In highly simplified terms, the domain name is like your house address. It directs you to a location of a website on the internet in an easy to read and remember format address (instead of a long IP number, most people can remember www.google.co.uk)

Ravenbridge acts as a web hosting service provider. This means that we help provide the technology and services needed for the website or webpage to be viewed in the Internet. Websites are hosted (which essentially means stored) on huge capacity computers known as servers. 

When your customers type in your business website address (“domain”) into their browser, it will then connect to this server and your website will be instantly loaded up through the browser on their mobiles, tablets or computers. 

Every Domain Name is unique and needs to be registered before it can be used to locate a website of the same name. (Just like a new housing development has to register the newly built house address, roads and relative location on Google Maps)

When you register a domain, you become the sole owner of that ‘name’ and have rights over that ‘name’ (and therefore that web address).

So, you have had a fantastic idea for a new business (or you already have a business name and haven’t launched yourself into the digital online world yet), now what?

First you need to see if anyone else has already taken that domain name…. if they have, DONT PANIC! Ravenbridge can help you to find a domain name that is free that will fit your company profile!

Then once you have chosen a domain name, Ravenbridge will secure it for you so that no one else can then access it and use it for their business.
Ravenbridge’s rates for registering this domain and hosting it on the web server are as little as £5 per month.

Ok, so you now have your very own domain name… so what does this mean in terms of launching your business online?

Well, having a domain name means that you can create (or have created for you) an all ‘singing all dancing’ website to entice your customers in and set you apart from the competition.
Under Ravenbridge’s hosting package we will also give you up to 10 email addresses linked to your business name so as you expand you can set up emails for your staff too!

Just because you have registered and now own this name, doesnt mean that you have to have a website or in fact use the email accounts that are associated with it yet. So, if you are just considering your business plan but want to make sure that no one else grabs your dream business name from the virtual shelf, that is completely fine and is commonly done. 

When you are ready, Ravenbridge can get you started with a website or design one for you based on your requirements, and we can talk you through setting up your business emails too. 

This website can either be self managed (meaning you can make changes as your business grows) or you can let us take that stress away from you and Ravenbridge can manage your website changes for a monthly (or annual) fee.

Yes you certainly can! Ravenbridge offers competitive rates for our hosting services and we can help you through the process of migrating your domain and existing site across to enable you to take advantage of our pricing plans. We can also help you to update or ‘Relaunch’ your digital profile with a new look to your website, social media launching, and potentially refresh your logo and add this to your invoices, estimates and letter headed documents.  

There are many different ways to design and build a website so it depends on your skill level and abilities. As part of Ravenbridge’s web hosting provider service, we can provide a number of website building tools and software and install this for you under your chosen Domain Name web address. This would allow you to create and manage your own website and we would just host your domain name.

Alternatively, Ravenbridge can design a bespoke website layout and page structure based on your business (or personal) requirements for a one off cost. This would then be handed over to you with instruction and teaching on how to log in and “self-manage” your new website so you can add posts, products, photos or whatever is relevant to your business.  This option does require some tech experience or prior knowledge of working with a Content Management System for example WordPress.

Ravenbridge can also offer a full “Webmaster Service” meaning that we act as the designer and then administrator of your website for a one off payment for the website design and then a monthly cost under our platinum web hosting package so you can let us do the tech part. 

This service includes:

• Registration and maintenance of your website’s domain name.
• Design of your website, or assisted design working in partnership with you to get the website set up. 
• Monitor the site for security breaches, update the CMS software and troubleshooting.
• SEO (search engine optimisation) assistance to boost your site on search engine lists.
• Alterations and development of your website to meet the future growth, requirements and changes in your business. 

Ravenbridge is passionate about helping small businesses get estabilshed in this complex and competitive digital world. We can help you throughout your development journey to help you to launch online with our digital marketing services combined with our hosting packages.

With the digital age rapidly progressing and changing, it can be hard to keep up and maintain your place in competitive markets and we can help keep your online profile current and appealing.

We offer website design and social media launch services to help your business have that wow factor to bring in your customers.

As your business flourishes, Ravenbridge can also offer you excellent competitive broadband and telephony services that can be added to your Ravenbridge package. This comes with full access to your control panel via our Ravenbridge Hub allowing you to keep fully in control.