Website Design and Hosting for Small Organizations

As part of my duties as IT Manager for NSI Partners TechConnect, I also oversee our Hosting services.

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In today’s marketplace, the Internet, and the Web, are everywhere.  From desktop and laptop computers, to tablets and smart phones, to TVs, other home electronics, and even some cars, the ubiquity of the Web is enormous.

Whether you are a for-profit or not-for-profit organization, a web presence is essential to draw attention, provide services, get new customers, and communicate with constituents.

Many places today offer simple, easy-to-configure, bottom-dollar priced do-it-yourself site design and hosting.  Some of these sites, such as our own NSIHost, offer such services and additional features you can easily add in (e-commerce, SSL certificates, various Social Media plugins, etc.).  This is a great option if you are willing to spend a little time getting comfortable with the interface, tools and walk-thrus available to build your own site.

Another option is to contract with a provider (NSI Partners provides these services as well) to design a site for you, often using images and graphics you provide, with a layout design you have input into, and features / add-ons that make sense for your goals and organization.  This, of course, is more expensive, but gives you the luxury of a no-hassle site designed by experts without having to spend much time fiddling with the site design yourself.

There are other choices to make, such as the registration of domain names (e.g. www.mycoolsite.com), whether or not you want email accounts for your registered domains, and whether you want your website in a shared or dedicated hosting environment.  In addition, Search Engine Optimization is very important if you want to be found.  Many online marketing firms offer services in these areas, including NSI Partners, and money spent on various forms of online marketing usually means more visitors, links from others, and ultimately, customers.

The main point here is that if you are part of a new small business, a non-profit or ministry organization, or represent some other organizational interest, you need a website, and it’s not as complicated or intimidating as one might think.

If you are ready to get started, follow one of the links in this post, or fill out our contact form, and one of our Design and Hosting experts will reach out to you and assist you in the next steps for your agency!