Website Must Haves Part 1: Choosing A Hosting Service
We all know that we need a website for our practices- but what's the best way to set it up for maximum efficiency and minimum expense? How do you choose a website hosting service and a domain? What even is a hosting service?
If you have those questions, I have the answers!
How to Choose Hosting, Design, and Domain Services for Your Website
The first thing you need to know about websites is that hosting, design and domain are all different services.
The name you type into the address bar is the domain, the software that you use to create your site is the design, and the host is the service that "hosts" your site on the internet. You need all three in order to have a working, useful website.
All web hosting providers also offer design and domain services, but you don't have to choose them- many people choose a different web hosting provider, design, and domain providers to save money.
The major web design services that also offer hosting are
All offer domain and hosting services as well. To choose between them, ask yourself
What is my budget?
Take into account that the monthly price shown for the design sites does NOT include hosting, although they all offer that service. All of the plans except Squarespace offer free plans, which will have branding within the pages and the address (i.e. "privatepracticeslp.wix.com" with "Try Wix for yourself" -type ads on some pages). I don't recommend a free site for your business, because it just looks tacky. You don't need a "commerce" or "business" account unless you're planning to offer hard goods for sale through your site.
How much coding knowledge or tech savvy do I need?
With the exception of Wordpress, all of the design services listed above are "drag and drop" builders, which means you need very little knowledge of HTML coding to create your site using their templates. However, because of that, they are not completely customizable. If you want total customization, Wordpress is the best option- but it comes with a price tag and the need for coding knowledge.
How much time do I have available to spend on my website?
This is a big question and one that most people (myself included, when I started) don't think about. DIY design/hosting providers are great if you like and have time to be getting into the behind-the-scenes of your website, but it will take a lot of time. Ask yourself if you have the hours needed to set up and maintain your website- at least 10-15 hours to set it up, and 1-2 hours a week to maintain/improve it after you get into a groove. If you're going to be blogging, that adds even more time.
Other Options for Website Design:
If you want a turn-key service and don't want to mess around with designing or maintaining a website by yourself, you can choose a complete web design package from companies like Cued Creative. Hannah at Cued Creative is an SLP who will guide you through the entire design process, as well as take care of maintenance for you. She can also design a logo. Packages begin around $1500. Your website will be magnificent (truly- check out her portfolio) and it is a one-stop shop for branding.
A DIY with support option is her Squarespace templates from Cued Creative Websites, which walks you through every single step for designing and creating your own website, all in one weekend.
Now that you know what to look for "behind the scenes" of your website, check out the next post in this series, Part 2: Required Info.
If you want more information about starting a practice, including in-depth information on setting up your website, it's available in my Private Practice Essentials course - a one-stop guide to starting your private practice.