk. Allowing comments on posts, made by you, on your website also uses accounts and generates the need for a stronger GDPR. LiteSite can help you, whichever way you decide to go.

What is SEO?

SEO or Search Engine Optimisation is a background toolset that enables your website to list higher in people’s search results. This is important because the internet is a huge place, and you want people to find you! A person searching, for example, for a ‘plumber in Surrey’ will be offered many results to choose from, with sponsored or paid-for results sitting at the very top of the list. Paid for listings on search engine sites can be prohibitively expensive for a small businesses, so the next best option is to make sure your site is built cleanly, with SEO optimisation for each page. That way you will start to climb the results listings each time people search for your name.

Will you manage website and social media content for me?

LiteSite do not currently offer full social media management; however we are thrilled to announce our brand new External Assistant Services!  These services can currently offer you pay-per-item content creation and policy writing. We have decided to go pay-per-item as it is a flexible approach for small businesses, where you may not have the time to create all of your own social media or blog posts, or have the funds to pay for a permanent member of staff. Content will be written, images attached where appropriate, and emailed over ready for you to upload to your chosen social media platform.

Please note that for those who take up our website services, you will as part of that service recieve the creation of a ‘first’ or ‘latest’ social media post telling your customers about your shiny new website; alongside us making sure everything is synced up, performing as it should, and showing all the right information.

Will you show me how to manage my website content?

Yes of course! We’ll give you pointers and tips for the type of posts to make on social media (it’s all about attention, and you want it all focused on your business!), and show you how to post to your website if you have chosen to install a ‘posts page’.

Will LiteSite retain a login for my website, or any other part of the service?

If you choose not to host your website with us, LiteSite will not retain any adminstrative login beyond the completion of set-up; at that point we will remove ourselves as admin and you will take full control, flying solo.

If you choose to host your website with us, LiteSite will retain an administrative login to address any technical issues that may occur in the background. We will not alter or add any content, the login is simply for background issues. You will be able to see when we have logged in, and what actions we have taken.

If you engage our Facebook syncing services, and currently have a business page, we will require administration access to manage that page. This is usually done via an invitation through Meta’s business accounts portal. If you have Facebook but don’t have a business page, creating one is very easy. We will guide you through the first steps, so that you can invite us to manage your page. If you currently have no personal Facebook presence, and don’t wish to have one, we can create a new profile purely for business use. The user profile will be locked down so that no one may add or message them, and the profile will simply be used as a login portal for the business page. Any administration access given to us for these services will be closed down once the social media syncing is complete.

Sometimes it is necessary for us to ask you to receive and action emails regarding website SEO; Google Business is one such instance. Initially, if you do not already have Google Business and are hosting with us, we will set your business verification up via our own Google account. At that point we will add you as a manager. Once the business is verified, we will switch ownership to your Google account and remove ourselves. We do not always use Google Business, it very much depends on the needs of your business.

As your hosting service, we retain an ‘umbrella’ login to the back-end (think ‘all the stuff you don’t want to understand or be bothered about’); this enables us to oversee the health and digital security of the hosting service. It does not give us access to your website directly.

Can you help me with passwords?

Passwords should be secure, never shared, and as complex as possible (using capital and lower case letters, numbers, special characters, and not resembling a word or name).

With that in mind, LiteSite highly recommend the use of a password management tool such as BitWarden, Nordpass, or 1Password (*others are available and each offer slightly different services). These services often come at cost, so if this is beyond your early business finances, please make use of your simplest and available tool – your browser! Most browsers offer a secure password generation tool, and saving function. Whilst not ideal, it is still a marked improvement on things like ‘mypassword123’ which you then use everywhere you go. Ideally, every login should have a different password, so neither your website admin, Facebook, or email will have the same password. Your password is one of your strongest tools in the battle against hackers. Many password management tools come with MFA or Multi Factor Authentication; it is always a good idea to make use of this service if it is available. MFA usually uses your phone number, email, or an app to confirm that it’s really you logging in.
We will never ask you to share your password/s with us, and once changed cannot see any new password/s you set on your website or social media. Once we are removed from those adminstration logins, we always recommend you complete a full password change for security.

 

This all feels confusing, where do I start?

You already have, you’re reading this! Your next step is to reach out and say hello, we’re here to help you, and answer any questions you have about your new website possibilities.