Every vendor that accepts credit cards for payment whether online, in person or over the phone is required to be PCI complaint. There is great information about PCI Compliance at PCI Compliance Online Guide and at the Visa Partner Network. You can also check with your hardware vendor about the equipment that you currently own. As for software – many small businesses own some version of Intuit’s QuickBooks which has white papers explaining how to make your system complaint. They can be accessed at http://support.quickbooks.intuit.com/support/papb.aspx .

They penalty for not being complaint is a fine in most cases but can result in your not being able to accept credit cards. Check your software, hardware and processes to make sure you are compliant before an issue arises.

Other PCI Sites –

Visa Rick Management
PCI Security Standards Council

Self Assessment Questionnaire

1. Domain Name Registration – whatever you choose for a domain name it will have to be registered with one of the many registrars. An annual registration fee will cost you different amounts depending on the registrar, but they range from 10.00 year to 35.00 year. You want to make sure that you or your developer choose a reliable registrar that has an easy to use interface and a 24/7 support line.
2. Host Servers – A host server is a collection of servers that stores all the files that make up your web site and give access to those pages to anyone surfing the net. Each site has different requirements from the server, depending on what the site is and the size of the site and the numbers of visitors to the site, and whether or not you are selling a product or service. In general I recommend that you take the recommendation of your web developer as they will know your sites requirements. Depending on the host, the amount of space and bandwidth that you require, whether or not you require security, a database and many other considerations it can costs you approximately $99.00/year to hundreds of dollars a year.

These two costs are standard with every site except a free blog or a Facebook page. There are additional costs if you are running an e-commerce site or taking credit cards for payment.

1. SSL – If you are accepting credit cards online you will need a Secure Socket Layer Certificate. There are a variety of levels of security encryption that meet different needs and cost different amounts. The average small to medium sized store is going to spend 39.00 to 250.00/year for this certificate.
2. Merchant Gateway – A merchant gateway is required to interface between your shopping cart software and your merchant account. There are various gateways just as there are various merchant accounts and they all charge a monthly fee as well as a transaction fee.
3. Shopping cart – there are free shopping cart but in general you are going to either pay a monthly fee for a hosted system or a larger one time license fee as well a regular upgrade charges.

All of these fees are in addition to whatever you pay a developer/designer for your website. As you can see they can be very limited if all you want is a small brochure site and somewhat more extensive for and online store.

If you run you own business this just becomes another chore that need to try to fit into your day. I know. I own my own business and adding time to update my site always seems to be something I can leave for tomorrow.

The first thing you need to do is evaluate where you site is in the standings and then decide what needs to be done to make improve its search position. Remember, whatever you think of your site, it’s purpose is to be either a marketing conduit or a place for you clients to get information or both. Review your metrics and create a marketing plan specifically for your web site. Break the plan down week by week for the next 6 months and make sure you stick to it. At the end of time you set for yourself you should see improved metrics. If you don’t then it may be time to hire a professional.

Many small companies that are deciding to go on the web for the first time have owner’s that are not regular users of the web and they often find it hard to know what they want. They want the stuff everybody else wants. So to all of you I say get out there and look around. Look at your competitor’s sites and see what they do. Jot down a list of options that there site offers. Then go to another industry in a similar field and check out the site there. What do they do? What do they do differently? What do you like about it? Not like about it?

After you have decided what functionality you want, then discuss this with various web developers and find out what the different options are going to cost, what is the best way to get access to them. Is there something you want that is outside your current budget? Can it easily be added later?

You don’t necessarily want to go with what the web developer is recommending if it’s what they always offer. See if they are choosing the best product for you or the best product for them.

In addition to functionality, you need to answer another question before finding a web designer – do you want to own the software or do you want pay a fee for a hosted solution. If you own the software, you download it and then customize the visual layer to meet your needs. You are then responsible for upgrading it in the future and for finding and paying for modules and plug-ins.  Many of the options you purchase licensing for are open source and as such they usually have a group of people that regularly write plug-ins and modules for the software that meet the needs of the evolving web. Hosted options limit you to using a host service that the software company owns, you pay a monthly fee that can include varying levels of support.  The software company constantly updates the software adding functionality based on what their clients feel are necessary. This software is generally not open source and you can pay a high fee for being allowed to access their source code. The design layer is usually limited to a set of themes that can only be modified within certain parameters. However, this kind of site, once setup requires very little maintenance and upkeep.  There are pro’s and cons to both systems that need to be evaluated by the end user.

Again, this is all basic purchasing research but many people don’t do it because the whole subject of the web intimidates them. Don’t pay thousands to get a website you hate and that doesn’t meet your needs only to be forced to find a better solution.  Do the research up front, no matter how painful and then find a developer that will get you what you want. That should result in a web site that you are happy with and that meets your needs.

• Domain Name Registrars:GoDaddy, Network Solutions are a couple of examples of domain registrars and each will charge a different yearly fee as well offer a variety of other services.  Once you resister your domain name the registration is kept on-file with ICANN -Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.  This non-profit group oversees the coordination of domain names and extensions across the world.

• Host Servers:Computers that do nothing but store websites are web servers. Each server is assigned many ip addresses. Each domain or a group of domains is assigned an ip address and that is how your site is found on the Internet.

Domain names:A domain name is your name on the web, which is also your address.  As a business it should be your business name www.mirrorlakeinteractive.com no matter how long that is. I should also strive to have a .com extension.  The .com extension is one of the oldest, the one that people don’t have to remember.  Your domain name should be the name of your company, but common nick names, common misspellings, etc. can also be purchased. Make sure your domain name is registered in your name or your company name not in your developer’s name. Domain names can be registered for 10 years or longer so buy as many as you like. Do not however buy hundreds and then do nothing with them. That will cost you. Once you register a domain name you need to either move it to a permanent address or point it to an address. In general your company domain name will move to a host  while alternative names will point to the company address or specific landing pages..

Hosting Servers:Once you have a domain name you will need to lease a hosting service. A hosting service is a company that owns a collection of computers called servers that store the pages that make up your site and many other sites. They also run a variety of applications that support web sites. These servers are all available to people searching the web.  Once on this server you will be associated as an IP address. This is a series of numbers that are assigned to your domain name and enable a person in Australia or India to find your domain name in America.

Host servers are either designed to use Microsoft Server Technology or Unix based systems. Work with your developer to choose one, because the two systems support different software languages and therefore offer different applications to support your web site.  Your developer may prefer to use one rather than another.

The host that you choose will also support servers that support an email system for your mail and servers that host databases call sql servers. All of this is necessary for you to run a business web site, a blog, or any other site that is in part driven by information stored in a data base.

Hosts give you access to email, databases, and a variety of applications through a control panel that you can access using a logon and password.  Depending on how involved you get with your site you may or may not access this.

These are the basics of domain names and hosts. It sounds confusing but it is a simple process to set them up.  Whether you or your developer do the work for you make sure the accounts are in your name and not the developers.