P3: Explain the issues a business would need to consider to go online
Introduction
In this task I will be explaining all the planning issues that need to be considered before setting up a website and how these issues should be checked. Before setting up a business online, there are a variety of aspects to be considered. This is because if a business sets up a website without planning, anything could happen while the business is running which could affect other things like revenue and sales. The issues to consider include the domain name, Country availability, Copyright and financial aspects. These are some of the things to be checked because they need to be consistent throughout the business.
Start-up costs
Before going online, a business needs to decide if they have enough money to set up a website, and keep it running. Sometimes a company has enough financial help at first to set up the business but as they start making sales and delivery, the business starts to have trouble. Costs include; advertising fees, paying a technician and if you’re a commercial business, paying for all the equipment needed to take photos for online images. Commercial websites normally need to rent a van for deliveries so that would also be part of the costs. Government websites need to consider how they are
Domain Name
Business has a wide range of areas with different names, so choosing a domain name wisely is very important because it must be copyright. They need to think about how the website name should be presented. Should it be short or long? Should it be the same name as its store? Or should it have a complete different name? These are all things to take in hand. It is more relevant that the name connects to the business. For example H&M has their name on their stores but their website name is also http://www.hm.com/gb/ this is easy to remember and also not confusing.
Suitability
Before setting up a website, it is important to consider how suitable the idea of having one is. A company needs to think about the benefits they will get from it. For example will this website increase their income? How will they make this happen? If the answer to the first question is no, then it is probably not suitable to make a website because they’ll be paying costs but will not have any benefits from it.
Country availability
Some websites are not available to some countries and don’t allow any access. This can sometimes limit the information that is provided or the income a company gets from online sales. Some companies like NHS only allow users from around the UK to access their website because the information given is not relevant to other countries. Deciding if a website would benefit other countries outside their own, would also be a decision to make. This is because a business needs to decide if it is necessary to pay extra costs for other users to see.
User requirements
It is a difficult step designing a software product because determining what the customer actually wants it to do is the main target. The user requirements are important in setting up a business. These need to be met before the business operates. For example if a user is looking for a specific category on the website, it is the company’s responsibility to make sure the website responds accurately with their search. The information they provide may also be incomplete, inaccurate and self-conflicting so the website needs to determine what the user actually means.
Conclusion
In this task I have outlined the considerations before setting up a business online and why this is important. I have learnt that a website cannot operate without a planned start.