Website Development and Services

I make it easy and will guide you through the process of getting your website up and running, including:

  • Domains and Domain Procurement
  • Hosting and Hosting Environments
  • Available Website Technologies
  • Website Content and Structure Strategy
  • Website Design and Build Services
  • Client Handover and Training Services

Mobile First!

As of January 2025 over 62% of all worldwide websites were visited by a mobile device.

It’s essential to design and build websites with a mobile first perspective. After all the chances someone will see your site on a mobile device is pretty high, and if that site isn’t responsive and looks good (and readable) on that iPhone – you lose. Plus search engines such as Google will penalize your site ranking if it’s not responsive

I design and build every site with the mantra of Mobile First, using a responsive framework so they look and act properly on all screens, whether it be a mobile phone, tablet, or laptop and desktop.

Existing Website Refresh and Maintenance

Do you have a tired old website? Is it optimized for mobile or only looks good on a desktop? 

Perhaps rather than starting from scratch you’d prefer to update your website, and modernize the underlying technology.

It’s sometimes possible to update and refresh an existing site, make it mobile-friendly, and optimize it for search engines.

Want to know more? Let’s chat!

Want to learn more? Ask me about:

  • What are domains, who should obtain and own them, and how do I get the domain to work with my new website
  • All about hosting services, the different levels available, and what's the best fit for me, as well as the most economical
  • What kind of website architecture is best for my needs
  • I think I know what I want to present but I need help with creating the structure
  • I want my website to look like some I've seen, but I don't know where to even start
  • How can I handle edits in the future, or add sections, or change images and such?
  • I don't want to be a developer, I need someone to handle all of this for me

It's your website, after all

It’s your website, you need to own and control it.

I can’t tell you how many prospective clients have told me they don’t know how to update their site, or they can’t get ahold of the original developer for making changes and updates, so their websites remain static and out of date because the client has no control whatsoever.

Or even worse – one day your site isn’t working, because someone let their hosting  service lapse, the site was deleted and you’re left with  nothing.

I feel strongly that as a developer that the clients should own the domain, and the hosting environment, and if they ever want to have anyone else handle updates that’s their right and ability. Accordingly I will work with you and present numerous hosting options, help you get these up and running including determining the right platform for your current and future needs, and will build your site with you.

And when we’re done I will present a formal handover document that details things like domain ownership, hosting account login and password, site architecture and technologies and more.

Learn more

If you’re unsure of the technology, and the elements necessary for a website – here’s a handy reference that should help.

Put simply - a domain is the name your website resolves to. Let's look at a few examples:
  • Google.com - Google is the domain
  • Markkoszk.com - Markkoszyk is the domain
The internet consists of websites sitting on web servers. Each site is unique and has an IP address. IP stands for Internet Protocol. An IP address is a number that is unique to your web host (more below on web hosts, name servers and more). TO put it simply - who wants to type a bunch of numbers into a browser? That's where domains come in. It is a quick unique identifier of your website. Of course there's more to it. When you type your domain into a browser - the internet needs to find the exact webserver that hosts your website files to deliver them to the user. So this is how it works. There's a thing called DNS - domain name server. It's this large inter-connected loop of name servers that pretty much translate your domain name to the exact web server your site is sitting on. Then, through the magic of the internet - your website appears. It's that simple - actually it's not, but that's why I'm here. I make technology simple. I handle the rabbit hole stuff, letting you focus on creating content and delivering that content.

Let’s take it from the top. I’ll use an example. My name is Suzanne and I want to build a website to promote my consulting business. So I start to look for a domain name, something unique, catchy, that people will remember. I come up with something I like. The next step is – is the domain available? For example I’ll use my domain. There are only so many Mark Koszyks in this world. Hopefully I’m the first one that wants to use my name as a domain.

What I do – and what I suggest – is determine a domain I like, and a few alternatives. I then go to any domain register (seeing as nothing is free in the world, domain registrars serve the purpose of helping you find an available domain – and claiming it for your use). Going back to my example of “suzanne.com” – any registrar tells me this is not available. So, remembering my suggestion of having a few alternatives – I go to plan B. That might be “Suzanne-Consults.com”, or something else. When I find one I like – I buy it and I’m on my way.

The last thing is what is called the top level domain. More below on that below.

Website addresses end with .com, or .org, sometimes .biz. What’s up with that?

These are what are called top level domains. For some more detail you can click here

But the bottom line on this – while Suzanne.com might not be available perhaps “Suzanne.org”, or “Suzanne.info” might be.

So if you’re looking for the RIGHT domain – don’t get stuck on the .com, think out of the box and if a .org works it’s worth looking at.

All websites need to be hosted somewhere, and connected to the world wide web – so when someone looks for your site, or types your new domain into a browser – they are directed to your website.

A website is a collection of various files that when sent to a web browser renders your website.

Website hosting services handle the infrastructure – servers, networking, power, operating systems – a simple way to look at it is you build the site, they host it and deliver it. And of course you pay them, and there is a wide array of hosting options available – all depending on the complexity of your site and the expected load and traffic.

WordPress is a open source content management system. Something like 40% of the world’s websites are built on WordPress. Like this one. There is also a large community of developers and contributors that offer added functionality to the core application through themes and plugins. Being open source it’s free, and much of the available functionality is also free or available for a low cost – items like image galleries, event calendars, appointment booking applications and more.