What You Need to Realize In Regards to Hosting Companies

If you're just starting out with a website, or are thinking about setting up a site for your accounting company there are a number of ideas you'll want to learn before you actually start to develop it. Designing accounting websites is like any skill. It's easy once you understand how it's done. Here are a selection of items to reflect on:

Hosting and Content :

Keep an eye out for a good package deal. Lot's of companies provide features like free domain names registrations or email hosting when you host your website with them. Of course I don't need to tell you that nothing is really free, only bundled into the service offering, so don't buy a package with features you don't need. Search engine submission is a popular offering that NOBODY needs any more (search engines no longer use submissions to rank pages), and features like shopping carts may be useful to retail businesses but it's useless for a professional service like an accounting firm. Shop around by doing a Google search for "web hosting" and research the top few results.

Determining which package is best for you can be daunting but if you break down the elements of your site you can ensure that you're picking the best option for you. One of the oldest and most reputable Web Hosts, for example, is Network Solutions. They have excellent service and online tools, but they a grossly overpriced compared to their biggest competitor, GoDaddy. Network solutions offers a free domain name registration with their package. Godaddy charges extra. Other features frequently found in hosting packages include Google advertising credits, file transfer systems, and other useful features.

If you won't be utilizing email addresses @yourdomainname.com, but will instead be using a free gmail or hotmail account for example, then you don't need to look at a plan that includes email.

Do a little homework. It will make the decision making process a LOT easier for you.

Domain names:

Picking a good domain name is key for your business. You don't want something that's too long, because then people won't remember it and it may not fit on business cards if it's too many characters long. Another factor to consider is search engine optimization, or getting your website to rank better in the search engines when a search is done for a certain word or phrase. A good way to convince the search engine that your site is really relevant is to use some of your keywords in your domain name. Keywords such as your location (FL, Florida, Tampa, etc) or words that explain your service (accounting, CPA, or even very specific keyword combinations like AtlantaConstructionAccounting, etc). As a rule ".com" domain names are superior to alternate domain extensions like ".biz", ".net", ".us", ".org", etc. Try to avoid breaking the keywords up with dashes and underscores, but if you can't get a decent domain name without doing so avoid using underscores. You do not have to get your domain name through your website host, and there are even risks in doing so. Get the domain name yourself using a service like GoDaddy, NetworkSolutions. There is even a domain registrar specifically oriented towards tax professionals called at DomainsForCPAs.com. Fee's vary. GoDaddy is a pretty cheap option, and Network Solutions is at the high end while smaller specialty registrars Domains For CPAs tend to take the middle ground. As a rule domains bill annually. Don't confuse this expense with your monthly hosting costs.

Be cautious if a company allows you to register your domain name as part of a package with your web hosting. Make sure your hosting service isn't registering your domain in their name instead of yours. Sometimes this is done as a retention strategy and sometimes it's done out of sheer laziness but in the end the result is the same: you don't actually own your domain.

cPanel:

You absolutely MUST have access to a cPanel. If you don't have administrative access to your domain controls you can't make changes to your domain settings and this means don't really own your domain. Your cPanel is your domains central nervous system, and it's vital that you be able to access it. It maps the domain to your website and your email to your inbox. There are all kinds of advanced features on your cPanel. It can be used to redirect pages and even point multiple domains to a single website. Many web hosting companies have the cPanel system integrated into their products. Either way you'll probably never need to access it, but it's vital that you be able to. If you can't access you cPanel whoever does has de facto control of your website and your email, and this can really put you over a barrel.

"S" is for Secure Socket Layer:

This isn't an issue for most site owners, but security is exceedingly important to accounting websites. If you plan on storing sensitive client documents like tax returns and QuickBooks files online, or if you intend to accept payments through your website, you need at least a passing understanding of how online security works. An SSL certificate is more than an assurance that files and information being transferred to and from your site is secure. It's also an integral part of a sophisticated online encryption protocol (Secure Socket Layer) that actually protects the information. A lot of companies offer SSL certificates. GoDaddy, VeriSign, and DigiCert are the largest. You've regularly been on secure pages, but you might not have been aware of it at the time. If you have ever noticed a unimposing padlock icon in a corner of your web browser that's a sign that you are looking at a secure page. Accounting websites are legally obliged to protect confidential client information, so failure to look after this data with an SSL certificate can cost you a lot more than a couple clients.

Brian O'Connell is the President and founder of CPA Site Solutions, one of the country's leading website design firms oriented exclusively to accounting websites. His company at present provides websites for more than 5000 CPA, accounting, bookkeeping, and tax preparation firms.