Deployment is the process of uploading to the web server and activating it. Once this is done your site is accessible worldwide to anyone with a web browser and internet connection.  Deploying your site involves a special program that will transfer the files that will make up your web site from your computer to a remote web server that is connected to the internet. Once deployed, you can set up the traffic monitoring tools and the post office for handling email needs. Finally you should register your site with the search engine sites to help improve the number of visitors to your site.
 

Final Checks

Nobody wants to publish a site with errors that visitors see and judge your company by. Therefore, before uploading your site, we strongly recommend that you perform a final check of your site. Make sure you look at the  following:

• Loading times - Are the wait times acceptable under both broadband and dialup connections?
• Browser compatibility - Does your site look the same when viewed with all versions of Explorer and Netscape?
• Server side programs - Are the programs your site uses that are stored on the server available and functioning properly?
• Streaming media - Are the streaming audio and video formats you used of sufficient quality and palyback speed?
• Final tweaks - Have all the final corrections in spelling, programming, images, etc. been made? Are all the loose ends tied up and bug fixes completed?
   

Mirror Site Considerations

If high speed broadband connections load up your site quickly, but dialup connections seem too slow, you might consider creating a mirror site that contains smaller files sizes, fewer images, and less special effects. This site should load much faster and can be used by dialup visitors. A launcher page that appears when first entering your site can contain code that will determine the type of connection each visitor is using and could direct dialup visitors to a mirror site  that loads faster while pointing visitors with broadband connections to your full featured site. In this way, both groups of users are accommodated.
 

Uploading the Site

An FTP program generally is used upload the files comprising your web site up to the web server. This may be built in to your HTML editing program or you can use separate ftp programs such as WS-FTP or Cute FTP. These programs allow you to view the remote directory on the web server and create, move or delete directories and files as necessary. During the uploading process, which could take several hours even with a broadband connection, some files may get corrupted or the transfer may be interrupted several times. Be persistent. This kind of stuff happens. Consider it part of the task. Just make sure you check each page of the site once it’s up and if need be, upload corrupted files again.
 

Email and Post Office Setup

Another set of deployment tasks involve setting up email boxes and post office administration services. These functions allow you to control and direct email communications between your company and its customers. Deployment email tasks include:

• Set up email boxes - Set up an email address for each staff person you wish. Also create email boxes for special function like sales@yourcompany.com, customerservice@yourcompany.com, etc.
• Create Email form handlers - These are special server-side files that contain instructions on how to handle data received from customers filling out and sending forms on the web site.
• Create email autoresponders - Autoresponders are pre-created emails that are automatically sent back to visitors and customers that send you orders or email requests. Autoresponders generally acknowledge receipt of the order or email and thanks them for sending it to you. Different autoresponders can be created and targeted for different messages.
   

Registering Your Site with Search Engines

You need people to visit your site, but first they must find it. Registering it with the popular search engine sites will make finding it easier. You can do this yourself or pay third party companies to submit your site for you. You will need to learn about Meta Tags and come up with specific keywords that describes your site.  You also must provide an appropriate title and description for each page in its Meta Tag. You will also need to be patient. Most search engines are way behind in indexing new sites. It usually takes several months for your site to be listed by search engines, especially the most popular ones like Google and Yahoo.

Don’t rely on search engines alone. Instead focus on more traditional advertising tools and use your web site as a place people can go to get more information. Include your web site address on all your business stationery (business cards, letterhead, marketing brochures, manuals) ,and marketing efforts( ads, commercials, etc…)
 

Traffic Monitoring and Activity Reporting Tools

The final task in deploying your web site is to put in place server-side tools that monitor the traffic through your web site and report details such as where visitors come from, which individual pages they went to most, how much data is downloaded, and what browsers they used. You can use this information to aid you when planning for future site changes.