[ top ]

Should I register a dot-com or dot-ca?

Should I register a generic top level domain (dot-com) or a country code top level domain (dot-ca) for my online business? This all depends on the market for your product or service. If you are selling strictly to Canadians, or if being known as Canadian is an important feature of your product or service, then you are better off with a dot-ca domain. However, if you are marketing a product or service internationally, you may wish to register your online business as a dot-com. This could be tough since most domain names with dot-com are not available, as dot-ca's are more than likely to be. Kepp in mind your clients may remember your business name and try to access the website on the Web by typing the name directly into their browser, and dot.com is most people’s first choice in typing out the domain name.

More info:

[ top ]

What is a Registry?

A Registry is an organization that is responsible for assigning domain names and internet addresses. They are responsible for keeping updated information that is associated with each domain name on the root servers. Each country has its own registry that is under contract with its respective government to control domain name registration.

[ top ]

What is a Registrar?

An organization or company authorized by its respective government or by ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) to provide domain name registration services. A registrar must be authorized by the registry to act as an agent of the registry to process domain name registrations, where the agent is not a reseller.

More info:

[ top ]

What is a Registrant?

An individual or organization to which a domain name is registered under. You can view the administrative and technical information on the WHOIS record (www.whois.net) for each registered domain name.

What is a Domain Name?

A domain name is a unique alpha-numeric address used to identify and locate a specific computer on the internet. They allow users to type in a name that is easy to remember, such as “e-bc.ca” which is then translated into the Domain Name System (DNS) as a numerical address (Internet Protocol Numbers) such as 66.163.202.65. DNS allows you to access a website without having to remember the numerical address.

[ top ]

What is a domain name extension?

A domain name extension is what appears after the domain name, ex: www.e-bc.ca -- .ca is the extension. Choosing your extension is just as important as deciding on a domain name, the extension lets users know what type of website they are visiting, is it a Canadian business or an Organization? There are many extensions available, view list below:

[ top ]

Where can I register my domain name and what is the cost?

You can register a domain name online with a domain name registrar.  For a list of registration authorities, visit the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) at www.icann.org/registrars/accredited-list.html or visit Ebizpages.ca for a list of Domain Name Registrars.

If registering a .CA domain name, you can have 2 to 50 characters in length. If registering a .COM, .NET, .ORG domain name, you can have 1 to 67 characters. Letters and numbers with hyphens in between are acceptable.
The cost to register a domain name depends on which company you decided to go with, on average it will cost about $10 - $30 for a one year subscription. It is suggested that you register your domain name for 3-5 years to ensure you maintain the name and the registration cost is less expensive over a longer period of time.
Renewal is simple. You can call your registrar or log on to their website to re-register and pay.

More info:

• Choosing and Registering an Effective Domain Name
• EbizPages Suppliers List
• Domain Name Ideas
• SmartStart - Helping You Succeed Online

[ top ]

What are the costs associated in having a website?

Designing and building a professional, functional website that showcases your company in its best light is critical to the success of marketing your product or service on the Internet. Therefore, choosing how you will implement your website project is probably one of the most important marketing decisions you will make.

Making the right decision for your organization in this instance requires that you understand what options are available to you, and there are a number of them. Of course, for many small businesses, cost becomes the ‘bottom-line’ factor in deciding how to design and build a website. For this reason, it is important to consider ALL related costs including hardware, Internet access, web design and development, hosting and maintenance, and future growth functionality.

More Info:

What are my options for Web Design?

Clearly, your site design is an important decision. A few options include: do it yourself, hire a student or hire a professional. A few questions to consider are: Time, when do you need your site ready by; Graphics and Logo, do they exist or will they have to be made; is the content ready to be placed on the site; who is your audience.

Do it yourself: ou can learn how to design a website yourself by doing online research as well as reading web design books, and lot’s of practice! Another option would be to attend one of the many educational programs at a community college.

Hire a student: Many Colleges and Universities in the lower mainland have students taking Web, Graphic and Animation courses.

Hire a professional: You can view a list of Web Design companies on eBC’s Supplier’s List at www.ebizpages.ca. Consider your needs, not all website design firms have the same skills or the same areas of expertise. Make sure that the designer you choose has the necessary knowledge and skills to meet your needs. List Pros and Cons; what is their cost, what do they have to offer, their professionalism, view their portfolio, time to complete, etc. Ask to see previous work; this is the best way to assess their skills, but don’t let yourself be fooled by appearances. In the Web world, looks can be deceiving. The user-friendliness of a site is often more important than its design

Consult your network of contacts: You can also ask your business partners for recommendations. Ask about deadlines, maintenance packages, contracts, ownership, responsibilities and access to the site. You can’t go wrong with word of mouth. If another business recommends a designer, it means that they were satisfied with the service.

[ top ]

Who can host my website and what is the average cost?

There are many options as to who can host your website. When you register your domain name some registrars offer web hosting as well, prices vary with each registrar. You can view a list of Web Hosting companies on eBC’s Supplier’s List at www.ebizpages.ca

The cost to host your site varies with each company and also depends on what features you will require.

Basic Brochure/Static site: As its name implies, a static website presents information that does not change over time. If you want to alter the content of such a site, you need to use HTML code, and this means using a Webmaster or special software. A static site is ideal for posting general information that doesn’t need to be updated frequently. A static site is much like a corporate brochure containing information on the company and its services. Once the brochure is designed and printed, it cannot be changed. Of course, you can always ask a programmer or learn to use HTML software, but it’s fairly complicated. The cost to host a Brochure site is around $10 to $25 per month depending on how many pages there are.

Dynamic site: The content of some websites and/or web pages can be generated by information stored in a database. These are known as dynamic websites. The content posted on the site is automatically updated whenever the information in the database changes. Examples are on-line catalogues (i.e. www.ebay.com), association membership directories, etc.
Most dynamic sites have a management module, an easy-to-use tool that allows you to update the content of your website yourself. The structure and layout of the site remain static, but you can change the content as often as you wish. All you do is choose which section you want to change, fill in a text box and click on a button to confirm. The changes will be made in real time on your website. This is a good solution when you have very frequent updates to make. The cost range is from $30 to $50 per month depending on the size of the database and web traffic. (Reference: www.radiant.net)

More info:

Selling on eBay

Did you know that more than 430,000 people are currently making their living selling on eBay? More and more, savvy small businesses are taking advantage of eBay as an efficient, low-cost distribution channel with a reach of over 45 million global registered users.

Small businesses across dozens of industries - accountants and jewelers, photographers and restaurant owners - are coming to the eBay marketplace to access the equipment, supplies and resources they need to start, operate and grow their businesses.

[ top ]

Growing Online

How do I start selling online?

Selling online covers a wide variety of ideas and concepts to think about. We have covered some major topics in regards to selling online. Please follow the helpful links below which cover in more detail the aspects of selling online.

More info:

How do I get paid online?

For online retailers looking to add real-time payment processing to their website, the process can often be confusing and time-consuming. These resources will answer the most frequently asked questions received at eBusiness Connection regarding payment processing over the Internet.

Should I be charging tax?

For the most part, existing tax rules apply equally in Internet commerce -- no new taxes have been created specifically for the Internet.

How can I rank higher in search engines?

It is estimated that more than 98% of Internet users use search engines to find websites online. A search engine is a website whose primary activity is to provide a searching function for gathering and reporting information available on the Internet.

Search engines allow Internet users to quickly find websites related to a certain topic through the use of ‘keywords’ and ‘keyword phrases’, that is, words and phrases that describe the topic of interest.

For example, a user in the UK is looking for businesses online that sell hand carved indigenous masks and figurines from Canada. She doesn’t know of any specific businesses selling these items, nor does she know any website addresses, so she uses a search engine such as Google or Yahoo to find websites whose content contains keywords pertaining to her interest.

At the search engine’s main page she types into the search-box: ‘Canadian Native Art’. The search engine returns 3370 listings containing such content, organized by relevancy. The user can then either start browsing the websites listed, or she can narrow the results further by searching within those results for another keyword -- ‘mask’, for example.

Search engines allow Internet users to effectively find relevant websites, making the Web’s vast amount of information much easier to navigate.

[ top ]

How can I market my business online?

Internet marketing is a component of marketing, which refers to activities where there is communication of a business’ unique value proposition -– that is, the unique collection of benefits attributed to a product or service which create value for the customer or client -- with a goal of increasing revenue. That is to say, that everything you do to promote your business to your target market, partners etc. is marketing. For example, your company’s mission statement and branding are aspects of marketing, as are your advertising strategies and your product descriptions.

Internet marketing refers to the strategies that are used to promote a product or service over the Internet. These strategies include (but are not limited to) web site design and content, search engine optimization, directory submissions, reciprocal linking strategies, online advertising techniques, and email marketing

[ top ]

What legal issues should I consider?

Going online can result in you becoming an ‘instant exporter’ overnight. Your business has to decide where – if you can say such a thing in this context – you will do business. Will you accept orders from around the world, or just in your own city or town? If you do serve clients outside of Canada, you could find that you’ll not only have to deal with the social and cultural aspects of operating internationally, but also all the legal issues surrounding international business. Here we cover legal issues of e-business that you need to consider.

Internet marketing refers to the strategies that are used to promote a product or service over the Internet. These strategies include (but are not limited to) web site design and content, search engine optimization, directory submissions, reciprocal linking strategies, online advertising techniques, and email marketing.