Setting Up A Web Design Business

If starting from scratch, the two things I do suggest people do in the building process is to have category 5 wiring installed, because it can handle both voice and modem calls, and that the builders are told early on where electricity and other cabling is needed. That said I'll leave the construction to those who know a whole lot more than me.

I am going to touch on the facets of setting up a new office that relates to the Web design business: networking, hardware, software, and advertising.

Networking

Because of zip disks, floppy disks, and CD burners, networking is not as crucial in smaller offices or home offices as it once was — unless you need to move large files easily, share files quickly, or you have a business that requires several users being online at the same time.

In our current office, we generally have up to four computers connected to the network, one acting as the server. All are armed with network cards and connected through a hub. Laptops can be plugged in to expand the number of computers available.

We then use a program called Win Route Lite to administer the networking. Users can purchase Win Route Lite with a varying number of licenses, and it really is quite reasonably priced. We purchased it with 10 licenses a couple years ago to allow for further expansion. Other companies make similar software, so take the time to look for the best deal.

In our new setup, we will take advantage of the aforementioned planned expansion that the 10 licenses gives us by placing a master hub on the wall in the basement, with three plugs running from there to the office on the main floor and one each from the basement to three rooms on the second floor. Those were put in place shortly after the roof was installed. All each user has to do is plug the cable into their computer and the wall plug, and they are ready to go online.

While this allows us to share information quickly and easily (that is especially nice when more than one person is working on a project), the most appreciated and cost-saving benefit is that it allows us to have up to six people on the Internet at the same time using one telephone line or satellite connection. That will become crucial if other staff or family members want to get on the Internet during working hours.

Take heed though: Our new office is located in a beautifully wooded rural area, and that means the most we can get in terms of dialup service is 56K. That is not conducive to happiness for everyone if you have six users on the network at the same time, particularly if more than one person wants to download files. DSL, T1, satellite, or any other fast connection is, obviously, far superior.

I mention this because if you find yourself in a similar situation but have choices, the added expense may well prove worth it from the very beginning and will save you a lot of headaches. We have ours designed to simply switch from telephone lines to satellite in a few minutes, if needed, and I'm sure it will be needed in a few weeks when we are back to running full strength.

For Parents & Bosses Only

One added bonus of this setup for the home/office is that parents can check out the Win Route Lite administration panel to see if any of the kids have sneaked out of bed to get online — not that kids would ever consider such a thing. Bosses can check to see if any of the employees are online instead of doing their usual job — not that such a thing would ever happen.

Hardware - Page 2