starting a website- advice needed 1

[DotNetGnat]

Hello All,

I am planning to create a website using which I can advertise myself for consulting and other work. This website would contain my personal/contact information, some of my work related to ASP, ASP.NET, C#, VB.NET, SQL Server etc. These are just my initial ideas and may be the website might grow bigger in future( just hoping )

1) Which is the best place to get a domain name?
2) Who do you guys think i should approach for hosting my site? I mean best web hosting service?
3) Do i need to copyright the stuff on my website?

Any other related suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

-DNG

 

[fredericofonseca]

1- plenty of places to do that... but it depends on your country if you wish to have a domain that is not ".com".

2- Plenty around also... but again depends on your country, the cost associated with bandwith, and so on..

3- yes

Regards

Frederico Fonseca
SysSoft Integrated Ltd

http://www.syssoft-int.com

 

[DotNetGnat]

Thanks for the reply.

1) I am looking for a .com domain. I am from US.
2) wont be having a major bandwidth requirement to begin with i guess.
3) how do i do the copyright stuff? I mean what is the procedure to get the content copyrighted?

-DNG

 

[mmorancbt]

GoDaddy.com - simple, asp.net framework as part of their $6.95/month plan - for $9.95 (I think) you get a database on a shared SQL Server.

You can register and host there.

Copyright:
As soon as you write something, you own the copyright. Proving it is the question. The simplest way is have it published somewhere - formally or submit a copyright submission (US copyright office) - pretty inexpensive.

What are you planning on putting on your site that needs copyright protection? If it is simple marketing material, I wouldn't spend time worrying about it. If it is technical advice that you plan to resell and is totally unique, you might not want to put it up there.

Good luck.

If it is

Matthew Moran (career blog and podcast below)
Career Advice with Attitude for the IT Pro

http://blogs.ittoolbox.com/pm/career

http://techcareerconsult.blogspot.com

 

[DotNetGnat]

Matthew,

Thank you so much for the information. As i previously mentioned the site initially will have my personal contact information, some personal information related to advertising myself for any consulting or related work.

I also have plans to share technical information/advices, which may or may not be unique.

I understand what you were referring to about copyright thing. If the stuff on the website is unique and i want to market then i need to copyright this information. But i wa wondering if the copyright thing is done on a whole webstie basis or page by page basis. Some of the pages on my webstie may contain purely personal information and some parts may contain unique technical stuff?

any suggestions. Thanks

-DNG

 

[mmorancbt]

Just have a footer that is included at the bottom of each page..

Look here:

http://www.cbtoolkit.com/

For the standard website - starting a new consulting business - don't let concerns like copywriting your basic web content stop you from moving forward - it is the least of your concerns.

Instead, sales & marketing and service delivery should be take almost all your focus. It is easier to handle things like copyright, trademark, etc. when you are rife with cash because of all the business you have generated.

That's my pragmatic side talking.


Matthew Moran (career blog and podcast below)
Career Advice with Attitude for the IT Pro

http://blogs.ittoolbox.com/pm/career

http://techcareerconsult.blogspot.com

 

[DotNetGnat]

thanks for the advice. Yes, I am moving forward developing the site but at the same time i am enquiring about the other things...

So if i am not wrong you not only have put the copyright thing on each page but also have necessary documents to support that...am i right? If, so where do you get that necessary stuff?

thanks so much again.

-DNG

 

[mmorancbt]

You really don't need any support documents. If anything, just have your original documents on your harddrive.

Search for copyright office on the web or hire an attorney but it is wayyy overkill for what you are planning - at least for now.

If you want the poor person's copyright, take your web copy - in printed form - and mail it to yourself certified. Don't open it and file it away or put it in a safe deposit box.

I'm just trying to explain that this is a minor issue - very minor - unless you are writing something like a book, a screen play, the outline or specific features and infrastructure for a specific piece of software or a technical tool, etc.

A specific marketing phrase or tagline would have to be copywritten - which is both expensive and time-consuming. Once again, let your business dictate whether those steps are necessary. Unless you are on a national stage or have a very high-profile product or service, you are putting energy into the wrong area.

I'm not trying to discourage you - just to focus you.

Matthew Moran (career blog and podcast below)
Career Advice with Attitude for the IT Pro

http://blogs.ittoolbox.com/pm/career

http://techcareerconsult.blogspot.com

 

[DotNetGnat]

thank you so much for the information and advise. I really appreciate it. Have a star.

-DNG

 

[ecobb]

If you want the poor person's copyright, take your web copy - in printed form - and mail it to yourself certified. Don't open it and file it away or put it in a safe deposit box.

That's an urban legend, it "has no substantive legal effect in the U.S."

http://www.snopes.com/legal/postmark.asp

But Mathew is right, this is an extremely minor issue. If you're really worried about someone stealing certain text from your website, don't put it out there.

Hope This Helps!

ECAR
ECAR Technologies

http://www.ecartech.com

"My work is a game, a very serious game." - M.C. Escher

 

[mmorancbt]

Ecar is right on the copyright issue. I would, again, recommend that you spend very little time on that issue and concentrate more on building your client base.

If you develop material that needs a copyright, you can hire an attorney to file any necessary paperwork.

Matthew Moran (career blog and podcast below)
Career Advice with Attitude for the IT Pro

http://blogs.ittoolbox.com/pm/career

http://techcareerconsult.blogspot.com

 

[karen4201]

Keep in mind that a copyright and patent are DEFENSIVE legal tools. It won't prevent someone from copying the material, but you could use your copyright/patent to ask them to stop using the material in bad ways.

Basically, what you're looking to do is take "ownership" of those words, so that if a judge is ever needed, your copyright will prove that you are the rightful owner of the piece of writing.

As others have already mentioned, a copyright on your material is not important for simple web page content. However, if you're writing a novel, then seek a patent. If you have an excellent phrase, then get a trademark or service mark. You can learn more at

http://www.uspto.gov/

 

[IT4EVR]

I have been using DiscountAsp.Net for a year now and I am very pleased with their hosting service. They support everything .NET and also support SQL Server 2005. Their support is very timely and informative. They always get back to you within 24 hours.

It's quite easy to FTP a project or individual web pages to the server. You can configure the IIS as well that your site will be running on.

If you are going to develop an ASP.NET website, then you should seriously consider them.