8 Apr, 2021 | Technology |
If you’re a blogging enthusiast, or perhaps a small business looking to build an attractive and functional website without breaking your piggy bank, website builders are the way to go. Among the top contenders, Wix and Squarespace are the top two. Sometimes however, ad-hoc support may be required for those needing a little help.
As it stands, the internet is swamped with content management systems (CMS) and other website builders all trying to get your attention. Opensource and propriety solutions alike. At the end of the day, this makes it even more difficult choosing the most ideal system for your needs. So, we’ve decided to narrow these down to two of the most popular platforms – Wix and Squarespace.
Which One Should You Use?
Wix VS Squarespace Breakdown
Before considering any other parameters, one of the things we need to focus on ease of use, regardless of your level of skill or expertise. There is absolutely no use in opting for a website builder with specialised features if you are unable to use them.
There is a lot of commonality between Wix and Squarespace, especially in their features. They are both designed with drag-and-drop editors, and are both easy to use.
With ad-hoc website services, and this is primarily for business owners and marketers who have a lot on their plates, a team of designers can simply choose the ideal elements (from text, images right through to social sharing widgets) for your website and position them in a manner that is functional and pleasing in design.
Wix Ease Of Use
Ad-hoc website service providers can easily create your Wix website with ease. The website builder is fun and interactive with creative and agile elements and you can move elements without dumbing down its functions – it caters to beginners and tech experts.
Even though it has drop-and-drag features, you can use its unique Artificial Design Intelligence (Wix ADI) OPTION. This option requires you to enter your website details including the purpose of your site, add elements you want as well as the theme and voila! Wix ADI automatically creates the website with all your desired preferences.
Squarespace Ease Of Use
Squarespace is also great for beginners but has more technical aspects than Wix making it far better to hire ad-hoc website services due to the higher learning curve. However, once you have a firm grasp on the layout and the user interface, the world is your oyster, and all falls into place.
Squarespace Drag And Drop
The awesome thing about Squarespace is that it allows you to use a variety of templates all at once for a single website. You can add multiple content with ease, a simple click anywhere on your website is all it takes.
dO YOU NEED AD-HOC SUPPORT?
There’s a lot more that goes into which of these two website builders you can choose from. From templates, pricing, and SEO features, there’s a lot that goes into it.
But sometimes asking for a little help can create even better results!
Speak to an ad-hoc website service provider like us at Big Rock Graphics for all your website builder needs.
3 Dec, 2020 | Business, Technology |
When most people need a website, their first thought is that a coding engineer must get cracking on building it. That is like saying: I want a new house, let a builder start building. There are essential steps that need to be taken before a house can be built if you want a fully functional, good looking, appropriately sized house that is. This is 100% applicable to websites.
The essential components of website building are quality information gathering as your first step or phase along with well thought out site map planning, top quality content, and consistent, long term maintenance.
In this guide to the development of a website, we will show you the 6 phases you need to go through to create a website. There is a lot of unpacking to each phase not shown here, and if you are not highly skilled in such projects, it is advisable to get an experienced, agile project manager involved.
The steps are:
- Step 1 – Information Gathering
- Step 2 – Sitemap Planning
- Step 3 – Content Writing and Compilation
- Step 4 – Design and Architecture
- Step 5 – Coding, Reviewing, Launching
- Step 6 – Maintenance
Project Development Timeline
With any project, regardless of the industry, three project pillars are played off against each other throughout the project journey.
Money. Time. Quality.
- Less of one will always mean more of another, for instance:
- Less money could mean less time and less quality.
- If you use low-quality input, then you might spend more money fixing it.
- If you restrict the time, then quality may suffer.
- If you don’t want the quality to suffer then, you would need to spend more money to buy more working hours to meet the deadline and so on.
Development always takes longer than expected, as with building a house, as each project is a prototype and highly customised to client requirements and market UX requirements.
You do have to draw a line in the sand though to start. Create a website development timeline and list every task that feeds into the six steps as well as milestones. This is the advisable way to track the course of the project, or it will run away from itself and become a never-ending project.
You can create a Gantt chart in project-specific software or keep it as simple as a Gantt chart in an excel spreadsheet. Gantt software will automatically change steps in a project plan if things are moved whereas an excel spreadsheet will need lots of admin adjustments for the entire project every time a time frame changes. Our preference is GanttPRO.
Let’s look at the six steps now and some insight into them:
Step 1. Gathering Information
At this first stage, it is all about getting thoughts down onto paper, quantifying those thoughts, research, distilling the core purpose of the website, verifying the main Goals, and researching exactly which target market you are after.
This is a critical stage and should be done well as it will be the foundation and guide to all steps that follow from thereon.
The clearer your understanding of your website’s purpose, the outcomes you want to achieve and who you are targeting, the more successful your business strategy will be.
Depending on your visitors, e.g. teenagers, retired people, parents, etc., this will define the site’s required functionality according to purposes. The better this is planned, the less you will be spending on expensive changes later with retrofitting code and functionality.
We suggest you allocate up to 10 working days to this.
Step 2. Sitemap Planning
This phase is also called wireframe construction which is another phrase used in the home building industry. The website developer will put together data to give you, the client, a “thin” outline of the website to provide you with a feel for how it will look. This is not a fleshed-out final product. An artist would call it a sketch.
The sitemap is also created. That is the item that looks like a bulleted list on websites, the skeleton or verbal map.
It will show you the relationships between main pages and subpages. It will show you if there is a complicated way of accessing subpages (which is not good). If there are multiple bullets below the main point, then you should simplify that, or your customers will get frustrated or just give up and leave.
If you are building the website for someone else, then you should get their sign off before the big coding sprint. A mock-up (wireframe) should be produced, no colour, just a black and white “slide show” display of page by page. Keep time investment low on this. We use Moqups software for this.
If you are the developer, then you should be deciding on frameworks, content management system and programming language. Here are the most popular scripting and programming languages used:
- JavaScript
- Java
- Python
- CSS
- PHP
- Ruby
- C++
- C
- Shell
- C#
- Objective C
- R
- VimL
- Go
- Perl
We propose that you plan for 2 to 6 weeks of work on this phase.
Step 3 – Content Writing and Compilation
This is usually not a clear and separate step. It tends to build alongside the other stages and is refined along the way. It is still a vital part and should have some of its own time allocated to it.
You need to capture the very essence of your website’s purpose, inspire, motivate and put in calls-to-action (CTAs) buttons or hyperlinks.
You will need attention-grabbing headlines, writing up the article-style text for each page, cross-page hyperlinks etc. This takes time and effort. The client is usually expected to create this or to hire someone to build it on their behalf like a copywriter. There is a big difference in copy written by a professional and a non-professional.
It is if all website content is provided at once, by the very latest, during website coding.
We propose that you plan for 5 to 15 weeks of work on this phase.
Step 4. Design and Architecture
This phase includes the design of page layouts, the review of all work to date and the approval cycle. Things start to take shape. All the information that you have carefully created is influential in this phase, and images, photos and videos are sourced or made to expand on that information.
A designer is the one leading the website layout, and at this stage, it can be a sketch or a formal graphic design. The structure should give the best visualisation of the content, lead the eye and guide the user to functionality. It will include colours, logos, images, quotes, widgets and more. You should be able to see a reasonably good representation of the final product now.
If you are building this for a client, you then present it to them for review and to supply feedback. There will be a few back-and-forth iterations of this until final sign off is achieved.
We propose you assign 4 to 12 weeks of project time for this.
Step 5. Coding, Reviewing, Launching
This is an exciting phasing as its “roll up your sleeves” time. The website construction starts and will incorporate all earlier researched and designed graphic items and elements.
Usually, the sequence is home page first, and then you build out from there according to your sitemap. The developer must implement the frames and the content management system on the server, so make sure that everything planned can be managed smoothly by the server.
Creation and testing constantly happen during this phase as all the earlier designed page elements, unique features and interactivity are created, in that sequence, then tested. It is critical to the success of the website that the developer working on the site has senior technology knowledge and experience.
Plugins are added in this step, and the crucial stage of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) happens now. It is labour intensive, but without it, the website will wither and die. It is not only about title, description and keyword, but there is also a long list to work through of at least 200 best practices, search consoles being set up. This includes authentication and, after going live, getting your website indexed as soon as possible by Google’s crawlers. Right near the top of best practices is: quality of code – any invalid code will damage your ranking with search engines.
As stated, throughout this phase, testing is occurring. The sooner you test, the less backtracking you have to do. Test every link, check every form and script, check spelling, and use code validators – you can find free validators online. This is important to ensure cross-browser compatibility.
Once you are confident that sufficient checking and rechecking has been done, then you can upload it all to the server using File Transfer Protocol (FTP) software. Test the website from the front end to make sure everything is behaving the way it should.
We propose that you allocate 6 to 15 weeks work time for this and another 2 to 4 weeks for tweaking after uploading.
Step 6. Maintenance
This is a highly overlooked recurring step by website owners. The internet is littered with outdated, failing websites which is very damaging for brand image. Having a maintenance plan in place is a must. A website is part of sales and customer service, i.e. it’s a service, not a product, be sure to keep an eye on it and make sure it is performing.
If you are the website developer, you should also view it as a service. You should not view handover as the cut-off point. You must ensure that the website is 100% functional and that the client is satisfied. You must have budgeted (financially and timewise) for tweaking changes post-handover.
Whatever webmaster system you have set up will send you notifications of end-user problems. Fix them as fast as you can, or your client will lose clients and, by default, you will lose that client.
As a webmaster, keep your websites up to date. Regularly update CMS, prevent bugs and decrease security risks.
This is an ongoing cycle, and we propose, once the site is established, that you allocate a set time each week to check on each website.
And Off You Go!
So, to recap before we depart:
- Coding is not the be-all and end-all of website building, just like bricks aren’t the be-all and end-all of a house design.
- Preparation as a direct impact on all future steps. Know what your website must achieve, know your target market and keep that website fresh and updated just like a retail store. Old and dusty doesn’t sell.
- Budget for time post-launch to tweak the website until everyone is thrilled. Treat each phase as equally important, and the quality will show in the result.
- Allocate a marketing budget for website upkeep and updating, including security.
- Allocate a marketing budget for new website content weekly.
Are you looking for the best company to build your very first website and assist with all of those final touches, as well as website maintenance? Contact Big Rock Graphics as we have dealt with many first-time clients and have supported busy developers. We have a true passion for bringing brand new website concepts to life.
Allow us to be the team that creates an extraordinary website for your brand.
15 Sep, 2020 | Business, Technology |
Having firm ownership of your domain name and website is paramount to the success of a business online. As the usual first point of contact in the digital space, your website is what clients first see of your brand and how they find out more about your offerings.
So, what happens when you miss or forget the renewal period? As an essential part of any business with an online presence, you must fully understand the process so you can protect your brand name and ensure you don’t lose your site address.
Don’t Leave It To The Last Second
If your site is registered as a .com.au, .net.au, .org.au or any other .au extension, a lapse in registration will result in the name becoming inactive and unavailable to users. If this happens, it will enter into what is known as a server hold whereby access is prohibited. This status will last around 30 days, during which time the owner can still renew the address. Once this period has passed, however, any name with Australian domain orientation and with the hold status will be deleted. If your website URL is deleted off the register, it will be open to the public and will be able to be bought by another person or even a competitor.
If you have a site address with an international extension, the expiration process can be a little more complicated as these are usually internationally based sites that must go through separate processes to those of AU specific sites. When owning a web address ending in .com, .net, .org, .info or .biz, the expiration process must go through different channels and bodies such as ICANN. Firstly, the address goes into the DNGP, a grace period that protects the website name. This lasts for around 40 days and allows you as the owner to still renew the name by paying the required fees upfront.
If you still have not renewed your site after this point in time the name then enters a further 30 days name redemption period. The original owner can still renew the address, but it is a costly and complex process taking a few days if not more. If the web address is still not renewed after this time it will then go into a 5-day pending delete phase.
After this allotted time the address will be available for registration by any other eligible party or business entity.
Dropping The Ball
When a web address becomes available to be purchased again, it is called a “dropped domain” and will appear as such on any register. This is the most dangerous time as it can be picked up by anyone crawling the dropped names list for good opportunities. As the online space is highly competitive, often these names can be bought up in moments, meaning you will most likely have to try and buy back your address from a third party.
When dealing with an Australian web address, you must ensure you are up to date with your registration and reminder emails. A decisive course of actions when the time comes is integral to the safety and security of your online presence. Not having an active site can bring into question the legitimacy and professionalism of your brand, and as such is not something that can be left to the side.
Protect your URL and be sure not to miss your renewal period. However, if you do, familiarizing yourself with the above information will give you some of the tools you’ll need to get it back under your control.
How Do You Avoid This?
Ideally, your domain will already be registered in your name with the correct contact details and, in the case of .AU domains, eligibility Name and ID that matches your details. If everything is okay in this regard, then your domain registrar should be offering the option to auto-renew your domains. System generated reminders will also be sent to the registrant email on the account at 90, 60, and 30 days from the renewal date.
For professional insight and a trusted hand in the digital space, be sure to contact Big Rock Graphics for website and digital marketing solutions for your business.
Don’t miss out on your domain renewal period in AU. Email or call today and we can discuss your options.
21 Jul, 2020 | Design, Technology |
Recently we released a blog titled, ‘What I Need to Know for My First Website Build’ which discussed the basics of putting your website together. The blog provided first-timers a good idea of what they would be in for with regards to the web building process and starting a new website from scratch.
In this follow-up blog, we will delve into what you will need to know about the final stages of your website build once you have completed all the steps in our blog Part 1.
Functions
So, you’ve hired a professional web designer who has completed the layout, design, and web pages of your new website. It has all been finalised, and your site is taking shape and is looking great!
Now it is time to think about the functionality of your site. Have you tried out your website for yourself? How does it function?
No matter the type of website, it needs to be fully functional and incorporate functions that add extra value. When it comes to sites, after all, functionality is critical. A professional web designer should be able to advise you on which functional features will suit your brand’s goals and visions.
Let us outline a few recommended functional features you need within your website:
- Social Integration: Social media is essential to your success in the digital sphere, and there should be an encouragement for your website viewers to pop over to your social media profiles. You can do this by social integration, a function that automatically displays a few of your latest social media posts on your site.
- Navigation Tools and Tabs: Functionality through website navigation should be easy and visible. Have clearly defined navigational tools will ensure effective website functionality and usability.
- Intuitive Website Forms: With the use of cutting-edge technology, web builders can create intuitive website forms that appeal to the individual based on time spent on the site, pages looked at, demographics, etc. Your online forms must be easy, quick, and functional as this will turn viewers into customers and guarantee filled-in forms.
- Information Architecture and Layout: Content affects functionality, so it’s essential to have high-quality information as well as neat, streamlined information architecture. This improves the functionality, readability, and usability of your company’s website.
- Page Loading Speed: How does each web page function in terms of loading? Does your website function fast with each page boasting fast page loading speed?
There are many more functions and capabilities that websites can handle but it all boils down to the needs of your target market, and how to make your site accessible, enjoyable, and easy to use for them.
What you need to do is research your functionality options and discuss them with your site builder.
Final Build
The final build of your website will entail the web builders and designers putting all the finishing details on your site to ensure that it is in optimal working condition and exactly what you envisioned. Some of the most important of these finishing touches include:
- Mobile Compatibility
- Accessibility
- Fast Page Loading Times
- Well Planned Information Architecture
- Browser Consistency
- Effective Navigation.
- Good Error Handling
- SEO friendly and/or an SEO campaign
- Well-Formatted Pages
- Testing of Functions
The final build stage may require you to add tweaks here and there to ensure that your site is exactly as you want it. If there are a few things that you’re unsure about, you shouldn’t stress as you can always make further tweaks at a later stage.
You want your final product to be a fully optimised and fast loading website.
Optimised Content
Before your site goes live, it is highly recommended that all your pages make their debut into the world wide web with optimisation already in place. SEO is very content dependent, and you should ensure that the web copy on your site has been written by a SEO professional, with all the necessary keywords being used to up your site’s rankings from the get-go.
SEO is one of the only effective ways to get organic traffic, which should be on of your aims!
Approval
The approval stage of your site build includes having you, the client, approve the final product that the site builders and designers have come up with. If you have other members on your team that are involved in the website build, you may need to show them the final product too before confirmation of approval. You may be given a certain time-frame by which you need to approve the site.
At this point, the site would have been fully tested for any flaws, had its browser compatibility checked, as well as all its functionality. It should be running in perfect order.
Take your time on approving your site. Future adjustments can easily be made but it is better that you are happy the first time around. Upon approval, you will most likely be required to pay the site builder for their billable hours.
Each website design and development company works differently. Some may offer you an all-inclusive package with a set number of changes, while others will include ongoing changes for monthly or yearly subscription fees. Make sure you choose the right billing system that will suit your business model.
Maintenance
Unfortunately, once your website is up and running it is not the end of the work that you need to put into it. Look at a website like a living thing that needs to be looked after to function correctly. A timeless and effective site should not require much maintenance, but there will be tweaks and checks needed if you want to continue to see growth in your traffic, customers, and Google rankings.
Keeping your website up to scratch will ensure that you stay ahead of the curve and well ahead of your competitors. While it may be tempting to cut corners and let a few maintenance tasks fly off the radar, it would be an insult to your original investment if you did not take your website maintenance seriously.
You don’t purchase a new vehicle and not have it serviced regularly; do you?
Do not let your web maintenance needs be forgotten about. Your site builder will most likely offer a maintenance package for tasks that need to be done daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly. It is best to stick with the website developers and designers who created your site as they will know how it works inside out and be able to provide effective maintenance.
Each site is unique and will require slightly different maintenance. Higher traffic eCommerce websites for example may require full daily server backups. For instance, as a guide, maintenance checks should be inclusive of the following:
Daily Maintenance
- Malware and vulnerable framework/plugin scans. Remove, update, or replace as required.
- Review attempted intrusion attempts and take appropriate steps to close potential vulnerabilities
Weekly Maintenance
- Look for any 404 errors and fix them
- Search for broken links and them
- Backup your website database
- Check how each page loads
- Post a blog post to keep your audience interested. Use the blog for SEO purposes to insert your marketing keywords too.
- Get rid of any spam in the comments and reviews
- Respond to comments and reviews if need be
- Ensure forms are working correctly
- Make any necessary software updates
Monthly Maintenance
- Review your security features
- Website database optimisation
- Image optimisation. Preferably, this should be done before upload
- Check website analytics and analyse all data and statistics (eg. Google Analytics)
- Update any info on blogs or throughout your site that may need to be changed.
- Full off-site website framework and content backups
Yearly Maintenance
- Reference should include the current year
- Review the content of the entire site
- Complete off-site server backup
- Renew your website domain name (2 yearly in the case of .AU domains)
- Improve some design elements as needed
It is important to set aside some of your marketing/operational budget for your website maintenance. It is worth it to provide it with fresh content, to assist with search engine rankings, and to keep your website secure.
Looking for the best company to build your very first website and assist with all of those final touches, as well as website maintenance?
At Big Rock Graphics, we have dealt with many first-time clients and have a true passion for bringing brand new website concepts to life.
Allow us to be the team that creates an extraordinary website for your brand.
Contact Big Rock Graphics today!
25 Jun, 2020 | Design, Technology |
Whether you are having a new website built for a brand-new company, or you’re venturing out for the first time into the online world of websites, there are definitely a few things that you’ll need to know before you get started. While you need not know the technical details that go into website building, it’s beneficial to have an idea of the project requirements as well as the building and designing process.
But first, ensure that you choose an expert website designer so that they can offer guidance along the way, and so that the end product is a site you can be proud of!
As professional website designers and builders, Big Rock Graphics has dealt with many first time website clients, and we have used this experience to provide you with the following information.
Why You Need a Website
Well done on realising that your brand needs a website: because it does. In the digital age that we live in, a business would suffer greatly if they did not have a fully optimised website where their details, products and services were listed.
What Information You Will Need to Provide: Before the Build
Before your professional website designer starts building your website, there are some things that you’ll definitely need to know, and some information that you will need to provide the designer with. This may include:
- Define Your Purpose – What is the purpose of the site that you want to build? Is it an e-commerce site designed to sell your products or is the site you wish to create purely informative.
- Choose a Platform – Most professional web designers will work with a variety of platforms and give you options when it comes to platforms for your site. While the web builder may be able to recommend a platform that suits your brand, it is best to do some of your own research about the different platforms available so that you can make a completely informed decision.
- Choose A Website Name, Address and Register A Domain – Choose a web address that has your brand’s name in it and that is easy to remember. You may get thrown off a bit if your first choice of web address is not available, but ensure that you think clearly before settling on a web address.
- Know Your Budget – While your budget should not be too small when investing in a quality website, you want to ensure that you can afford the web designer services as well as the monthly web hosting fees before you agree to anything. Remember that you can always add more advanced and costly features at a later stage.
Big Rock Graphics offer a range of solutions for payments, from interest-free set contract periods, to low cost ongoing monthly packages which include ongoing hosting and maintenance fees.
To expedite the process, it is best that you gather all this information before you start talking to a web designer. With the information above, a website developer should be able to secure a domain name for you. This can be done at the very early stages of a business idea, and you could even wait a while to develop your business strategies and goals before starting the design stage.
What Information You’ll Need To Provide: In The Beginning Stages
Now it’s time for the design process! And no better time to have a detailed brief ready to go. During the beginning stages of a website, your website designer should be in regular contact with you to discuss different site features, the look and feel, the content and images etc. During this stage you may need to provide the following information:
- Template – The web designer may show you a variety of templates appropriate for your business and you will have the final say of which template is used. In order to make the decision easier, you should have a clear vision for your site and what features it will need in order to serve your customers effectively. Research a few websites from other businesses similar to yours and get a feel for what templates they use.
- Colour Scheme – If your business is fully fledged already, your marketing department could provide the web designer with the colour schemes of your current marketing material for inspiration. If not, you may have to come up with a colour scheme on your own, or ask your web designer for their thoughts. Perhaps save links of existing websites that have colour schemes that you think could work well for your busines website.
- Logo – Your business logo is something that should appear multiple times throughout your website. If you are not proud of your logo, you may want to consider having it redesigned. If you do not have a logo at all, most web designers also provide graphic design services and can probably create an eye-catching logo that works cohesively with your site for an additional fee. Your logo should also be in the correct file formats so be sure to have those handy.
- Target Audience – Who is your website aimed at? Having a defined target audience is very important for every aspect of your site; from the layout to the language that is used in the content. If you don’t know who your target audience is, it’s imperative that you do some market research to find out a bit more about your ideal customer before the beginning stages of your website take place. It would be futile to market towards the wrong audience.
- All Brand Details – It’s important for the web designer to know as much about your company as possible. If you have a company profile, be sure to send it through to them. Also ensure that you have all of your basic info, such as location and contact information easily accessible as this will need to be loaded onto the site.
- Photos – Do you have high-quality images of your business premises, products, staff and services? While you can always use stock images on your site (there are some great ones out there), it is always best to allow your individual brand voice speak for itself through your own photographs. You may want to consider hiring a professional photographer to get some high-quality shots of your premises, staff and products before embarking on creating a brand new website.
- Email Address and Social Media – If you do not already have a dedicated email address for your business, you may want to look at creating one so that it can be added to your website. You should also seriously consider creating social media profiles on various social platforms for your business so that social media links can be added to your site, and website links can be added to your social media pages. A website and social pages work best when in unison.
Having all this information ready for your website developer (builder) will assist in giving them a clear and concise idea about what you want and make the entire process of building your website easier, and faster.
What to Expect During the First Stages of the Process?
While your excitement to have your very first website ready and live on the web may override your patience, it is important to remember that great website design and development takes time. The process, while not too lengthy, can take time.
Also remember that the process of website development is a cohesive one so be prepared to work closely with your designer and be readily available to review drafts, check changes and approve different elements of the website. The process also involves, or should involve, many drafts.
Professional designers always ensure that different website options are provided to allow for choice, along with different drafts throughout the different building stages.
A Website is an Investment
A website can stay with your business for life. While it may require ongoing platform/framework updates or initiating SEO/SEM campaigns, if you invest in a quality website in the beginning you won’t need it redone in the future. Your website acts as the online face of your brand, so you want to create the right impression with an optimally-functioning, attractive website.
Knowing the details of your company and having a clear vision for your website will help ensure that your site accurately reflects your brand’s voice.
Need to know more?
Looking for the best company to build your very first website?
At Big Rock Graphics, we have dealt with many first-time clients and have a true passion for bringing brand new sites to life. Allow us to be the team that brings your website vision to life.
Contact Big Rock Graphics today!
17 Feb, 2020 | Security, Technology |
You could be employing every security measure under the sun and you could still have your domain snatched right from under you. Identity theft applies more than just to people, so a registry lock is a must-have as it provides the highest level of protection for your domain name.
What Is A Registry Lock?
Getting down to what this miracle program is, a registry lock involves a more stringent, manual (and at times offline) process than you may be used to partaking in when it comes to security. What this process results in is neutralising any and all hijacking attempts. Once you’ve registered your domain and everything is official, it’s time to lock it down tight and protect your digital property. A registry lock effectively helps with this.
Why Is It So Important?
Registering your domain name and locking it in is the first thing that you should look into once you’ve come up with a domain name. This step is just as important as coming up with and registering the business name. With a registry lock in place, your domain won’t be going anywhere without your say. You’ll be the only one requested via manual contact verification, or authenticated contact as it is more commonly known. This is something that is ensured by the domain registry that you’ve enlisted the services of.
What Steps Should You Take?
Having a registry lock won’t protect you from everything unfortunately. When it comes to general safety and successful name renewal, it’s best to know the steps to avoid any accidental mix-ups. To further lock in your domain name, follow these simple tips.
- As previously stated, make sure that you’ve locked up your domain name to keep it from being taken.
- Keep your registered contact information current to avoid any delays if there ever comes a time that you want to make adjustments.
- Keep your details private for obvious reasons as having a registry lock won’t mean a thing if your access information can just as easily be found by those that you’re trying to guard your domain against.
Once you’ve secured your domain and followed these extra measures, be sure to get in touch with Big Rock Graphics, your local experts in an array of digital services. We’ll be sure you not only build your online presence and grow your website, but we’ll also protect it as well.
