Your website is the hub of your digital world -- it's where your digital business really happens. Here's what you need to know when setting up / redesigning your website.

3. It is the only place online where you are in control

4. Think of it as a “conversion engine” for the traffic you drive to it

5. Your website turns visitors into leads / customers

7. Think memorable, descriptive... and relevant

8. If you target a local audience think of registering a country specific TLD (Top Level Domain)

9. You can easily buy multiple domains and redirect them to your primary domain. Useful links: www.mydomain.com , www.letshost.ie , www.blacknight.com

11. Shared Hosting, VPS, Dedicated Server, or Co-location? What about “Cloud” Hosting?

13. What's the “buzz” online, what are people saying about them?

14. Ask for recommendations Useful links: www.letshost.ie , www.blacknight.com

16. Usability: make your visitors' lives easier.

17. Accessibility and Web Standards W3C

18. Words matter the most – pretty pictures still come second

19. Search engines are your market research friends: look up your competition Useful links: www.usability.gov , www.useit.com , www.w3c.org

21. Arrange related content into clearly defined themes

22. Grab attention, use compelling, engaging language

23. Inverted pyramid – most important elements first, drill down to supporting detail

24. Structure for “scan-ability”, use headings and bullets to break up text

26. If you're not a designer, bring in a professional

27. Form follows function: don't let design impact usability

28. Save some budget for your content: words matter more than looks on the web

30. Check reference sites from their portfolio

31. Contact reference clients and ask about their experience

32. Do the sites they design perform well in search?

33. Do their sites comply with W3C web standards?