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| Web site design: small, medium and large business, non-profit & corporate websites, ecommerce, custom programming, Business Catalyst web design. Website redesign |
| Internet Marketing: Organic, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Social Media Marketing and Pay Per Click (PPC) internet marketing services, training, seminars & consultation |
| Email Marketing: Email newsletter design, sending, tracking, reporting |
Why choose Stir? |
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How
Can We Help? |
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Clients |
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Recent Web Design & Marketing Clients
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Client Testimonials |
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"It
is without hesitation that I recommend Stir. Their team of professionals has
excellent communication and customer service skills. Stir's work is always delivered
on time, and with outstanding quality."
- Carlos Berea, General Manager
International Genealogical Society
"Our market of “day
trading” education is extremely competitive with a number of players in
the market. Stir was able to help us find some soft spots in the market that
were not being heavily “tapped”. Not
only did we see an increase in leads provided but the quality of those leads
was excellent. We were very
pleased with our ROI and look forward to expanding our market as we continue
our relationship with Stir Communications Group".
- Mel Kaario
Business Development Manager, Traders International
"Finally! Someone who takes the confusion out... The Stir team gave us exactly what we were looking for. We have appreciated Stir's flexibility and willingness to listen to our specific requirements. A pleasure to work with." - Brad H.
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Internet Tips & Articles |
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Top
Ten Resources |
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How to Choose a Good Domain Name
To
help your website and business flourish, pick a domain name that:
- is easy for Web
users to remember and find
- suggests the
nature of your product or service
- serves as a strong
trademark so competitors won't be able to use a business name or domain
name similar to it, and
is free of legal
conflicts with trademarks belonging to other businesses.
 
What makes a good domain name?
- Good
extension - If a person is surfing around looking for a site,
and they know its name, most people will try .com. So, for the web
site owner who wants their site to be found, the rule is: if at all
possible, get a .com name.
- Short
- Less than 7 characters, ideally. A simple name will roll off the
tongue more easily in conversation, look more professional, and have
less chance of being mis-typed.
- Easy
to spell - Make sure it passes the phone test: if you were
to say the domain name of your website to a friend over the phone,
would your friend be able to spell it correctly the first time without
your having to spell it for them? If not, you’ve failed the
phone test and should likely try a different domain name. Also, be
careful about double letters. Take CyberRodeo, for example. Their
domain uses a double R, as you might expect, but there is an uncertainty
there. The two R’s together look a bit strange if written without
capitalization, and a good name will not force the user to assume
anything about the name. If you must have a double letter, the best
solution is to buy both versions of the domain. Avoid using dashes
in your domain name.
- Descriptive
- A good site or business name will describe exactly what the site
is about. In most cases it's important for a person to be able to
get some sort of sense what the website is about just by reading the
domain name. Of course that logic doesn’t work for sites like
ebay, amazon, ivillage, etc, but then again you likely don’t
have a multi-million dollar budget to help you brand your name and
teach people what it means.
- Keywords
– Include descriptive keywords that describe your business,
product or mission in your domain name. This will play a very small
part, in some cases, in increasing your search engine ranking for
search phrases that include the keywords used in your domain name.
Domain Name Scams
When shopping
for a domain, it is also important to keep an eye open for domain name
scams. The surging popularity of domain name affiliate programs has
created countless "fly by night" operations; dozens of domain
name resellers worldwide cease operations every month, often leaving
the administrative status of the domains they leave behind up in the
air. Making a purchase from a reseller is not a bad decision, but make
sure to research the company's history and credentials. There are less
than 170 ICANN-accredited registrars (that is, non-resellers) for .com,
.net and .org domains worldwide; a full list is available at http://www.icann.org/registrars/accredited-list.html
Domain Name Extensions
Domain names are
typically categorized by their extension, which is their identifying
code. The three most popular types of Top Level Domains (TLDs), which
are domains that are not associated with a country, are:
- .COM: Short for
.commercial. Domain names with the .com extension are by far the most
popular, and can be purchased by any individual or business.
- .NET: Short for
.network, this domain extension was originally designed to be used
by technical Web sites. However, domains using this extension can
be registered by anyone.
- .ORG: Short for
.organization. Originally designated for non-profit firms and any
other organizations that did not fit under the .com or .net extension,
any individual or business may now register a .org domain name.
Country Level Domain Name Extensions
Domain names can
also be assigned using country extensions. Each country has its own
domain extension; Canada, for example, is .ca, while Japan has been
assigned .jp. Most countries have specific rules surrounding exactly
who can register domains using their extension and for what purpose;
it’s therefore important to look before you leap.
Alternative Domain Name Extensions
The Internet Corporation
for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the organization responsible
for the administration of TLDs worldwide, recently approved several
new extensions that are not specific to any country. These are:
- .areo
- .biz
- .coop
- .edu
- .gov
- .info
- .int
- .mil
- .museum
- .name
- .pro
- .stir - okay,
well, no, but we're working on it :)
Each has been designed
for a specific use, and is accompanied by certain restrictions. You
can find more information about these TLDs here: http://www.icann.org/tlds/
Now that you know the basics, spend some time doing random searches
for available domain names at http://www.netsol.com
, or try a domain generator like http://www.NameBoy.com.
Stir's Easy Website Builder Makes Getting Online Fast and Affordable for Small Businesses - Get a Free Domain Name with Every Website!
In addition to picking a great domain name, getting a website for a business has traditionally meant spending thousands of dollars on a designer, special website software, technical support and website hosting. This is not the case anymore.
In the last few years a number of technologies have been developed that will allow even the most novice user to build their own website for their business.
Probably the best builder available is http://www.stirsite.com.
StirSite.com is simply the easiest and most powerful website builder available. With StirSite.com you will have your website up and running live on the internet, in just 5 minutes.
StirSite.com is packed full of powerful features, many of which are unavailable on other technologies. Ecommerce, newsletter, shopping cart, email photo albums, catalogs, coupons, auto responders and much much more are all included.
You will find creating and updating your site a breeze. Most changes only require a click of your mouse and editing text is just like typing a letter with an editor that looks just like MS Word. If you can use a mouse then you can make a great website.
StirSite.com is the only technology that is directly comparable to a custom site built by a professional web development company. We highly suggest giving the Free Trial a try, you have nothing to lose and your business has everything to gain.
Over 155,000 people like you have used StirSite to build their own professional websites, complete with, photo albums, email, web pages, guest books, ecommerce and more than 450 other features without ever having built a website before. Why not click here to take a free 10 day trial today? You'll be amazed how easy it is to build your own website. If you need help with any part of making your own website, StirSite is there to help.
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