IT risk management checklist

In this guide:

  • What is IT risk?

    Introduction to information technology (IT) risk and its potential to damage or devalue your business.

    Information technology or IT risk is basically any threat to your business data, critical systems and business processes. It is the risk associated with the use, ownership, operation, involvement, influence and adoption of IT within an organisation. IT risks have the potential to damage business value and often come from poor management of processes and events.

    Categories of IT risks

    IT risk spans a range of business-critical areas, such as:

    • security - eg compromised business data due to unauthorised access or use
    • availability - eg inability to access your IT systems needed for business operations
    • performance - eg reduced productivity due to slow or delayed access to IT systems
    • compliance - eg failure to follow laws and regulations (eg data protection)

    IT risks vary in range and nature. It's important to be aware of all the different types of IT risks potentially affecting your business.

    Potential impact of IT failure on business

    For businesses that rely on technology, events or incidents that compromise IT can cause many problems. For example, a security breach can lead to:

    • identity fraud and theft
    • financial fraud or theft
    • damage to reputation
    • damage to brand
    • damage to your business' physical assets

    Failure of IT systems due to downtime or outages can result in other damaging and diverse consequences, such as:

    • lost sales and customers
    • reduced staff or business productivity
    • reduced customer loyalty and satisfaction
    • a damaged relationship with partners and suppliers

    If IT failure affects your ability to comply with laws and regulations, then it could also lead to:

    • breach of legal duties
    • breach of client confidentiality
    • penalties, fines and litigation
    • reputational damage

    If technology is enabling your connection to customers, suppliers, partners and business information, managing IT risks in your business should always be a core concern.

    In its guidance, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) provides a clear explanation of why IT risk management matters.

    IT risks should be carefully assessed and measured. This is where an IT risk assessment comes in - a process of identifying security risks and evaluating the threat they pose. Once risks are identified and assessed, you will manage them through a comprehensive IT risk management process.

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  • Different types of IT risk

    Your IT systems and data face many risks, including physical damage, malicious attacks, technical faults and human error.

    Your IT systems and the information that you hold on them face a wide range of risks. If your business relies on technology for key operations and activities, you need to be aware of the range and nature of those threats.

    Types of risks in IT systems

    Threats to your IT systems can be external, internal, deliberate and unintentional. Most IT risks affect one or more of the following:

    • business or project goals
    • service continuity
    • bottom-line results
    • business reputation
    • security
    • infrastructure

    Examples of IT risks

    Looking at the nature of risks, it is possible to differentiate between:

    • Physical threats - resulting from physical access or damage to IT resources such as the servers. These could include theft, damage from fire or flood, or unauthorised access to confidential data by an employee or outsider.
    • Electronic threats - aiming to compromise your business information - eg a hacker could get access to your website, your IT system could become infected by a computer virus, or you could fall victim to a fraudulent email or website. These are often of a criminal nature.
    • Technical failures - such as software bugs, a computer crash or the complete failure of a computer component. A technical failure can be catastrophic if, for example, you cannot retrieve data on a failed hard drive and no backup copy is available.
    • Infrastructure failures - such as the loss of your internet connection can interrupt your business - eg you could miss an important purchase order.
    • Human error - is a major threat - eg someone might accidentally delete important data, or fail to follow security procedures properly.

    How to manage IT risks?

    Managing various types of IT risks begins with identifying exactly:

    • the type of threats affecting your business
    • the assets that may be at risks
    • the ways of securing your IT systems

    Find out how to carry out an IT risk assessment and learn more about the IT risk management process.

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  • IT risk assessment methodology

    An effective IT risk assessment looks at risk based on the probability of it occurring and the cost of impact and recovery.

    IT risk assessment is a process of analysing potential threats and vulnerabilities to your IT systems to establish what loss you might expect to incur if certain events happen. Its objective is to help you achieve optimal security at a reasonable cost.

    There are two prevailing methodologies for assessing the different types of IT risk: quantitative and qualitative risk analysis.

    Quantitative IT risk assessment

    Quantitative assessment measures risk using monetary amounts. It uses mathematical formulas to give you the value of expected losses associated with a particular risk, based on:

    • the asset value
    • the frequency of risk occurrence
    • the probability of associated loss

    In an example of server failure, a quantitative assessment would involve looking at:

    • the cost of a server or the revenue it generates
    • how often does the server crash
    • the estimated loss incurred each time it crashed

    From these values, you can work out several key calculations:

    • single loss expectancy - costs you would incur if the incident occurs once
    • annual rate of occurrence - how many times a year you can expect this risk to occur
    • annual loss expectancy - the total risk value over the course of a year

    Find a formula to calculate annualised loss expectancy.

    These monetary results could help you avoid spending too much time and money on reducing negligible risks. For example, if a threat is unlikely to happen or costs little or nothing to remedy, it probably presents a low risk to your business.

    However, if a threat to your key IT systems is likely to happen, and could be expensive to fix or likely to affect your business adversely, you should consider it high risk.

    You may want to use this risk information to carry out a cost/benefit analysis to determine what level of investment would make risk treatment worthwhile.

    Keep in mind that quantitative measures of risk are only meaningful when you have good data. You may not always have the necessary historical data to work out probability and cost estimates on IT-related risks, since they can change very quickly.

    Qualitative IT risk assessment

    Qualitative risk assessment is opinion-based. It relies on judgment to categorise risks based on probability and impact and uses a rating scale to describe the risks as:

    • low - unlikely to occur or impact your business
    • medium - possible to occur and impact
    • high - likely to occur and impact your business significantly

    For example, you might classify as 'high probability' something that you expect to happen several times a year. You do the same for cost/impact in whatever terms seem useful, for example:

    • low - would lose up to half an hour of production
    • medium - would cause complete shutdown for at least three days
    • high - would cause irrevocable loss to the business

    With your ratings determined, you can then create a risk assessment matrix to help you categorise the risk level for each risk event. This can, ultimately, help you decide which risks to mitigate using controls, and which to accept or transfer.

    Read more about the different ways to evaluate business risks.

    Use different types of information in IT risk assessments

    Often, it may be best to use a mixed approach to IT risk assessments, combining elements of both quantitative and qualitative analysis.

    You can use the quantitative data to assess the value of assets and loss expectancy, but also involve people in your business to gain their expert insight. This may take time and effort, but it can also result in a greater understanding of the risks and better data than each method would provide alone.

    The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) recommends using a variety of risk information in assessments. Drawing on a wider range of information sources may reveal risks that would otherwise be missed.

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  • IT risk management process

    How to identify risks and assets as part of the IT risk management process, and create risk management plans procedures.

    In business, IT risk management entails a process of identifying, monitoring and managing potential information security or technology risks with the goal of mitigating or minimising their negative impact.

    Examples of potential IT risks include security breaches, data loss or theft, cyber attacks, system failures and natural disasters. Anything that could affect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of your systems and assets could be considered an IT risk.

    Steps in the IT risk management process

    To manage IT risks effectively, follow these six steps in your risk management process:

    1. Identify risks

    Determine the nature of risks and how they relate to your business. Take a look at the different types of IT risk.

    2. Assess risks

    Determine how serious each risk is to your business and prioritise them. Carry out an IT risk assessment.

    3. Mitigate risks

    Put in place preventive measures to reduce the likelihood of the risk occurring and limit its impact. Find solutions in our IT risk management checklist.

    4. Develop an incident response

    Set out plans for managing a problem and recovering your operations. Devise and test your IT incident response and recovery strategy.

    5. Develop contingency plans

    Ensure that your business can continue to run after an incident or a crisis. Read about IT risk and business continuity.

    6. Review processes and procedures

    Continue to assess threats and manage new risks. Read more about the strategies to manage business risk.

    IT risk controls

    As part of your risk management, try to reduce the likelihood of risks affecting your business in the first place. Put in place measures to protect your systems and data from all known threats.

    For example, you should:

    • Review the information you hold and share. Make sure that you comply with data protection legislation, and think about what needs to be on public or shared systems. Where possible, remove sensitive information.
    • Install and maintain security controls, such as firewalls, anti-virus software and processes that help prevent intrusion and protect your business online.
    • Implement security policies and procedures such as internet and email usage policies, and train staff. 
    • Use a third-party IT provider if you lack in-house skills. Often, they can provide their own security expertise. See how to choose an IT supplier for your business.

    If you can't remove or reduce risks to an acceptable level, you may be able to take action to lessen the impact of potential incidents.

    Mitigate IT risks

    To mitigate IT risks, you should consider:

    You can also use the National Cyber Security Centre's (NCSC) free Check your cyber security service to perform a range of simple online checks to identify common vulnerabilities in your public-facing IT.

    The NCSC also offer a free Cyber Action Plan. By answering a few simple questions, you can get a free personalised action plan that lists what you or your organisation can do right now to protect against cyber attack.

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  • ISO 27001 IT security management standard

    An overview of the ISO 27001 information security standard, and how it can help you improve security for your business.

    ISO 27001 is an international standard that describes best practices for information security management systems. It belongs to a 27000 family of standards, all of which aim to help keep your business' information assets secure.

    ISO 27001 controls

    The standard specifies controls that are key to maintaining security. These cover (amongst other things):

    • security policy - what an information security policy is, what it should cover and why your business should have one
    • organisational security - how you should manage information security in a business.
    • asset classification and control - eg how to audit and manage information itself, computers, software and services
    • staff security - eg training, responsibilities, vetting procedures, and response to incidents
    • physical and environmental security - eg keeping key locations secure as well as physical control of access to information and equipment
    • communications and operations management - secure operation of information processing facilities during day-to-day activities, especially computer networks
    • access control - right to use information and systems based on business and security needs, specifically controlling who can do what with your information resources
    • system development and maintenance - if you develop your own software, you will need to consider its design and maintenance to keep it secure and maintain information integrity
    • business continuity management - ie the maintenance of essential business activities during adverse conditions, from coping with major disasters to minor local issues
    • compliance - with relevant national and international laws

    Like other ISO management system standards, you can certify your business to ISO/IEC 27001, but certification isn't mandatory.

    You may choose to implement the standard in order to benefit from the best practice it contains, or you may wish to certify to reassure customers and clients that you follow information security management best practices.

    See more on standards for best business practice.

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  • IT risk management policy

    How you can use staff, IT and data security policies and procedures to improve security in your business.

    IT policies and procedures explain why it is important to manage IT risks in business. You can have them as part of your risk management plans or business continuity strategy.

    You should make them available to your staff and suppliers to help them understand:

    • the risks to your IT systems and data
    • procedures that are in place to mitigate them
    • processes for handling common tasks
    • managing changes to IT systems
    • ways to respond to IT or data security incidents
    • acceptable behaviours in relation to key IT issues, such as data protection and safe email use

    You should develop a clear policy that takes account of common risks to your data. If you have yet to establish what the risks to your business are, you should carry out an IT risk assessment.

    What should an IT risk management policy contain?

    It should, at the very least, specify security procedures and standards that will apply in your business, as well as any staff policies you wish to enforce.

    IT security procedures

    Technical controls, such as systems that limit access to sensitive data or the installation of software, are an important part of most IT security systems. You will need policies and procedures to ensure that these controls are effective. See more on common cyber security measures and read about cyber security for business.

    IT security standards

    Standards are important when developing a secure IT environment. For example, agreed standards for the procurement of PCs, servers and firewalls will help to provide consistency. Find out more about ISO 27001 IT security management standard.

    IT staff policies

    You will also need policies to manage activities that could pose security threats. Consider putting in place an internet usage policy and an email usage policy to protect your systems. Find sample IT policies, disclaimers and notices.

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  • IT incident response and recovery

    What is an IT incident response plan, how to respond to an IT security incident and recover your business operations.

    Incident response is a way in which you manage the aftermath of an IT security breach or failure. It is vital to have a response plan in place before an incident occurs so that you can limit the damage caused by the event and reduce recovery time and costs for your business.

    What is an IT incident response plan?

    An IT incident response plan is a set of written instructions that can help you respond to a number of potential scenarios, such as:

    • information data breaches
    • denial of service attacks
    • firewall intrusion
    • virus or malware infection
    • insider threats
    • damage to equipment or premises
    • loss of power or other technology failures

    Your incident response plan should identify key people who will act in case of an incident and describe their roles and responsibilities. It should also say who is responsible for testing the plan and putting it into action. Your business' incident response plans should be based on thorough and comprehensive IT risk assessments.

    See an example of a minimal Denial of Service attack response plan from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).

    IT incident management process

    The process of managing an IT incident typically consists of six steps:

    • prepare staff and managers to handle potential incidents should they arise
    • determine if an event is an IT failure or a security incident
    • contain the incident and prevent further damage to systems and equipment
    • find the cause of the incident and remove the affected systems
    • recover those systems after removing the threats
    • document and analyse the situation to update, change or improve procedures

    An IT incident can be isolated to one or more IT components of your business or it can be a part of a wider crisis (eg fire, flood or natural disaster). If a wider emergency occurs such as fire, the safety of staff and the public is your first priority. You should include emergency response plans in your incident response strategy.

    Read more about business continuity and crisis management.

    IT incident recovery planning

    How you respond to IT incidents will determine how well your business recovers from them. Planning can help you shorten recovery times and minimise losses. A recovery plan could include your recovery time goals, as well as:

    • strategies to recover your business activities in the quickest possible time
    • a description of key resources, equipment and staff needed to recover your operations

    It's essential to plan thoroughly to protect yourself from the impact of potential business crises brought on by IT failure or security breaches.

    To help you prepare for and plan your response to a cyber incident, the NCSC has produced small business guidance on response and recovery. You can also test and practise your response to a cyber attack with the help of their 'Exercise in a Box' online training tool.

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  • IT risk and business continuity

    How to create, test and carry out contingency plans for your business in case of IT systems failure.

    Business continuity planning is an essential part of managing IT risks. Planning can help you set out steps to minimise the potential impact of a business disaster - be it an equipment failure, a cyber attack or a simple power outage.

    You may also need a business continuity plan to:

    • reassure customers that you take risk and security issues seriously
    • show effective risk management to insurers, helping to lower premiums
    • meet regulatory requirements in certain industries, eg financial services

    How to write a business continuity plan?

    Your plan should take into account any disruptive events that could affect:

    • your people
    • premises
    • IT systems and networks
    • services such as power and telecommunications
    • critical business processes

    The plan should identify how you will know when to put the plan into action, what steps to take and what individuals' responsibilities are.

    Measures that you may need to include in your business continuity plan are:

    • a backup and data recovery strategy, including off-site storage
    • the development of a resilient IT infrastructure with spare capacity in case of failure - eg mirrored central server computers sited in different locations
    • the elimination of single points of failure, such as a single power supply
    • secondary manual systems to use until you are able to restore IT services
    • agreeing with another business to use each other's premises in the event of a disaster
    • arranging to use third-party IT services and accommodation until yours are restored

    Keep your plan clear and concise, so that people understand it. It is essential that everyone is aware of their responsibilities.

    Remember to test your business continuity plan periodically. Review and update the plan as necessary - eg when people leave the business or you start using new IT systems.

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  • IT risk management checklist

    Use our practical IT risk management checklist to help you understand, manage and reduce IT risks to your business.

    Risk management can be relatively simple if you follow some basic principles. To manage the IT risks to your business effectively, make sure that you do the following:

    • Think about IT security from the start when you plan or update an IT system. Discuss your needs and potential problems with the system users.
    • Actively look for IT risks that could affect your business. Identify their likelihood, costs and impact. Carry out a comprehensive IT risk assessment.
    • Think about the opportunity, capability and motivation behind potential attacks. Understand the reasons for cyber attack.
    • Assess the seriousness of each IT risk and focus on those that are most significant.
    • Understand the relevant laws, legislations and industry guidelines, especially if you have to comply with the data protection legislation.
    • Configure your PCs, servers, firewalls and other technical elements of the system. Keep software and hardware equipment up-to-date. Put in place other common cyber security measures and secure your wireless network.
    • Don't rely on just one technical control (eg a password). Use two-factor authentication to guarantee user identity - eg something you have (such as an ID card) and something you know (a PIN or password).
    • Develop data recovery and backup processes and consider daily backups to offsite locations.
    • Support technical controls with appropriate policies, procedures and training. Understand the most common insider threats in cyber security.
    • Make sure that you have a business continuity plan. This should cover any serious IT risk that you cannot fully control. Regularly review and update your plan. Read about IT risk and business continuity.
    • Establish effective IT incident response and recovery measures, as well as a recording and management system. Simulate incidents to test and improve your incident planning, response and recovery.
    • Develop and follow specific IT policies and procedures, such as on email and internet use, and make sure your staff know what falls under acceptable use.
    • Consider certification to the IT security management standards for your business and your trading partners.

    The National Cyber Security Centre offers detailed guidance to help organisations make decisions about cyber security risk.

    If you want to look at risks beyond IT, see how to manage business risks.

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Payroll software security and data protection

In this guide:

  • Do you need payroll software?

    Not every business needs payroll software - here's how to determine if you need a computerised payroll package for your business.

    Not every business needs payroll software. If your headcount is small and the calculations you need to carry out simple, you may be comfortable processing your payroll manually. However, if you employ more than a few people, automating your payroll can save you valuable time and money, and even improve your payroll accuracy.

    Manual payroll vs computerised payroll

    Manual payroll involves working out calculations for each pay period entirely by hand and keeping records on paper. This process is relatively cheap but tedious to prepare and liable to human error. It typically becomes more difficult to manage as you grow and employ more staff.

    Computerised payroll uses software with built-in capabilities that allow the user to carry out routine payroll tasks more efficiently. It enables you to gather all payroll-related information in one place, electronically, and automate processes such as wage calculations, deductions, tax returns, reports, etc. See payroll software: what it can and can't do.

    If you decide to run payroll yourself, you need payroll software to report to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). See more on choosing a payroll software supplier.

    Should you get payroll software for your business?

    Whether you should get payroll software or not depends largely on the size of your business and the type of calculations you need to carry out. It may be worth getting payroll software if you need to speed up your payroll calculations, keep on top of rates and allowance changes or avoid computational errors.

    Many businesses choose to automate their payroll. However, bear in mind that using payroll software makes you dependent on your computer system. If you're switching from manual to automated payroll, take steps to protect and back up your data and IT systems regularly.

    You can typically buy payroll software on its own, or as part of a wider business management system.

    Payroll software costs

    If you only have a few employees and you decide to purchase payroll software, keep in mind that the costs may be greater than the advantages. The total cost of ownership of the new system may not always be obvious and may include:

    • the initial purchase costs
    • fees for system implementation, upgrades and maintenance
    • labour costs for staff involved in setting up or running the system
    • consultant or supplier fees
    • annual subscription costs (covering any regulatory or rate updates)

    Outsourcing your payroll activities to an accountant or a payroll specialist may help you save time and reduce some of the costs. Read about the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing your payroll.

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  • Different types of computerised payroll systems

    Different types of computer payroll systems, including basic payroll packages and fully featured online or cloud-based payroll.

    Computerised payroll systems make managing payroll considerably easier. They enable you to automate your processes, minimise potential mistakes and cut down time and resources needed for payroll administration.

    If you're not sure if you should automate your payroll processing, see do you need payroll software.

    Types of automated payroll systems

    Many different types of automated payroll systems exist. They typically fall under two main categories:

    • payroll software that you install on your computer
    • online or cloud systems that you access via a web browser over the internet

    A simple, standalone payroll software will usually tie your payroll management to a single computer. The functionality of such software may be limited. For example, it may carry out the calculations but not produce payslips, so you may have to supplement it with manual processes or use other applications.

    Free small business payroll software UK

    Businesses with fewer than ten employees can download free payroll software from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). The software has some limitations, but it allows you to perform most payroll tasks, including working out the tax and National Insurance for your employees and sending this information to HMRC.

    Use the latest version of the HMRC's Basic PAYE Tools.

    If you're looking for other software options, HMRC has tried and tested several free small business packages - see their list of free payroll software for small business.

    If you're using payroll software on a single computer, keep your machine secure and properly backed up, otherwise you may risk losing your valuable data.

    Online payroll and cloud payroll software

    An online or cloud-based system stores your data remotely, so you can access it easily from different locations using a secure login. Most online systems will automate the whole payroll process for you, taking care of things like:

    • National Insurance and pension deductions
    • tax calculations
    • producing payslips for staff
    • keeping up with legislation
    • generating year-end tax returns

    See what payroll software can and can't do and read about payroll software features.

    Integrated payroll management

    Payroll management often overlaps with the running of accounting and human resource (HR) processes in business. For example, you may want to:

    • transfer pay run data from your payroll system into your accounting software
    • check and transfer timesheet data from payroll to HR

    When choosing a new payroll software, make sure that it is compatible and works well with your existing systems.

    Depending on your business needs, you could also consider integrating payroll with related systems, eg through enterprise resource planning software. This could help you reduce costs and eliminate duplication of paperwork, data and efforts across various departments in your business.

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  • Payroll software: what it can and can't do

    Understand what payroll software can and can't do, its capabilities and inputs required for pay rates, deductions and hours worked.

    Payroll software can do many pay-related calculations. However, you will still need to input and maintain certain data for each of your employees.

    What does payroll software do?

    Any payroll software will take over the routine calculation of ordinary payroll requirements such as tax and National Insurance contributions (NICs). It will also calculate the NICs that you have to pay as an employer. It will allow you to pay people at monthly or weekly intervals, as appropriate.

    Payroll software will also:

    • calculate student loan and other deductions
    • produce payslips for your employees
    • produce payment reports to allow you to pay employees, showing the amount to be paid to each employee
    • keep records of payments and deductions
    • produce year-end reports and documentation for you and your employees
    • produce the necessary figures or documentation when an employee leaves

    What payroll software can't do

    Payroll software will automate most of the calculations, but there will still be administrative work for you to do in terms of inputting relevant data into the system.

    You will have to:

    • enter employee's details when they start their employment
    • make changes when their rates of pay increase or decrease
    • change tax codes when notifications are received
    • enter details of hours worked and overtime

    There are also many possible deductions from pay such as employer loans and pensions. Even if the software can automatically calculate some or all of these, you will still need to key in the details for each employee to whom they apply. You will have to update this information when appropriate.

    Read more about payroll software features.

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  • Payroll software features

    Features and functionality to consider when choosing payroll software, including multi-user capability and reporting options.

    Most payroll software offers certain basic payroll features to help you pay your employees correctly and on time. For example, payroll processing, tax management, tax form preparations, direct deposits, etc.

    Depending on the software, extra features may be included as part of a customisable or enhanced payroll package, to help you manage different aspects of payroll effortlessly and reliably.

    Various payroll periods

    Weekly and monthly pay intervals are standard in most payroll software. If your business has other requirements, make sure that you chose software that can adapt to different intervals (eg fortnightly, quarterly or annual). Some software can support multiple pay schedules, allowing you to customise your pay schedule based on your employees' needs.

    Multiple user operation

    Smaller businesses may only require support for a single payroll operator at a time, but you should check that multiple-user operation is available in case you need it in the future. If you intend to grow your business, choose a payroll system that is easily scalable and customisable according to your changing needs.

    Reporting capabilities

    Some basic end-of-year reports are included as standard in most payroll software. You should choose software that has flexible reporting and supports online filing - consider features that allow you to handle RTI submission, generate expenses and benefits reports, prepare and print P45, P60, P30 and P32 forms, etc. Other features may allow you to create reports for payroll history, paid time off, deduction analysis and more. You may be able to use template reports from the software or build custom reports, if you need them.

    Payslips

    All payroll software will tell you the amounts that you need to pay to employees and HMRC, but check that you can use this information in a way that meets your requirements. For example, you may want the software to create and print payslips for you, or automatically email payslips to employees on a specific date. You may want features that allow you to customise digital paystubs, send payslips in different formats or let staff view their payslips online.

    Pension scheme automatic enrolment

    Some payroll packages include automatic enrolment functionality, allowing you to set up your pension scheme, enrol employees, process opt-out requests, issue communication, make contributions, view reports and more.

    Employee management

    Fully featured payroll software may also include functionality to help you calculate and record holiday entitlements, track sick leave or provide self-service to allow employees to request or book annual leave online. Some packages may also be able to keep records such as job position history, previous employment history, education and academic qualifications, references, skills and competencies and training records.

    Integration capability

    Most payroll software can integrate with another accounting or HR system, which can be highly useful and desirable. For example, time-tracking integration can automatically import employee hours from payroll into an HR system. Expense integration can help you automatically synchronize expenses with payroll. This helps to minimise the need for duplicate data entry, and allows you to streamline processes and prevent errors. For integration to work, a payroll product must be compatible with the related system.

    Some businesses may prefer to process payroll via their accounting software. However, keep in mind that payroll modules of accounting packages may not always provide all capabilities of a dedicated payroll solution. See payroll software: what it can and can't do.

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  • Advantages and disadvantages of payroll software

    Compare the pros and cons of computerised payroll over manual processing to help you decide which method is most suitable for your business.

    Payroll is a business-critical operation for every organisation. You must pay your staff accurately and on time to avoid low morale, poor performance and possibly even reputational and legal difficulties. A good computerised payroll system can help you carry out your pay run with greater speed, efficiency and confidence.

    Advantages of payroll software

    Many businesses choose to use payroll software over manual processing, as it can help them to:

    • work out payroll calculations and deductions quicker
    • generate accurate payslips
    • calculate bonuses, expenses, holiday pay, etc with minimum effort
    • send returns to HMRC and print P45, P60 and other forms for employees
    • automate certain tasks, such as year-end reporting
    • reduce the burden of compliance
    • remove the need to understand complex tax legislation
    • store data such as payslips and annual reports in a secure, easily accessible system

    Payroll software can also provide additional data and analysis to make payroll information more useful to your business. See do you need payroll software.

    Linking payroll software with time recording

    You can link payroll to timesheet systems that record employee attendance or time worked. This allows you to automatically transfer information about hours worked into the payroll system and make payroll calculations much simpler.

    Using payroll software for reporting

    By using basic payroll data, together with data on attendance and hours worked, payroll systems can provide a wealth of reports. This allows in-depth analysis of staff costs for the business as a whole, across departments and even individual jobs and contracts.

    Storing personnel records

    Most organisations will also keep other data about employees, such as records of annual leave. By getting payroll systems that record these additional types of information you can avoid the need for a separate software package.

    Using payroll system to plan future costs

    As payroll packages can provide forecasts, you can use these to plan staff costs and budgets by entering hypothetical numbers to see the exact total cost of an employee.

    Depending on your business needs, you may find other payroll software features more useful.

    Disadvantages of payroll software

    Payroll software, like any other IT system, can have certain weak points. Potential problems may arise around the issues such as:

    • data security, loss or theft
    • cyber security and fraud
    • information access, quality and control

    Read about payroll software security and data protection.

    Other limitations with payroll software often arise around costs. Full featured software will generally be more expensive than manual payroll systems. It will also require computer equipment, resources and skilled operators. If you don't have these in-house, you will need to invest money into producing them.

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  • Choosing a payroll software supplier

    How to choose a payroll software provider and understand the different factors, including electronic filing, operating costs and software updates.

    Payroll software is complex and it is essential that you choose a dependable supplier. You will want to choose a supplier who is successful, financially viable and can provide excellent references.

    HMRC-recognised software

    UK businesses with less than ten employees can use free payroll software from HMRC.

    If you have more than ten employees, you may benefit from investing in a fully functional computerised payroll system. HMRC tests payroll software to check it can report PAYE information online and in real time (RTI). You can choose from free payroll software and paid-for software that has been tested and recognised by HMRC.

    Electronic filing

    Most employers now have to file end-of-year and in-year returns online. Electronic filing of HMRC returns and payments saves time and trouble. Suppliers should provide electronic filing for all forms that must be filed electronically.

    Payroll software updates

    As well as the purchase costs, you should also consider costs in operating, supporting and updating the software. You will have to pay an annual subscription for updates on rates and legislation changes. Check how much the subscription costs, and how and when you will get access to updates.

    Find out how long the supplier continues to provide updates. Some suppliers only provide updates for a few years, so you may need to upgrade to a newer version of the software.

    Some suppliers have experienced problems with updates introducing bugs that haven't been caught by testing. Check that, when updates are applied, you can roll them back in the event of any problems.

    Payroll software support

    Because of the critical nature of payroll operations, excellent support is a must. If a software problem occurs on payday, you must be able to resolve it immediately. Check the levels of support your supplier offers, as well as the associated cost and response times.

    See how to choose an IT supplier for your business.

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  • Advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing your payroll

    Understand the benefits and risks to your business of outsourcing your payroll to an accountant or a specialist payroll company.

    Managing payroll services in-house often requires an individual, or a team, with a thorough knowledge of the PAYE tax system. If your business doesn't have these skills in-house, you can organise your payroll by outsourcing it.

    What is payroll process outsourcing?

    Payroll outsourcing involves hiring an external company or an individual to handle all payroll functions. The level of services you can outsource varies. Some suppliers provide a basic service; others provide the full package including liaising with the HMRC and maintaining full compliance so your business never has to deal with payroll.

    Typically, businesses outsource payroll to:

    • an accountant or bookkeeper
    • a specialist payroll company

    If you're considering outsourcing payroll to someone else, you should weigh up the pros and cons.

    Advantages of outsourcing payroll

    Attending to payroll demands a great deal of time and expertise. Outsourcing your payroll to a specialist can help:

    • free up precious time to focus on your core business
    • reduce the need for training in-house payroll staff
    • remove the expense of buying and maintaining a costly payroll system
    • minimise the chance for errors, omissions or late payroll tax filings
    • stay compliant with your tax obligations and PAYE responsibilities

    As with all outsourcing, you should balance the advantages against the potential pitfalls - in this case, the financial costs and the risk of communication errors, particularly for complex payrolls.

    Whether payroll outsourcing will be cost-effective for your business depends on the complexity of your payroll requirements.

    Disadvantages of outsourcing payroll

    The costs of outsourcing payroll can be high, especially for a young business. There is a certain degree of risk if communication lapses - for example, if you don't advise the payroll specialist of a staff member starting or leaving.

    Outsourcing will also mean losing control of some of the key elements of your business, eg:

    • you may not have instant access to payroll if it has been outsourced
    • you won't always be able to check it when you want to, or add anything that's missing
    • you will have to hand over confidential and sensitive staff information

    Read more on the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing.

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  • Payroll software security and data protection

    Find out how to safeguard your data if you're using payroll software and what data protection means for payroll.

    Handling payroll requires processing vast amounts of personal data relating to your employees, including names, addresses, bank account details, social security numbers and salary information. This is all sensitive information, which the law requires you to protect from accidents, misuse, loss and prying eyes.

    Does data protection law affect payroll?

    Because it involves processing personal data, payroll is one of the key HR areas affected by data protection laws. The UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requires you to:

    • document the personal data you hold, where it came from and who you share it with
    • minimise, if possible, the amount of data that you hold - only keep what is essential and for no longer than necessary
    • review and amend, if necessary, privacy notices to ensure that they comply with the new regulations
    • control access to payroll information using appropriate safety measures
    • safeguard and comply with specific data subject rights, eg the right to be informed, the right to access personal data, etc
    • in some cases, appoint a data protection officer

    The UK GDPR also requires you to implement technical and organisational measures to safeguard the personal data you hold. These measures may include, for example:

    • secure workstations, servers and storage space
    • encryption protocols
    • specific security policies
    • confidentiality clauses to establish best practices for data protection

    If you're using payroll management software, some of its features (such as password-protection, access control, secure storage, etc) may help you to comply with some aspects of the security requirements under the GDPR.

    Find out more about the security principle under the UK GDPR.

    Protecting your payroll data

    A risk assessment can help you determine if the users, processes and systems you have present a risk to your payroll data. Once you identify potential risks, you can create internal controls and policies to address them. For example, you could:

    • Manage access to the payroll system - restrict to necessary staff only. Use timeout features to log employees out of the system after a period of inactivity.
    • Segregate duties within the payroll team - if possible, have at least two people manage the payroll process. This can help avoid conflict of interest and minimise fraud risk.
    • Use peer review and/or approval process - it helps to validate data input and changes. Only make actual payments with appropriate authorisation.
    • Run and review payroll control reports, eg for system access, new hires, leavers, new bank accounts, etc. This can help identify potential issues and reveal any discrepancies early, such as mistakes in inputting hours, rates of pay and other data, and or fraud.
    • Implement a data retention policy and ensure payroll operators adhere to it.
    • Classify data according to sensitivity and agree procedures on encryption, transfer, etc.
    • Use and regularly update security measures such as firewalls, antivirus and patches.

    If a single person runs payroll in your business, have a back-up plan in case that person becomes unavailable. For example, your business' accountants could provide emergency cover.

    Keep back-up copies of the payroll data, ideally stored off-site with appropriate security, eg in a fireproof safe. You may find it practical for security and continuity purposes to run payroll software on a dedicated computer to avoid any disruption caused by the failure of other software.

    If you keep paper-based information, such as payslips, you must consider their physical security. Destroy any trial runs and tests, such as payroll reports, to prevent accidental access to sensitive data.

    Taking note of the UK GDPR, you may want to consider moving from printed payslips to a digital alternative. This could help you consolidate your employee data in one secure place where you can control access to sensitive documents.

    Read more about risk management and IT risk management best practices.

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Website navigation best practice

In this guide:

  • Planning your website

    How to set clear objectives for your website, plan its purpose and work out its structure, design and content.

    Planning is essential when it comes to designing a website. Lack of planning can lead to money lost, poor user experience and a website that reflects negatively on your business.

    Website project planning

    Website planning begins by first identifying your website's exact purpose. Typical reasons why businesses develop websites include:

    • building brand awareness
    • finding new customers
    • saving money
    • selling products
    • providing improved customer support

    The key to effective planning is realising that you are not building a website for yourself. You're creating it for your prospective audience, which can include your current and potential customers, new prospects, stakeholders, suppliers and partners.

    Website content planning

    Decide on the type of content you will need to support the objectives of your site and how to present this online. Think about balancing the amount of text, images and interactive content that you wish to publish on your site. Look at what your competitors are doing and try to understand what the business opportunities are for your website.

    Learn as much as you can about the audience you are trying to reach. Think about:

    • what will make them visit your website
    • what they will want when they get there
    • what will encourage them to return

    If you are creating an e-commerce website, provide unique descriptions for your products or services. This will help with search engine optimisation and ensure that you stand apart from your competitors.

    Thorough market research will help you lay a firm foundation for your website. You will want to research your competitors, your products, your target markets and consider internal resources and processes to inform your project.

    See how to set up an e-commerce website (video tutorial).

    When you are planning content for your site, don't forget you are legally required to publish certain company information - see business websites: legal requirements.

    Website structure planning

    When it comes to planning your website, it may help to map out its structure in a diagram or by using wireframes. You can do this on paper or with simple digital tools like Word or PowerPoint.

    A key structural element is a site map, often shaped like a flow chart. You can build a site map in Word, or with specialised commercial software and even some freeware. An outline with bulleted lists and indentations can serve the same purpose. Indicate pages, sub-pages and other structural breaks elements that will make up your website.

    Make your customer's journey on your site as effective and efficient as possible - the principles of user-centred design can help with this.

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  • Business websites: legal requirements

    Understand the laws and regulations affecting websites, including those that require you to publish certain information on your business website.

    As a UK-registered business, you will need to disclose certain information about your company on your website. This is a legal requirement. Failure to comply can result in fines, action taken by the regulators, customers or consumer protection bodies, and damage to your reputation.

    Is your business website legal?

    You must display registered information relating to the identity of your business. This includes:

    • company name
    • registered number
    • place of registration
    • registered office address
    • contact details, including an email address
    • details of how to contact the business by non-electronic means
    • the VAT number of business, if applicable
    • details of any trade body or regulator registration

    For sole traders and partnerships, you must display the address of the primary place of business. If the company is being wound up, you must also display this on your website.

    This information doesn't have to be on every page of your website, but it must be easily found. For example, you might want to put it on the 'contact us' or 'about us' page. Some websites have this information in the footer section of each page.

    Privacy information

    As well as registered information, you must also publish on your site:

    • a privacy notice - to explain what personal data you collect and how you use it
    • a cookie disclosure - to explain how you use cookies on your site
    • a disclaimer - to outline liability for the use of your website and its information

    Read about privacy information under the UK General Data Protection Regulation.

    Cookie information and consent

    Under privacy laws, you must tell people if you set cookies on your website, unless those cookies are essential to provide an online service at someone's request (for example, to remember what's in their online basket, or to ensure security in online banking).

    You must explain in a clear statement what cookies do and why, and - if no exemptions apply - you must also seek users' consent to the use of cookies by giving them an option to accept or refuse their placement on their devices. You can use pop-ups, splash pages, message bars, banners or other solutions to seek consent.

    Your cookie statement can be a standalone page on your website or included with your privacy policy. The Information Commissioner's Office provides more information about cookies and similar technologies.

    See our sample privacy notice and sample website disclaimer if you need these documents for your business.

    Selling to consumers

    If you sell online, you must also include on your website:

    These are all required as part of the consumer protection regulations. As a website operator, you will also have a legal duty to address any web accessibility issues on your website.

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  • Main technical issues in web design

    Find out how browsers, screen resolutions and download speeds affect website design.

    Before you create a website, you should consider the technical issues relating to web design, specifically:

    • browser compatibility
    • screen resolutions
    • web technologies
    • internet speed

    Browser issues

    Web pages should be able to display across different browsers, including Firefox, Chrome, Edge (successor to Internet Explorer), Safari and Opera.

    When building your site, test your web pages for browser compatibility issues in as many browsers and operating systems as you can. Remember to test on most recent browser versions, as well as the older ones - not all of your visitors may be using up-to-date software.

    If you are updating an existing site, use web analytics tools to see what browsers your customers are currently using to access your website.

    Screen resolutions

    According to Statcounter, GlobaStats, the most common screen resolution sizes in recent years have been:

    • 1366x768 pixels for desktops
    • 375x667 pixels for mobile screens
    • 768x1024 pixels for tablets

    Higher resolutions, such as 1920x1080 pixels for desktops and 414x896 for mobiles, have gained in popularity over the last year. It's important to consider these sizes carefully. If you design your website for higher resolutions, some low-resolution screens and older devices may not be able to display all of your content. Read about mobile web design best practices.

    Download speeds

    Not all internet users have high-speed access, so connection speed should also influence your webpage design. Research suggests that:

    • nearly half of web users expect a webpage to load in 2 seconds or less
    • 40 per cent of people abandon a website that takes more than 3 seconds to load

    Too many images or rich media - such as animations or video - will slow down the speed at which your webpage loads. This can result in your customers leaving the site. Since page speed is a ranking factor, slow speeds can also hurt your search ranking.

    Try to keep file and image sizes to a minimum. For context, the average size of a desktop web page in 2022 was 2286.3KB and of a mobile web page was 2006.6KB. (Source: HTTP Archive data)

    Technology

    Some web technologies can prevent users from viewing your site or affect indexing of your website by search engines. These include:

    • HTML frames
    • Javascript
    • Flash
    • AJAX

    If using these technologies, consider the potential risks to the usability and accessibility of your website. See more on web accessibility issues and learn how to design a user-friendly website.

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  • Web accessibility issues

    If your business has a website, it should be accessible to disabled users for ethical, commercial and legal reasons.

    In Northern Ireland, the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) makes it illegal for a website provider to discriminate against a disabled person.

    In practice, this means that a website providing goods or services to the public must be designed in a way that allows disabled people to access them, eg by using auxiliary aids or services such as screen readers.

    The DDA still applies in Northern Ireland but elsewhere in the UK it has been repealed and replaced by the Equality Act 2010.

    What is accessibility on a website?

    Accessibility describes the practice of enabling access to websites for people with disabilities. It aims to address all the different needs of users, including those with visual, mobility, auditory and cognitive difficulties.

    What are the Web Accessibility Standards?

    The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has produced a number of accepted accessibility guidelines for websites. These set out three levels of conformance:

    •  A (priority 1) – the minimum level of access has been met
    •  AA (priority 2) – an acceptable level of access has been met
    •  AAA (priority 3) – a completely accessible website

    The UK government recommends that websites must satisfy priority 1 and should satisfy priority 2 of the guidelines.

    Is your company website accessible?

    You can use a range of free online tools and services to check if your site is accessible.

    Reasonable adjustments for disabled website users

    If your website isn't accessible, it may put a disabled person at a substantial disadvantage compared to people who are not disabled. You may be required under the DDA to make 'reasonable adjustments'.

    This means that, by law, you must:

    • change a practice, policy or procedure that makes it impossible or unreasonably difficult for disabled people to use your service - eg using very small text that puts vision-impaired people at a disadvantage
    • provide an auxiliary aid or service if it would enable (or make it easier for) disabled people to use the service - eg offering an alternative point and click interface for visitors that can't use a keyboard

    The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI) has published a range of resources that deal with the rights of access to goods, facilities, services (including online services) and premises. These resources include:

    • advisory guides for employers and service providers
    • good practice videos
    • publications and relevant codes of practice
    • customisable templates, checklists and policies
    • links to further help and advice from other organisations

    Browse ECNI's resources on accessible goods and services.

    How to make a website accessible?

    People with different abilities will navigate websites in different ways, depending on their needs and preferences. Some may configure standard software and hardware to suit their needs. Others may use specialized software or hardware that helps them perform certain tasks.

    You can make many adjustments to help disabled people to use your website - see suggestions of our best practices for accessible websites.

    The WC3 website provides detailed guidance and resources on getting started with web accessibility.

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  • Best practices for accessible websites

    Find out how to comply with accessibility legislation and make your website accessible to users with a wide range of abilities.

    Accessibility is an important part of web design. For public authorities and commercial websites in Northern Ireland, it is also a legal requirement under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

    Why is web accessibility so important?

    People with disabilities use a wide range of tools and techniques to help them navigate the web. For example, some may configure standard software such as browsers to their specific needs. Other users may prefer to use specialised tools, eg screen or text readers, assistive scanning keyboards, etc.

    For these tools to work, you must build websites and applications in a way that supports the use of assistive technologies.

    How to improve web accessibility

    If you are building a website from scratch or redesigning it, make sure that you develop HTML-compliant and accessible pages from the outset. Use cascading style sheets where possible to separate content from presentation. This can give you more flexibility and improve the accessibility of your content.

    At the very least, you should address these basic accessibility considerations:

    Keyboard accessibility

    Users should be able to tab around the screen to access each area of the site, including close any potential pop-up windows without using the mouse. Visually impaired users may not be able to see a cursor and may rely on text-to-speech software to tell them where the focus is on the page.

    Consider colour contrast

    Contrast ratio between text and background needs to meet minimum standards to ensure those with visual impairments or reading disability can still access the site. Colour is a strong design element, but avoid using it to convey information. It will be inaccessible to colour-blind people, as well as screen readers.

    Mark-up site structure

    Use headings, lists, tables and other structural elements to give meaning to a web page or order of information. Make sure that all functionality is available from a keyboard or via screen reader and that you provide headings in an appropriate hierarchical order to aid navigation and understanding.

    Use headers for data tables

    If you are using tabular data, introduce table headers so that screen readers can understand them.

    Provide text alternative for images

    Text alternatives convey the purpose of an image or function to provide an equivalent user experience. They are commonly added to graphic content, such as pictures, icons, button, illustrations and charts. They help people who have visual impairments and may rely on screen readers to navigate a site.

    Provide captions, narrations or transcripts for media

    This applies to videos, archived audios as well as live audio.

    Label form content correctly

    Every form element, such as text field, checkbox or dropdown list, should be marked using the 'label' element. Users should be able to navigate, understand and input form data without being able to see the page (using a screen reader). This includes recovery from any errors, such as the failure to fill in all required fields.

    Make links understandable

    Screen reader users may choose to read only the links on a web page, so link text should make sense even if read out of context. Avoid ambiguous phrases like 'clink here' or 'more'.

    Distinguish between different types of content

    This includes PDF files, Word documents, PowerPoint presentations and flash content. If you can't make them accessible, consider using HTML or alternative. Users should be able to navigate and read any downloadable material by using assistive technology.

    Allow users to skip repetitive elements on the page

    Provide a 'skip to main content' or 'skip navigation' link to help a user with impaired mobility or relying on a screen reader to access content more quickly.

    Provide clear and easy-to-read content

    Content should be accessible to people with diverse cognitive abilities as well. Write it in plain English and make it as simple, and as easy to read as possible.

    Please note this is not a complete list of all accessibility requirements. These are only some of the main considerations of accessible design. You can implement most of these easily without any effect on your site's look and feel.

    For more recommendations, see W3C's detailed guidance on accessibility principles.

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  • Characteristics of a user-friendly website

    Understand why usability matters in web design and how to design your website to meet user requirements.

    User-friendly design - or usability - is crucial to the success of any website. It plays a great role in improving the performance of your site, meeting the needs of your audience and increasing user satisfaction.

    What is user-friendliness?

    User-friendly is a term that describes features and functions that make using a device, system or website easier. There are many ways to define 'user-friendly' and many more ways to put this concept into practice across your website or application.

    Examples of user-friendly elements may include:

    • graphical user interfaces (GUIs)
    • descriptive navigations
    • visual cues
    • online help systems
    • customisation

    Tips for building a user-friendly website

    Here are some essential characteristics you should include in your website to make sure your visitors find the information they need quickly and easily.

    User interaction

    While you are planning your website, think about:

    • who your users are
    • what they will want to do when they come to your site
    • how they will want to interact with your website
    • how you can use links to help the user navigate around your site

    Use linked text and short descriptions, and organise links into related topics. When using internal links, make sure that the user always knows where they are and what they need to do to return to the higher levels of the site. Remember also to follow best practices for accessible websites.

    Hierarchy of information

    Don't make users navigate through too many layers of the site to find the information they want. Provide clear navigation aids so the user can quickly find the information they need. A standard navigation bar that is in the same place on every page enables the user to move quickly through the site. Follow accepted conventions for website navigation - this will help make your website more intuitive for the user.

    Amount and placement of content

    Consider how much content you should put on a webpage. Avoid putting too much, as it may prevent the user from locating the information they need. Use links to divide content between pages. Use elements like headings and subheadings to help users scan the page before reading it in more detail.

    Also, think about where you place elements on the page. For example, marketing messages or 'calls to action' may be more effective if placed 'above the fold'. This refers to the area of the page that is immediately visible once the page has loaded and before the user has scrolled down the page in the browser window. Find out how to plan your website content and structure.

    Mobile compatibility

    People are increasingly using mobile phones and tablets to access the internet, so optimising your website for mobile is a necessity. See more on mobile website design best practices.

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  • Consistency in web design

    Understand how visual elements of website design, including branding and design continuity, can affect the success of your website.

    Consistency is a key factor in web design for both visual elements and functionality. Consistency ensures that your website looks coherent and works harmoniously across all its different elements, such as headers, footers, sidebars and navigation bars. It also:

    • gives your users a more positive experience
    • enables users to carry out tasks more quickly and efficiently
    • improves usability and learnability of your website
    • eliminates pain points and difficult navigation
    • saves money and time on design

    Consistent navigation

    Navigation elements offer users a road map to all the different areas and information within the site. In order to work effectively, navigation should be clear and consistent across your website.

    Visitors to your website should be able to move from page-to-page easily and always know where they are. Difficult website navigation can tempt them to leave your site.

    Page layouts and menu structure

    It is a good idea to use templates to create a common page layout across your site. Create smooth transitions between pages by having consistent elements on each page. For example:

    • have menus in the same position on each page
    • have same fonts and colours throughout the site
    • have a clear, visual hierarchy to the elements on your page
    • ensure that your business logo appears on each page
    • make sure that your logo links back to the homepage
    • include a search box on each page in the same location

    You should also consider the placement of any marketing messages and 'calls to action', such as newsletter sign-up, special offers or discounted products or services. Place these prominently as positioning can improve customer response rates.

    Fonts and typography

    Designing for a website restricts your font choices. If you specify a font that a user does not have on their computer or mobile device, their browser will substitute a default font, changing the look of the page.

    It is best practice to choose standard fonts for pages and specify a font family - this will help reduce the possibility of the page being displayed using system fonts. The web page will also look clearer if you choose fewer fonts and type sizes.

    Remember to test your web pages on multiple browsers to see what effect these have on the overall appearance.

    Branding in web design

    If you already have a recognisable brand or image, make sure to incorporate it into your design. Your website should:

    • reinforce your corporate brand
    • use your company logo consistently throughout the site
    • be part of your wider marketing strategy in an attempt to reach your target audience

    While you are making sure that your website is consistent and true to your brand, don't forget it also needs to be accessible and usable. Read about web accessibility issues.

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  • Website navigation best practice

    How to develop a simple and consistent navigation scheme to help visitors quickly find the information they require.

    When it comes to websites, the navigation acts like a compass guiding users to different areas around the site. Keeping it simple, organised and consistent throughout the website helps with the overall user experience.

    Navigation bars and buttons

    Navigation menus are most often placed horizontally at the top of a website, or vertically on the left. It is important to be:

    • consistent with the placement of navigation - this can increase the visual appeal of your design and make it easier for the users to find their way around your site
    • clear and concise when assigning categories in your navigation - this can help users to quickly and easily access information about your company or products

    Remember also that every graphic you add to your website for navigational purposes increases the download time for the user, so keep navigation buttons simple and reuse the same ones throughout your site.

    Ease of finding information

    The success of your website will largely depend on how easy it is for users to find the information that they require. In addition to providing good navigation, you can help your users find information by including:

    • a site map
    • a search facility
    • well-organised content
    • content planned and tested with users in mind

    You can also use links within your site to relate different ideas or content. Try to anticipate what information users are likely to want next, but at the same time leave them free to make their own navigational choices.

    The 'three click rule'

    The 'three click rule' is an unofficial design rule that suggests that users should be able to find any information on your site within no more than three mouse clicks. This may not always be achievable if you are designing a large site. In this case, keeping the user informed of where they are, where they have come from and where they are going, should be enough to keep them on task.

    If your website is large or has a complex structure, consider using a breadcrumb trail to show users where they are within the website. This will help with navigation and can also improve your visibility in the search engines. For more, see search engine optimisation.

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  • Mobile web design best practice

    Find out how to create a mobile-friendly website, and choose between mobile-dedicated, responsive or adaptive design.

    Mobile web design is necessary for most modern businesses. Devices such as smartphones and tablets are widespread and people are increasingly using them to shop, interact and conduct business online.

    If your company relies on a desktop website, at the very least you should check how compatible it is with mobile devices. If your customers can't access your website on the go, you may well be missing out on potential sales and business.

    How to create a mobile-friendly website?

    You can take different approaches to create a mobile-friendly website. The three most common strategies are:

    • responsive design
    • adaptive design
    • designing a separate mobile version of your website

    There are pros and cons to each. What is best for your business will depend on your circumstances, your existing website and the experience you wish to provide to your customers.

    What is responsive design?

    Responsive web design involves using HTML and CSS to create grids, layouts and other website elements that automatically respond and adapt to the user's device based on screen size, platform and orientation.

    Such design provides an optimal viewing experience across a wide range of devices. It also removes the need to have two separate versions of the website and duplicate content. This makes responsive sites easier to maintain and configure for search engines. Learn more about responsive web design.

    Responsive vs adaptive design

    Adaptive design involves creating several distinct layouts for specific screen sizes, including mobile phones, tablets and desktop computers. The website detects the type of device a user is accessing from and delivers the pre-set layout for that particular device.

    This can work well and preserve resources if you wish to retrofit an existing desktop site. However, the results don't always display optimally on a wide variety of screen sizes. Most new websites now use responsive as it takes less work to build and maintain.

    Separate website for mobile and desktop

    Some businesses choose to take the 'separate websites' approach. They create mobile-dedicated websites designed specifically for mobile devices.

    This strategy uses server-side logic to send a different version of the site to a user depending on the device they are using. There are typically higher costs associated with maintenance of, what is effectively, two different versions of the site, and greater potential for issues around search engine indexation.

    Tips for mobile web design

    When designing a mobile website, regardless of the approach you take, basic web design principles still apply. Keep the website as simple as possible and consider:

    • Using CSS layouts (cascading style sheets) - to support cross platform compatibility.
    • Page layout and information hierarchy given the limited screen space - divide content into smaller segments across pages to minimise download time and make them easier to read.
    • The types of content that you use - eg the use of rich media (including animations and video). These will increase download times and may not be supported across all devices.
    • The placement of navigation and its ease of use on mobile devices - consider visual cues to provide a better user experience. Use spacing between buttons to extend the clickable area.
    • Use mobile-appropriate technology - such as drop-down lists or radio buttons for information input, rather than entering free text (which can be difficult on a keypad).
    • Optimising e-commerce functionality for mobile, eg the shopping cart - reduce the steps customers have to take to complete a purchase to improve conversion rates.
    • If you have a separate mobile version of your website, as opposed to a responsive site, always give users the option to visit your main website and vice versa.

    See also mobile marketing and m-commerce.

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Mobile web design best practice

In this guide:

  • Planning your website

    How to set clear objectives for your website, plan its purpose and work out its structure, design and content.

    Planning is essential when it comes to designing a website. Lack of planning can lead to money lost, poor user experience and a website that reflects negatively on your business.

    Website project planning

    Website planning begins by first identifying your website's exact purpose. Typical reasons why businesses develop websites include:

    • building brand awareness
    • finding new customers
    • saving money
    • selling products
    • providing improved customer support

    The key to effective planning is realising that you are not building a website for yourself. You're creating it for your prospective audience, which can include your current and potential customers, new prospects, stakeholders, suppliers and partners.

    Website content planning

    Decide on the type of content you will need to support the objectives of your site and how to present this online. Think about balancing the amount of text, images and interactive content that you wish to publish on your site. Look at what your competitors are doing and try to understand what the business opportunities are for your website.

    Learn as much as you can about the audience you are trying to reach. Think about:

    • what will make them visit your website
    • what they will want when they get there
    • what will encourage them to return

    If you are creating an e-commerce website, provide unique descriptions for your products or services. This will help with search engine optimisation and ensure that you stand apart from your competitors.

    Thorough market research will help you lay a firm foundation for your website. You will want to research your competitors, your products, your target markets and consider internal resources and processes to inform your project.

    See how to set up an e-commerce website (video tutorial).

    When you are planning content for your site, don't forget you are legally required to publish certain company information - see business websites: legal requirements.

    Website structure planning

    When it comes to planning your website, it may help to map out its structure in a diagram or by using wireframes. You can do this on paper or with simple digital tools like Word or PowerPoint.

    A key structural element is a site map, often shaped like a flow chart. You can build a site map in Word, or with specialised commercial software and even some freeware. An outline with bulleted lists and indentations can serve the same purpose. Indicate pages, sub-pages and other structural breaks elements that will make up your website.

    Make your customer's journey on your site as effective and efficient as possible - the principles of user-centred design can help with this.

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  • Business websites: legal requirements

    Understand the laws and regulations affecting websites, including those that require you to publish certain information on your business website.

    As a UK-registered business, you will need to disclose certain information about your company on your website. This is a legal requirement. Failure to comply can result in fines, action taken by the regulators, customers or consumer protection bodies, and damage to your reputation.

    Is your business website legal?

    You must display registered information relating to the identity of your business. This includes:

    • company name
    • registered number
    • place of registration
    • registered office address
    • contact details, including an email address
    • details of how to contact the business by non-electronic means
    • the VAT number of business, if applicable
    • details of any trade body or regulator registration

    For sole traders and partnerships, you must display the address of the primary place of business. If the company is being wound up, you must also display this on your website.

    This information doesn't have to be on every page of your website, but it must be easily found. For example, you might want to put it on the 'contact us' or 'about us' page. Some websites have this information in the footer section of each page.

    Privacy information

    As well as registered information, you must also publish on your site:

    • a privacy notice - to explain what personal data you collect and how you use it
    • a cookie disclosure - to explain how you use cookies on your site
    • a disclaimer - to outline liability for the use of your website and its information

    Read about privacy information under the UK General Data Protection Regulation.

    Cookie information and consent

    Under privacy laws, you must tell people if you set cookies on your website, unless those cookies are essential to provide an online service at someone's request (for example, to remember what's in their online basket, or to ensure security in online banking).

    You must explain in a clear statement what cookies do and why, and - if no exemptions apply - you must also seek users' consent to the use of cookies by giving them an option to accept or refuse their placement on their devices. You can use pop-ups, splash pages, message bars, banners or other solutions to seek consent.

    Your cookie statement can be a standalone page on your website or included with your privacy policy. The Information Commissioner's Office provides more information about cookies and similar technologies.

    See our sample privacy notice and sample website disclaimer if you need these documents for your business.

    Selling to consumers

    If you sell online, you must also include on your website:

    These are all required as part of the consumer protection regulations. As a website operator, you will also have a legal duty to address any web accessibility issues on your website.

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  • Main technical issues in web design

    Find out how browsers, screen resolutions and download speeds affect website design.

    Before you create a website, you should consider the technical issues relating to web design, specifically:

    • browser compatibility
    • screen resolutions
    • web technologies
    • internet speed

    Browser issues

    Web pages should be able to display across different browsers, including Firefox, Chrome, Edge (successor to Internet Explorer), Safari and Opera.

    When building your site, test your web pages for browser compatibility issues in as many browsers and operating systems as you can. Remember to test on most recent browser versions, as well as the older ones - not all of your visitors may be using up-to-date software.

    If you are updating an existing site, use web analytics tools to see what browsers your customers are currently using to access your website.

    Screen resolutions

    According to Statcounter, GlobaStats, the most common screen resolution sizes in recent years have been:

    • 1366x768 pixels for desktops
    • 375x667 pixels for mobile screens
    • 768x1024 pixels for tablets

    Higher resolutions, such as 1920x1080 pixels for desktops and 414x896 for mobiles, have gained in popularity over the last year. It's important to consider these sizes carefully. If you design your website for higher resolutions, some low-resolution screens and older devices may not be able to display all of your content. Read about mobile web design best practices.

    Download speeds

    Not all internet users have high-speed access, so connection speed should also influence your webpage design. Research suggests that:

    • nearly half of web users expect a webpage to load in 2 seconds or less
    • 40 per cent of people abandon a website that takes more than 3 seconds to load

    Too many images or rich media - such as animations or video - will slow down the speed at which your webpage loads. This can result in your customers leaving the site. Since page speed is a ranking factor, slow speeds can also hurt your search ranking.

    Try to keep file and image sizes to a minimum. For context, the average size of a desktop web page in 2022 was 2286.3KB and of a mobile web page was 2006.6KB. (Source: HTTP Archive data)

    Technology

    Some web technologies can prevent users from viewing your site or affect indexing of your website by search engines. These include:

    • HTML frames
    • Javascript
    • Flash
    • AJAX

    If using these technologies, consider the potential risks to the usability and accessibility of your website. See more on web accessibility issues and learn how to design a user-friendly website.

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  • Web accessibility issues

    If your business has a website, it should be accessible to disabled users for ethical, commercial and legal reasons.

    In Northern Ireland, the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) makes it illegal for a website provider to discriminate against a disabled person.

    In practice, this means that a website providing goods or services to the public must be designed in a way that allows disabled people to access them, eg by using auxiliary aids or services such as screen readers.

    The DDA still applies in Northern Ireland but elsewhere in the UK it has been repealed and replaced by the Equality Act 2010.

    What is accessibility on a website?

    Accessibility describes the practice of enabling access to websites for people with disabilities. It aims to address all the different needs of users, including those with visual, mobility, auditory and cognitive difficulties.

    What are the Web Accessibility Standards?

    The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has produced a number of accepted accessibility guidelines for websites. These set out three levels of conformance:

    •  A (priority 1) – the minimum level of access has been met
    •  AA (priority 2) – an acceptable level of access has been met
    •  AAA (priority 3) – a completely accessible website

    The UK government recommends that websites must satisfy priority 1 and should satisfy priority 2 of the guidelines.

    Is your company website accessible?

    You can use a range of free online tools and services to check if your site is accessible.

    Reasonable adjustments for disabled website users

    If your website isn't accessible, it may put a disabled person at a substantial disadvantage compared to people who are not disabled. You may be required under the DDA to make 'reasonable adjustments'.

    This means that, by law, you must:

    • change a practice, policy or procedure that makes it impossible or unreasonably difficult for disabled people to use your service - eg using very small text that puts vision-impaired people at a disadvantage
    • provide an auxiliary aid or service if it would enable (or make it easier for) disabled people to use the service - eg offering an alternative point and click interface for visitors that can't use a keyboard

    The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI) has published a range of resources that deal with the rights of access to goods, facilities, services (including online services) and premises. These resources include:

    • advisory guides for employers and service providers
    • good practice videos
    • publications and relevant codes of practice
    • customisable templates, checklists and policies
    • links to further help and advice from other organisations

    Browse ECNI's resources on accessible goods and services.

    How to make a website accessible?

    People with different abilities will navigate websites in different ways, depending on their needs and preferences. Some may configure standard software and hardware to suit their needs. Others may use specialized software or hardware that helps them perform certain tasks.

    You can make many adjustments to help disabled people to use your website - see suggestions of our best practices for accessible websites.

    The WC3 website provides detailed guidance and resources on getting started with web accessibility.

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  • Best practices for accessible websites

    Find out how to comply with accessibility legislation and make your website accessible to users with a wide range of abilities.

    Accessibility is an important part of web design. For public authorities and commercial websites in Northern Ireland, it is also a legal requirement under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

    Why is web accessibility so important?

    People with disabilities use a wide range of tools and techniques to help them navigate the web. For example, some may configure standard software such as browsers to their specific needs. Other users may prefer to use specialised tools, eg screen or text readers, assistive scanning keyboards, etc.

    For these tools to work, you must build websites and applications in a way that supports the use of assistive technologies.

    How to improve web accessibility

    If you are building a website from scratch or redesigning it, make sure that you develop HTML-compliant and accessible pages from the outset. Use cascading style sheets where possible to separate content from presentation. This can give you more flexibility and improve the accessibility of your content.

    At the very least, you should address these basic accessibility considerations:

    Keyboard accessibility

    Users should be able to tab around the screen to access each area of the site, including close any potential pop-up windows without using the mouse. Visually impaired users may not be able to see a cursor and may rely on text-to-speech software to tell them where the focus is on the page.

    Consider colour contrast

    Contrast ratio between text and background needs to meet minimum standards to ensure those with visual impairments or reading disability can still access the site. Colour is a strong design element, but avoid using it to convey information. It will be inaccessible to colour-blind people, as well as screen readers.

    Mark-up site structure

    Use headings, lists, tables and other structural elements to give meaning to a web page or order of information. Make sure that all functionality is available from a keyboard or via screen reader and that you provide headings in an appropriate hierarchical order to aid navigation and understanding.

    Use headers for data tables

    If you are using tabular data, introduce table headers so that screen readers can understand them.

    Provide text alternative for images

    Text alternatives convey the purpose of an image or function to provide an equivalent user experience. They are commonly added to graphic content, such as pictures, icons, button, illustrations and charts. They help people who have visual impairments and may rely on screen readers to navigate a site.

    Provide captions, narrations or transcripts for media

    This applies to videos, archived audios as well as live audio.

    Label form content correctly

    Every form element, such as text field, checkbox or dropdown list, should be marked using the 'label' element. Users should be able to navigate, understand and input form data without being able to see the page (using a screen reader). This includes recovery from any errors, such as the failure to fill in all required fields.

    Make links understandable

    Screen reader users may choose to read only the links on a web page, so link text should make sense even if read out of context. Avoid ambiguous phrases like 'clink here' or 'more'.

    Distinguish between different types of content

    This includes PDF files, Word documents, PowerPoint presentations and flash content. If you can't make them accessible, consider using HTML or alternative. Users should be able to navigate and read any downloadable material by using assistive technology.

    Allow users to skip repetitive elements on the page

    Provide a 'skip to main content' or 'skip navigation' link to help a user with impaired mobility or relying on a screen reader to access content more quickly.

    Provide clear and easy-to-read content

    Content should be accessible to people with diverse cognitive abilities as well. Write it in plain English and make it as simple, and as easy to read as possible.

    Please note this is not a complete list of all accessibility requirements. These are only some of the main considerations of accessible design. You can implement most of these easily without any effect on your site's look and feel.

    For more recommendations, see W3C's detailed guidance on accessibility principles.

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  • Characteristics of a user-friendly website

    Understand why usability matters in web design and how to design your website to meet user requirements.

    User-friendly design - or usability - is crucial to the success of any website. It plays a great role in improving the performance of your site, meeting the needs of your audience and increasing user satisfaction.

    What is user-friendliness?

    User-friendly is a term that describes features and functions that make using a device, system or website easier. There are many ways to define 'user-friendly' and many more ways to put this concept into practice across your website or application.

    Examples of user-friendly elements may include:

    • graphical user interfaces (GUIs)
    • descriptive navigations
    • visual cues
    • online help systems
    • customisation

    Tips for building a user-friendly website

    Here are some essential characteristics you should include in your website to make sure your visitors find the information they need quickly and easily.

    User interaction

    While you are planning your website, think about:

    • who your users are
    • what they will want to do when they come to your site
    • how they will want to interact with your website
    • how you can use links to help the user navigate around your site

    Use linked text and short descriptions, and organise links into related topics. When using internal links, make sure that the user always knows where they are and what they need to do to return to the higher levels of the site. Remember also to follow best practices for accessible websites.

    Hierarchy of information

    Don't make users navigate through too many layers of the site to find the information they want. Provide clear navigation aids so the user can quickly find the information they need. A standard navigation bar that is in the same place on every page enables the user to move quickly through the site. Follow accepted conventions for website navigation - this will help make your website more intuitive for the user.

    Amount and placement of content

    Consider how much content you should put on a webpage. Avoid putting too much, as it may prevent the user from locating the information they need. Use links to divide content between pages. Use elements like headings and subheadings to help users scan the page before reading it in more detail.

    Also, think about where you place elements on the page. For example, marketing messages or 'calls to action' may be more effective if placed 'above the fold'. This refers to the area of the page that is immediately visible once the page has loaded and before the user has scrolled down the page in the browser window. Find out how to plan your website content and structure.

    Mobile compatibility

    People are increasingly using mobile phones and tablets to access the internet, so optimising your website for mobile is a necessity. See more on mobile website design best practices.

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  • Consistency in web design

    Understand how visual elements of website design, including branding and design continuity, can affect the success of your website.

    Consistency is a key factor in web design for both visual elements and functionality. Consistency ensures that your website looks coherent and works harmoniously across all its different elements, such as headers, footers, sidebars and navigation bars. It also:

    • gives your users a more positive experience
    • enables users to carry out tasks more quickly and efficiently
    • improves usability and learnability of your website
    • eliminates pain points and difficult navigation
    • saves money and time on design

    Consistent navigation

    Navigation elements offer users a road map to all the different areas and information within the site. In order to work effectively, navigation should be clear and consistent across your website.

    Visitors to your website should be able to move from page-to-page easily and always know where they are. Difficult website navigation can tempt them to leave your site.

    Page layouts and menu structure

    It is a good idea to use templates to create a common page layout across your site. Create smooth transitions between pages by having consistent elements on each page. For example:

    • have menus in the same position on each page
    • have same fonts and colours throughout the site
    • have a clear, visual hierarchy to the elements on your page
    • ensure that your business logo appears on each page
    • make sure that your logo links back to the homepage
    • include a search box on each page in the same location

    You should also consider the placement of any marketing messages and 'calls to action', such as newsletter sign-up, special offers or discounted products or services. Place these prominently as positioning can improve customer response rates.

    Fonts and typography

    Designing for a website restricts your font choices. If you specify a font that a user does not have on their computer or mobile device, their browser will substitute a default font, changing the look of the page.

    It is best practice to choose standard fonts for pages and specify a font family - this will help reduce the possibility of the page being displayed using system fonts. The web page will also look clearer if you choose fewer fonts and type sizes.

    Remember to test your web pages on multiple browsers to see what effect these have on the overall appearance.

    Branding in web design

    If you already have a recognisable brand or image, make sure to incorporate it into your design. Your website should:

    • reinforce your corporate brand
    • use your company logo consistently throughout the site
    • be part of your wider marketing strategy in an attempt to reach your target audience

    While you are making sure that your website is consistent and true to your brand, don't forget it also needs to be accessible and usable. Read about web accessibility issues.

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  • Website navigation best practice

    How to develop a simple and consistent navigation scheme to help visitors quickly find the information they require.

    When it comes to websites, the navigation acts like a compass guiding users to different areas around the site. Keeping it simple, organised and consistent throughout the website helps with the overall user experience.

    Navigation bars and buttons

    Navigation menus are most often placed horizontally at the top of a website, or vertically on the left. It is important to be:

    • consistent with the placement of navigation - this can increase the visual appeal of your design and make it easier for the users to find their way around your site
    • clear and concise when assigning categories in your navigation - this can help users to quickly and easily access information about your company or products

    Remember also that every graphic you add to your website for navigational purposes increases the download time for the user, so keep navigation buttons simple and reuse the same ones throughout your site.

    Ease of finding information

    The success of your website will largely depend on how easy it is for users to find the information that they require. In addition to providing good navigation, you can help your users find information by including:

    • a site map
    • a search facility
    • well-organised content
    • content planned and tested with users in mind

    You can also use links within your site to relate different ideas or content. Try to anticipate what information users are likely to want next, but at the same time leave them free to make their own navigational choices.

    The 'three click rule'

    The 'three click rule' is an unofficial design rule that suggests that users should be able to find any information on your site within no more than three mouse clicks. This may not always be achievable if you are designing a large site. In this case, keeping the user informed of where they are, where they have come from and where they are going, should be enough to keep them on task.

    If your website is large or has a complex structure, consider using a breadcrumb trail to show users where they are within the website. This will help with navigation and can also improve your visibility in the search engines. For more, see search engine optimisation.

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  • Mobile web design best practice

    Find out how to create a mobile-friendly website, and choose between mobile-dedicated, responsive or adaptive design.

    Mobile web design is necessary for most modern businesses. Devices such as smartphones and tablets are widespread and people are increasingly using them to shop, interact and conduct business online.

    If your company relies on a desktop website, at the very least you should check how compatible it is with mobile devices. If your customers can't access your website on the go, you may well be missing out on potential sales and business.

    How to create a mobile-friendly website?

    You can take different approaches to create a mobile-friendly website. The three most common strategies are:

    • responsive design
    • adaptive design
    • designing a separate mobile version of your website

    There are pros and cons to each. What is best for your business will depend on your circumstances, your existing website and the experience you wish to provide to your customers.

    What is responsive design?

    Responsive web design involves using HTML and CSS to create grids, layouts and other website elements that automatically respond and adapt to the user's device based on screen size, platform and orientation.

    Such design provides an optimal viewing experience across a wide range of devices. It also removes the need to have two separate versions of the website and duplicate content. This makes responsive sites easier to maintain and configure for search engines. Learn more about responsive web design.

    Responsive vs adaptive design

    Adaptive design involves creating several distinct layouts for specific screen sizes, including mobile phones, tablets and desktop computers. The website detects the type of device a user is accessing from and delivers the pre-set layout for that particular device.

    This can work well and preserve resources if you wish to retrofit an existing desktop site. However, the results don't always display optimally on a wide variety of screen sizes. Most new websites now use responsive as it takes less work to build and maintain.

    Separate website for mobile and desktop

    Some businesses choose to take the 'separate websites' approach. They create mobile-dedicated websites designed specifically for mobile devices.

    This strategy uses server-side logic to send a different version of the site to a user depending on the device they are using. There are typically higher costs associated with maintenance of, what is effectively, two different versions of the site, and greater potential for issues around search engine indexation.

    Tips for mobile web design

    When designing a mobile website, regardless of the approach you take, basic web design principles still apply. Keep the website as simple as possible and consider:

    • Using CSS layouts (cascading style sheets) - to support cross platform compatibility.
    • Page layout and information hierarchy given the limited screen space - divide content into smaller segments across pages to minimise download time and make them easier to read.
    • The types of content that you use - eg the use of rich media (including animations and video). These will increase download times and may not be supported across all devices.
    • The placement of navigation and its ease of use on mobile devices - consider visual cues to provide a better user experience. Use spacing between buttons to extend the clickable area.
    • Use mobile-appropriate technology - such as drop-down lists or radio buttons for information input, rather than entering free text (which can be difficult on a keypad).
    • Optimising e-commerce functionality for mobile, eg the shopping cart - reduce the steps customers have to take to complete a purchase to improve conversion rates.
    • If you have a separate mobile version of your website, as opposed to a responsive site, always give users the option to visit your main website and vice versa.

    See also mobile marketing and m-commerce.

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Consistency in web design

In this guide:

  • Planning your website

    How to set clear objectives for your website, plan its purpose and work out its structure, design and content.

    Planning is essential when it comes to designing a website. Lack of planning can lead to money lost, poor user experience and a website that reflects negatively on your business.

    Website project planning

    Website planning begins by first identifying your website's exact purpose. Typical reasons why businesses develop websites include:

    • building brand awareness
    • finding new customers
    • saving money
    • selling products
    • providing improved customer support

    The key to effective planning is realising that you are not building a website for yourself. You're creating it for your prospective audience, which can include your current and potential customers, new prospects, stakeholders, suppliers and partners.

    Website content planning

    Decide on the type of content you will need to support the objectives of your site and how to present this online. Think about balancing the amount of text, images and interactive content that you wish to publish on your site. Look at what your competitors are doing and try to understand what the business opportunities are for your website.

    Learn as much as you can about the audience you are trying to reach. Think about:

    • what will make them visit your website
    • what they will want when they get there
    • what will encourage them to return

    If you are creating an e-commerce website, provide unique descriptions for your products or services. This will help with search engine optimisation and ensure that you stand apart from your competitors.

    Thorough market research will help you lay a firm foundation for your website. You will want to research your competitors, your products, your target markets and consider internal resources and processes to inform your project.

    See how to set up an e-commerce website (video tutorial).

    When you are planning content for your site, don't forget you are legally required to publish certain company information - see business websites: legal requirements.

    Website structure planning

    When it comes to planning your website, it may help to map out its structure in a diagram or by using wireframes. You can do this on paper or with simple digital tools like Word or PowerPoint.

    A key structural element is a site map, often shaped like a flow chart. You can build a site map in Word, or with specialised commercial software and even some freeware. An outline with bulleted lists and indentations can serve the same purpose. Indicate pages, sub-pages and other structural breaks elements that will make up your website.

    Make your customer's journey on your site as effective and efficient as possible - the principles of user-centred design can help with this.

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  • Business websites: legal requirements

    Understand the laws and regulations affecting websites, including those that require you to publish certain information on your business website.

    As a UK-registered business, you will need to disclose certain information about your company on your website. This is a legal requirement. Failure to comply can result in fines, action taken by the regulators, customers or consumer protection bodies, and damage to your reputation.

    Is your business website legal?

    You must display registered information relating to the identity of your business. This includes:

    • company name
    • registered number
    • place of registration
    • registered office address
    • contact details, including an email address
    • details of how to contact the business by non-electronic means
    • the VAT number of business, if applicable
    • details of any trade body or regulator registration

    For sole traders and partnerships, you must display the address of the primary place of business. If the company is being wound up, you must also display this on your website.

    This information doesn't have to be on every page of your website, but it must be easily found. For example, you might want to put it on the 'contact us' or 'about us' page. Some websites have this information in the footer section of each page.

    Privacy information

    As well as registered information, you must also publish on your site:

    • a privacy notice - to explain what personal data you collect and how you use it
    • a cookie disclosure - to explain how you use cookies on your site
    • a disclaimer - to outline liability for the use of your website and its information

    Read about privacy information under the UK General Data Protection Regulation.

    Cookie information and consent

    Under privacy laws, you must tell people if you set cookies on your website, unless those cookies are essential to provide an online service at someone's request (for example, to remember what's in their online basket, or to ensure security in online banking).

    You must explain in a clear statement what cookies do and why, and - if no exemptions apply - you must also seek users' consent to the use of cookies by giving them an option to accept or refuse their placement on their devices. You can use pop-ups, splash pages, message bars, banners or other solutions to seek consent.

    Your cookie statement can be a standalone page on your website or included with your privacy policy. The Information Commissioner's Office provides more information about cookies and similar technologies.

    See our sample privacy notice and sample website disclaimer if you need these documents for your business.

    Selling to consumers

    If you sell online, you must also include on your website:

    These are all required as part of the consumer protection regulations. As a website operator, you will also have a legal duty to address any web accessibility issues on your website.

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  • Main technical issues in web design

    Find out how browsers, screen resolutions and download speeds affect website design.

    Before you create a website, you should consider the technical issues relating to web design, specifically:

    • browser compatibility
    • screen resolutions
    • web technologies
    • internet speed

    Browser issues

    Web pages should be able to display across different browsers, including Firefox, Chrome, Edge (successor to Internet Explorer), Safari and Opera.

    When building your site, test your web pages for browser compatibility issues in as many browsers and operating systems as you can. Remember to test on most recent browser versions, as well as the older ones - not all of your visitors may be using up-to-date software.

    If you are updating an existing site, use web analytics tools to see what browsers your customers are currently using to access your website.

    Screen resolutions

    According to Statcounter, GlobaStats, the most common screen resolution sizes in recent years have been:

    • 1366x768 pixels for desktops
    • 375x667 pixels for mobile screens
    • 768x1024 pixels for tablets

    Higher resolutions, such as 1920x1080 pixels for desktops and 414x896 for mobiles, have gained in popularity over the last year. It's important to consider these sizes carefully. If you design your website for higher resolutions, some low-resolution screens and older devices may not be able to display all of your content. Read about mobile web design best practices.

    Download speeds

    Not all internet users have high-speed access, so connection speed should also influence your webpage design. Research suggests that:

    • nearly half of web users expect a webpage to load in 2 seconds or less
    • 40 per cent of people abandon a website that takes more than 3 seconds to load

    Too many images or rich media - such as animations or video - will slow down the speed at which your webpage loads. This can result in your customers leaving the site. Since page speed is a ranking factor, slow speeds can also hurt your search ranking.

    Try to keep file and image sizes to a minimum. For context, the average size of a desktop web page in 2022 was 2286.3KB and of a mobile web page was 2006.6KB. (Source: HTTP Archive data)

    Technology

    Some web technologies can prevent users from viewing your site or affect indexing of your website by search engines. These include:

    • HTML frames
    • Javascript
    • Flash
    • AJAX

    If using these technologies, consider the potential risks to the usability and accessibility of your website. See more on web accessibility issues and learn how to design a user-friendly website.

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  • Web accessibility issues

    If your business has a website, it should be accessible to disabled users for ethical, commercial and legal reasons.

    In Northern Ireland, the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) makes it illegal for a website provider to discriminate against a disabled person.

    In practice, this means that a website providing goods or services to the public must be designed in a way that allows disabled people to access them, eg by using auxiliary aids or services such as screen readers.

    The DDA still applies in Northern Ireland but elsewhere in the UK it has been repealed and replaced by the Equality Act 2010.

    What is accessibility on a website?

    Accessibility describes the practice of enabling access to websites for people with disabilities. It aims to address all the different needs of users, including those with visual, mobility, auditory and cognitive difficulties.

    What are the Web Accessibility Standards?

    The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has produced a number of accepted accessibility guidelines for websites. These set out three levels of conformance:

    •  A (priority 1) – the minimum level of access has been met
    •  AA (priority 2) – an acceptable level of access has been met
    •  AAA (priority 3) – a completely accessible website

    The UK government recommends that websites must satisfy priority 1 and should satisfy priority 2 of the guidelines.

    Is your company website accessible?

    You can use a range of free online tools and services to check if your site is accessible.

    Reasonable adjustments for disabled website users

    If your website isn't accessible, it may put a disabled person at a substantial disadvantage compared to people who are not disabled. You may be required under the DDA to make 'reasonable adjustments'.

    This means that, by law, you must:

    • change a practice, policy or procedure that makes it impossible or unreasonably difficult for disabled people to use your service - eg using very small text that puts vision-impaired people at a disadvantage
    • provide an auxiliary aid or service if it would enable (or make it easier for) disabled people to use the service - eg offering an alternative point and click interface for visitors that can't use a keyboard

    The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI) has published a range of resources that deal with the rights of access to goods, facilities, services (including online services) and premises. These resources include:

    • advisory guides for employers and service providers
    • good practice videos
    • publications and relevant codes of practice
    • customisable templates, checklists and policies
    • links to further help and advice from other organisations

    Browse ECNI's resources on accessible goods and services.

    How to make a website accessible?

    People with different abilities will navigate websites in different ways, depending on their needs and preferences. Some may configure standard software and hardware to suit their needs. Others may use specialized software or hardware that helps them perform certain tasks.

    You can make many adjustments to help disabled people to use your website - see suggestions of our best practices for accessible websites.

    The WC3 website provides detailed guidance and resources on getting started with web accessibility.

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  • Best practices for accessible websites

    Find out how to comply with accessibility legislation and make your website accessible to users with a wide range of abilities.

    Accessibility is an important part of web design. For public authorities and commercial websites in Northern Ireland, it is also a legal requirement under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

    Why is web accessibility so important?

    People with disabilities use a wide range of tools and techniques to help them navigate the web. For example, some may configure standard software such as browsers to their specific needs. Other users may prefer to use specialised tools, eg screen or text readers, assistive scanning keyboards, etc.

    For these tools to work, you must build websites and applications in a way that supports the use of assistive technologies.

    How to improve web accessibility

    If you are building a website from scratch or redesigning it, make sure that you develop HTML-compliant and accessible pages from the outset. Use cascading style sheets where possible to separate content from presentation. This can give you more flexibility and improve the accessibility of your content.

    At the very least, you should address these basic accessibility considerations:

    Keyboard accessibility

    Users should be able to tab around the screen to access each area of the site, including close any potential pop-up windows without using the mouse. Visually impaired users may not be able to see a cursor and may rely on text-to-speech software to tell them where the focus is on the page.

    Consider colour contrast

    Contrast ratio between text and background needs to meet minimum standards to ensure those with visual impairments or reading disability can still access the site. Colour is a strong design element, but avoid using it to convey information. It will be inaccessible to colour-blind people, as well as screen readers.

    Mark-up site structure

    Use headings, lists, tables and other structural elements to give meaning to a web page or order of information. Make sure that all functionality is available from a keyboard or via screen reader and that you provide headings in an appropriate hierarchical order to aid navigation and understanding.

    Use headers for data tables

    If you are using tabular data, introduce table headers so that screen readers can understand them.

    Provide text alternative for images

    Text alternatives convey the purpose of an image or function to provide an equivalent user experience. They are commonly added to graphic content, such as pictures, icons, button, illustrations and charts. They help people who have visual impairments and may rely on screen readers to navigate a site.

    Provide captions, narrations or transcripts for media

    This applies to videos, archived audios as well as live audio.

    Label form content correctly

    Every form element, such as text field, checkbox or dropdown list, should be marked using the 'label' element. Users should be able to navigate, understand and input form data without being able to see the page (using a screen reader). This includes recovery from any errors, such as the failure to fill in all required fields.

    Make links understandable

    Screen reader users may choose to read only the links on a web page, so link text should make sense even if read out of context. Avoid ambiguous phrases like 'clink here' or 'more'.

    Distinguish between different types of content

    This includes PDF files, Word documents, PowerPoint presentations and flash content. If you can't make them accessible, consider using HTML or alternative. Users should be able to navigate and read any downloadable material by using assistive technology.

    Allow users to skip repetitive elements on the page

    Provide a 'skip to main content' or 'skip navigation' link to help a user with impaired mobility or relying on a screen reader to access content more quickly.

    Provide clear and easy-to-read content

    Content should be accessible to people with diverse cognitive abilities as well. Write it in plain English and make it as simple, and as easy to read as possible.

    Please note this is not a complete list of all accessibility requirements. These are only some of the main considerations of accessible design. You can implement most of these easily without any effect on your site's look and feel.

    For more recommendations, see W3C's detailed guidance on accessibility principles.

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  • Characteristics of a user-friendly website

    Understand why usability matters in web design and how to design your website to meet user requirements.

    User-friendly design - or usability - is crucial to the success of any website. It plays a great role in improving the performance of your site, meeting the needs of your audience and increasing user satisfaction.

    What is user-friendliness?

    User-friendly is a term that describes features and functions that make using a device, system or website easier. There are many ways to define 'user-friendly' and many more ways to put this concept into practice across your website or application.

    Examples of user-friendly elements may include:

    • graphical user interfaces (GUIs)
    • descriptive navigations
    • visual cues
    • online help systems
    • customisation

    Tips for building a user-friendly website

    Here are some essential characteristics you should include in your website to make sure your visitors find the information they need quickly and easily.

    User interaction

    While you are planning your website, think about:

    • who your users are
    • what they will want to do when they come to your site
    • how they will want to interact with your website
    • how you can use links to help the user navigate around your site

    Use linked text and short descriptions, and organise links into related topics. When using internal links, make sure that the user always knows where they are and what they need to do to return to the higher levels of the site. Remember also to follow best practices for accessible websites.

    Hierarchy of information

    Don't make users navigate through too many layers of the site to find the information they want. Provide clear navigation aids so the user can quickly find the information they need. A standard navigation bar that is in the same place on every page enables the user to move quickly through the site. Follow accepted conventions for website navigation - this will help make your website more intuitive for the user.

    Amount and placement of content

    Consider how much content you should put on a webpage. Avoid putting too much, as it may prevent the user from locating the information they need. Use links to divide content between pages. Use elements like headings and subheadings to help users scan the page before reading it in more detail.

    Also, think about where you place elements on the page. For example, marketing messages or 'calls to action' may be more effective if placed 'above the fold'. This refers to the area of the page that is immediately visible once the page has loaded and before the user has scrolled down the page in the browser window. Find out how to plan your website content and structure.

    Mobile compatibility

    People are increasingly using mobile phones and tablets to access the internet, so optimising your website for mobile is a necessity. See more on mobile website design best practices.

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  • Consistency in web design

    Understand how visual elements of website design, including branding and design continuity, can affect the success of your website.

    Consistency is a key factor in web design for both visual elements and functionality. Consistency ensures that your website looks coherent and works harmoniously across all its different elements, such as headers, footers, sidebars and navigation bars. It also:

    • gives your users a more positive experience
    • enables users to carry out tasks more quickly and efficiently
    • improves usability and learnability of your website
    • eliminates pain points and difficult navigation
    • saves money and time on design

    Consistent navigation

    Navigation elements offer users a road map to all the different areas and information within the site. In order to work effectively, navigation should be clear and consistent across your website.

    Visitors to your website should be able to move from page-to-page easily and always know where they are. Difficult website navigation can tempt them to leave your site.

    Page layouts and menu structure

    It is a good idea to use templates to create a common page layout across your site. Create smooth transitions between pages by having consistent elements on each page. For example:

    • have menus in the same position on each page
    • have same fonts and colours throughout the site
    • have a clear, visual hierarchy to the elements on your page
    • ensure that your business logo appears on each page
    • make sure that your logo links back to the homepage
    • include a search box on each page in the same location

    You should also consider the placement of any marketing messages and 'calls to action', such as newsletter sign-up, special offers or discounted products or services. Place these prominently as positioning can improve customer response rates.

    Fonts and typography

    Designing for a website restricts your font choices. If you specify a font that a user does not have on their computer or mobile device, their browser will substitute a default font, changing the look of the page.

    It is best practice to choose standard fonts for pages and specify a font family - this will help reduce the possibility of the page being displayed using system fonts. The web page will also look clearer if you choose fewer fonts and type sizes.

    Remember to test your web pages on multiple browsers to see what effect these have on the overall appearance.

    Branding in web design

    If you already have a recognisable brand or image, make sure to incorporate it into your design. Your website should:

    • reinforce your corporate brand
    • use your company logo consistently throughout the site
    • be part of your wider marketing strategy in an attempt to reach your target audience

    While you are making sure that your website is consistent and true to your brand, don't forget it also needs to be accessible and usable. Read about web accessibility issues.

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  • Website navigation best practice

    How to develop a simple and consistent navigation scheme to help visitors quickly find the information they require.

    When it comes to websites, the navigation acts like a compass guiding users to different areas around the site. Keeping it simple, organised and consistent throughout the website helps with the overall user experience.

    Navigation bars and buttons

    Navigation menus are most often placed horizontally at the top of a website, or vertically on the left. It is important to be:

    • consistent with the placement of navigation - this can increase the visual appeal of your design and make it easier for the users to find their way around your site
    • clear and concise when assigning categories in your navigation - this can help users to quickly and easily access information about your company or products

    Remember also that every graphic you add to your website for navigational purposes increases the download time for the user, so keep navigation buttons simple and reuse the same ones throughout your site.

    Ease of finding information

    The success of your website will largely depend on how easy it is for users to find the information that they require. In addition to providing good navigation, you can help your users find information by including:

    • a site map
    • a search facility
    • well-organised content
    • content planned and tested with users in mind

    You can also use links within your site to relate different ideas or content. Try to anticipate what information users are likely to want next, but at the same time leave them free to make their own navigational choices.

    The 'three click rule'

    The 'three click rule' is an unofficial design rule that suggests that users should be able to find any information on your site within no more than three mouse clicks. This may not always be achievable if you are designing a large site. In this case, keeping the user informed of where they are, where they have come from and where they are going, should be enough to keep them on task.

    If your website is large or has a complex structure, consider using a breadcrumb trail to show users where they are within the website. This will help with navigation and can also improve your visibility in the search engines. For more, see search engine optimisation.

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  • Mobile web design best practice

    Find out how to create a mobile-friendly website, and choose between mobile-dedicated, responsive or adaptive design.

    Mobile web design is necessary for most modern businesses. Devices such as smartphones and tablets are widespread and people are increasingly using them to shop, interact and conduct business online.

    If your company relies on a desktop website, at the very least you should check how compatible it is with mobile devices. If your customers can't access your website on the go, you may well be missing out on potential sales and business.

    How to create a mobile-friendly website?

    You can take different approaches to create a mobile-friendly website. The three most common strategies are:

    • responsive design
    • adaptive design
    • designing a separate mobile version of your website

    There are pros and cons to each. What is best for your business will depend on your circumstances, your existing website and the experience you wish to provide to your customers.

    What is responsive design?

    Responsive web design involves using HTML and CSS to create grids, layouts and other website elements that automatically respond and adapt to the user's device based on screen size, platform and orientation.

    Such design provides an optimal viewing experience across a wide range of devices. It also removes the need to have two separate versions of the website and duplicate content. This makes responsive sites easier to maintain and configure for search engines. Learn more about responsive web design.

    Responsive vs adaptive design

    Adaptive design involves creating several distinct layouts for specific screen sizes, including mobile phones, tablets and desktop computers. The website detects the type of device a user is accessing from and delivers the pre-set layout for that particular device.

    This can work well and preserve resources if you wish to retrofit an existing desktop site. However, the results don't always display optimally on a wide variety of screen sizes. Most new websites now use responsive as it takes less work to build and maintain.

    Separate website for mobile and desktop

    Some businesses choose to take the 'separate websites' approach. They create mobile-dedicated websites designed specifically for mobile devices.

    This strategy uses server-side logic to send a different version of the site to a user depending on the device they are using. There are typically higher costs associated with maintenance of, what is effectively, two different versions of the site, and greater potential for issues around search engine indexation.

    Tips for mobile web design

    When designing a mobile website, regardless of the approach you take, basic web design principles still apply. Keep the website as simple as possible and consider:

    • Using CSS layouts (cascading style sheets) - to support cross platform compatibility.
    • Page layout and information hierarchy given the limited screen space - divide content into smaller segments across pages to minimise download time and make them easier to read.
    • The types of content that you use - eg the use of rich media (including animations and video). These will increase download times and may not be supported across all devices.
    • The placement of navigation and its ease of use on mobile devices - consider visual cues to provide a better user experience. Use spacing between buttons to extend the clickable area.
    • Use mobile-appropriate technology - such as drop-down lists or radio buttons for information input, rather than entering free text (which can be difficult on a keypad).
    • Optimising e-commerce functionality for mobile, eg the shopping cart - reduce the steps customers have to take to complete a purchase to improve conversion rates.
    • If you have a separate mobile version of your website, as opposed to a responsive site, always give users the option to visit your main website and vice versa.

    See also mobile marketing and m-commerce.

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Planning your website

In this guide:

  • Planning your website

    How to set clear objectives for your website, plan its purpose and work out its structure, design and content.

    Planning is essential when it comes to designing a website. Lack of planning can lead to money lost, poor user experience and a website that reflects negatively on your business.

    Website project planning

    Website planning begins by first identifying your website's exact purpose. Typical reasons why businesses develop websites include:

    • building brand awareness
    • finding new customers
    • saving money
    • selling products
    • providing improved customer support

    The key to effective planning is realising that you are not building a website for yourself. You're creating it for your prospective audience, which can include your current and potential customers, new prospects, stakeholders, suppliers and partners.

    Website content planning

    Decide on the type of content you will need to support the objectives of your site and how to present this online. Think about balancing the amount of text, images and interactive content that you wish to publish on your site. Look at what your competitors are doing and try to understand what the business opportunities are for your website.

    Learn as much as you can about the audience you are trying to reach. Think about:

    • what will make them visit your website
    • what they will want when they get there
    • what will encourage them to return

    If you are creating an e-commerce website, provide unique descriptions for your products or services. This will help with search engine optimisation and ensure that you stand apart from your competitors.

    Thorough market research will help you lay a firm foundation for your website. You will want to research your competitors, your products, your target markets and consider internal resources and processes to inform your project.

    See how to set up an e-commerce website (video tutorial).

    When you are planning content for your site, don't forget you are legally required to publish certain company information - see business websites: legal requirements.

    Website structure planning

    When it comes to planning your website, it may help to map out its structure in a diagram or by using wireframes. You can do this on paper or with simple digital tools like Word or PowerPoint.

    A key structural element is a site map, often shaped like a flow chart. You can build a site map in Word, or with specialised commercial software and even some freeware. An outline with bulleted lists and indentations can serve the same purpose. Indicate pages, sub-pages and other structural breaks elements that will make up your website.

    Make your customer's journey on your site as effective and efficient as possible - the principles of user-centred design can help with this.

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  • Business websites: legal requirements

    Understand the laws and regulations affecting websites, including those that require you to publish certain information on your business website.

    As a UK-registered business, you will need to disclose certain information about your company on your website. This is a legal requirement. Failure to comply can result in fines, action taken by the regulators, customers or consumer protection bodies, and damage to your reputation.

    Is your business website legal?

    You must display registered information relating to the identity of your business. This includes:

    • company name
    • registered number
    • place of registration
    • registered office address
    • contact details, including an email address
    • details of how to contact the business by non-electronic means
    • the VAT number of business, if applicable
    • details of any trade body or regulator registration

    For sole traders and partnerships, you must display the address of the primary place of business. If the company is being wound up, you must also display this on your website.

    This information doesn't have to be on every page of your website, but it must be easily found. For example, you might want to put it on the 'contact us' or 'about us' page. Some websites have this information in the footer section of each page.

    Privacy information

    As well as registered information, you must also publish on your site:

    • a privacy notice - to explain what personal data you collect and how you use it
    • a cookie disclosure - to explain how you use cookies on your site
    • a disclaimer - to outline liability for the use of your website and its information

    Read about privacy information under the UK General Data Protection Regulation.

    Cookie information and consent

    Under privacy laws, you must tell people if you set cookies on your website, unless those cookies are essential to provide an online service at someone's request (for example, to remember what's in their online basket, or to ensure security in online banking).

    You must explain in a clear statement what cookies do and why, and - if no exemptions apply - you must also seek users' consent to the use of cookies by giving them an option to accept or refuse their placement on their devices. You can use pop-ups, splash pages, message bars, banners or other solutions to seek consent.

    Your cookie statement can be a standalone page on your website or included with your privacy policy. The Information Commissioner's Office provides more information about cookies and similar technologies.

    See our sample privacy notice and sample website disclaimer if you need these documents for your business.

    Selling to consumers

    If you sell online, you must also include on your website:

    These are all required as part of the consumer protection regulations. As a website operator, you will also have a legal duty to address any web accessibility issues on your website.

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  • Main technical issues in web design

    Find out how browsers, screen resolutions and download speeds affect website design.

    Before you create a website, you should consider the technical issues relating to web design, specifically:

    • browser compatibility
    • screen resolutions
    • web technologies
    • internet speed

    Browser issues

    Web pages should be able to display across different browsers, including Firefox, Chrome, Edge (successor to Internet Explorer), Safari and Opera.

    When building your site, test your web pages for browser compatibility issues in as many browsers and operating systems as you can. Remember to test on most recent browser versions, as well as the older ones - not all of your visitors may be using up-to-date software.

    If you are updating an existing site, use web analytics tools to see what browsers your customers are currently using to access your website.

    Screen resolutions

    According to Statcounter, GlobaStats, the most common screen resolution sizes in recent years have been:

    • 1366x768 pixels for desktops
    • 375x667 pixels for mobile screens
    • 768x1024 pixels for tablets

    Higher resolutions, such as 1920x1080 pixels for desktops and 414x896 for mobiles, have gained in popularity over the last year. It's important to consider these sizes carefully. If you design your website for higher resolutions, some low-resolution screens and older devices may not be able to display all of your content. Read about mobile web design best practices.

    Download speeds

    Not all internet users have high-speed access, so connection speed should also influence your webpage design. Research suggests that:

    • nearly half of web users expect a webpage to load in 2 seconds or less
    • 40 per cent of people abandon a website that takes more than 3 seconds to load

    Too many images or rich media - such as animations or video - will slow down the speed at which your webpage loads. This can result in your customers leaving the site. Since page speed is a ranking factor, slow speeds can also hurt your search ranking.

    Try to keep file and image sizes to a minimum. For context, the average size of a desktop web page in 2022 was 2286.3KB and of a mobile web page was 2006.6KB. (Source: HTTP Archive data)

    Technology

    Some web technologies can prevent users from viewing your site or affect indexing of your website by search engines. These include:

    • HTML frames
    • Javascript
    • Flash
    • AJAX

    If using these technologies, consider the potential risks to the usability and accessibility of your website. See more on web accessibility issues and learn how to design a user-friendly website.

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  • Web accessibility issues

    If your business has a website, it should be accessible to disabled users for ethical, commercial and legal reasons.

    In Northern Ireland, the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) makes it illegal for a website provider to discriminate against a disabled person.

    In practice, this means that a website providing goods or services to the public must be designed in a way that allows disabled people to access them, eg by using auxiliary aids or services such as screen readers.

    The DDA still applies in Northern Ireland but elsewhere in the UK it has been repealed and replaced by the Equality Act 2010.

    What is accessibility on a website?

    Accessibility describes the practice of enabling access to websites for people with disabilities. It aims to address all the different needs of users, including those with visual, mobility, auditory and cognitive difficulties.

    What are the Web Accessibility Standards?

    The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has produced a number of accepted accessibility guidelines for websites. These set out three levels of conformance:

    •  A (priority 1) – the minimum level of access has been met
    •  AA (priority 2) – an acceptable level of access has been met
    •  AAA (priority 3) – a completely accessible website

    The UK government recommends that websites must satisfy priority 1 and should satisfy priority 2 of the guidelines.

    Is your company website accessible?

    You can use a range of free online tools and services to check if your site is accessible.

    Reasonable adjustments for disabled website users

    If your website isn't accessible, it may put a disabled person at a substantial disadvantage compared to people who are not disabled. You may be required under the DDA to make 'reasonable adjustments'.

    This means that, by law, you must:

    • change a practice, policy or procedure that makes it impossible or unreasonably difficult for disabled people to use your service - eg using very small text that puts vision-impaired people at a disadvantage
    • provide an auxiliary aid or service if it would enable (or make it easier for) disabled people to use the service - eg offering an alternative point and click interface for visitors that can't use a keyboard

    The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI) has published a range of resources that deal with the rights of access to goods, facilities, services (including online services) and premises. These resources include:

    • advisory guides for employers and service providers
    • good practice videos
    • publications and relevant codes of practice
    • customisable templates, checklists and policies
    • links to further help and advice from other organisations

    Browse ECNI's resources on accessible goods and services.

    How to make a website accessible?

    People with different abilities will navigate websites in different ways, depending on their needs and preferences. Some may configure standard software and hardware to suit their needs. Others may use specialized software or hardware that helps them perform certain tasks.

    You can make many adjustments to help disabled people to use your website - see suggestions of our best practices for accessible websites.

    The WC3 website provides detailed guidance and resources on getting started with web accessibility.

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  • Best practices for accessible websites

    Find out how to comply with accessibility legislation and make your website accessible to users with a wide range of abilities.

    Accessibility is an important part of web design. For public authorities and commercial websites in Northern Ireland, it is also a legal requirement under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

    Why is web accessibility so important?

    People with disabilities use a wide range of tools and techniques to help them navigate the web. For example, some may configure standard software such as browsers to their specific needs. Other users may prefer to use specialised tools, eg screen or text readers, assistive scanning keyboards, etc.

    For these tools to work, you must build websites and applications in a way that supports the use of assistive technologies.

    How to improve web accessibility

    If you are building a website from scratch or redesigning it, make sure that you develop HTML-compliant and accessible pages from the outset. Use cascading style sheets where possible to separate content from presentation. This can give you more flexibility and improve the accessibility of your content.

    At the very least, you should address these basic accessibility considerations:

    Keyboard accessibility

    Users should be able to tab around the screen to access each area of the site, including close any potential pop-up windows without using the mouse. Visually impaired users may not be able to see a cursor and may rely on text-to-speech software to tell them where the focus is on the page.

    Consider colour contrast

    Contrast ratio between text and background needs to meet minimum standards to ensure those with visual impairments or reading disability can still access the site. Colour is a strong design element, but avoid using it to convey information. It will be inaccessible to colour-blind people, as well as screen readers.

    Mark-up site structure

    Use headings, lists, tables and other structural elements to give meaning to a web page or order of information. Make sure that all functionality is available from a keyboard or via screen reader and that you provide headings in an appropriate hierarchical order to aid navigation and understanding.

    Use headers for data tables

    If you are using tabular data, introduce table headers so that screen readers can understand them.

    Provide text alternative for images

    Text alternatives convey the purpose of an image or function to provide an equivalent user experience. They are commonly added to graphic content, such as pictures, icons, button, illustrations and charts. They help people who have visual impairments and may rely on screen readers to navigate a site.

    Provide captions, narrations or transcripts for media

    This applies to videos, archived audios as well as live audio.

    Label form content correctly

    Every form element, such as text field, checkbox or dropdown list, should be marked using the 'label' element. Users should be able to navigate, understand and input form data without being able to see the page (using a screen reader). This includes recovery from any errors, such as the failure to fill in all required fields.

    Make links understandable

    Screen reader users may choose to read only the links on a web page, so link text should make sense even if read out of context. Avoid ambiguous phrases like 'clink here' or 'more'.

    Distinguish between different types of content

    This includes PDF files, Word documents, PowerPoint presentations and flash content. If you can't make them accessible, consider using HTML or alternative. Users should be able to navigate and read any downloadable material by using assistive technology.

    Allow users to skip repetitive elements on the page

    Provide a 'skip to main content' or 'skip navigation' link to help a user with impaired mobility or relying on a screen reader to access content more quickly.

    Provide clear and easy-to-read content

    Content should be accessible to people with diverse cognitive abilities as well. Write it in plain English and make it as simple, and as easy to read as possible.

    Please note this is not a complete list of all accessibility requirements. These are only some of the main considerations of accessible design. You can implement most of these easily without any effect on your site's look and feel.

    For more recommendations, see W3C's detailed guidance on accessibility principles.

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  • Characteristics of a user-friendly website

    Understand why usability matters in web design and how to design your website to meet user requirements.

    User-friendly design - or usability - is crucial to the success of any website. It plays a great role in improving the performance of your site, meeting the needs of your audience and increasing user satisfaction.

    What is user-friendliness?

    User-friendly is a term that describes features and functions that make using a device, system or website easier. There are many ways to define 'user-friendly' and many more ways to put this concept into practice across your website or application.

    Examples of user-friendly elements may include:

    • graphical user interfaces (GUIs)
    • descriptive navigations
    • visual cues
    • online help systems
    • customisation

    Tips for building a user-friendly website

    Here are some essential characteristics you should include in your website to make sure your visitors find the information they need quickly and easily.

    User interaction

    While you are planning your website, think about:

    • who your users are
    • what they will want to do when they come to your site
    • how they will want to interact with your website
    • how you can use links to help the user navigate around your site

    Use linked text and short descriptions, and organise links into related topics. When using internal links, make sure that the user always knows where they are and what they need to do to return to the higher levels of the site. Remember also to follow best practices for accessible websites.

    Hierarchy of information

    Don't make users navigate through too many layers of the site to find the information they want. Provide clear navigation aids so the user can quickly find the information they need. A standard navigation bar that is in the same place on every page enables the user to move quickly through the site. Follow accepted conventions for website navigation - this will help make your website more intuitive for the user.

    Amount and placement of content

    Consider how much content you should put on a webpage. Avoid putting too much, as it may prevent the user from locating the information they need. Use links to divide content between pages. Use elements like headings and subheadings to help users scan the page before reading it in more detail.

    Also, think about where you place elements on the page. For example, marketing messages or 'calls to action' may be more effective if placed 'above the fold'. This refers to the area of the page that is immediately visible once the page has loaded and before the user has scrolled down the page in the browser window. Find out how to plan your website content and structure.

    Mobile compatibility

    People are increasingly using mobile phones and tablets to access the internet, so optimising your website for mobile is a necessity. See more on mobile website design best practices.

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  • Consistency in web design

    Understand how visual elements of website design, including branding and design continuity, can affect the success of your website.

    Consistency is a key factor in web design for both visual elements and functionality. Consistency ensures that your website looks coherent and works harmoniously across all its different elements, such as headers, footers, sidebars and navigation bars. It also:

    • gives your users a more positive experience
    • enables users to carry out tasks more quickly and efficiently
    • improves usability and learnability of your website
    • eliminates pain points and difficult navigation
    • saves money and time on design

    Consistent navigation

    Navigation elements offer users a road map to all the different areas and information within the site. In order to work effectively, navigation should be clear and consistent across your website.

    Visitors to your website should be able to move from page-to-page easily and always know where they are. Difficult website navigation can tempt them to leave your site.

    Page layouts and menu structure

    It is a good idea to use templates to create a common page layout across your site. Create smooth transitions between pages by having consistent elements on each page. For example:

    • have menus in the same position on each page
    • have same fonts and colours throughout the site
    • have a clear, visual hierarchy to the elements on your page
    • ensure that your business logo appears on each page
    • make sure that your logo links back to the homepage
    • include a search box on each page in the same location

    You should also consider the placement of any marketing messages and 'calls to action', such as newsletter sign-up, special offers or discounted products or services. Place these prominently as positioning can improve customer response rates.

    Fonts and typography

    Designing for a website restricts your font choices. If you specify a font that a user does not have on their computer or mobile device, their browser will substitute a default font, changing the look of the page.

    It is best practice to choose standard fonts for pages and specify a font family - this will help reduce the possibility of the page being displayed using system fonts. The web page will also look clearer if you choose fewer fonts and type sizes.

    Remember to test your web pages on multiple browsers to see what effect these have on the overall appearance.

    Branding in web design

    If you already have a recognisable brand or image, make sure to incorporate it into your design. Your website should:

    • reinforce your corporate brand
    • use your company logo consistently throughout the site
    • be part of your wider marketing strategy in an attempt to reach your target audience

    While you are making sure that your website is consistent and true to your brand, don't forget it also needs to be accessible and usable. Read about web accessibility issues.

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  • Website navigation best practice

    How to develop a simple and consistent navigation scheme to help visitors quickly find the information they require.

    When it comes to websites, the navigation acts like a compass guiding users to different areas around the site. Keeping it simple, organised and consistent throughout the website helps with the overall user experience.

    Navigation bars and buttons

    Navigation menus are most often placed horizontally at the top of a website, or vertically on the left. It is important to be:

    • consistent with the placement of navigation - this can increase the visual appeal of your design and make it easier for the users to find their way around your site
    • clear and concise when assigning categories in your navigation - this can help users to quickly and easily access information about your company or products

    Remember also that every graphic you add to your website for navigational purposes increases the download time for the user, so keep navigation buttons simple and reuse the same ones throughout your site.

    Ease of finding information

    The success of your website will largely depend on how easy it is for users to find the information that they require. In addition to providing good navigation, you can help your users find information by including:

    • a site map
    • a search facility
    • well-organised content
    • content planned and tested with users in mind

    You can also use links within your site to relate different ideas or content. Try to anticipate what information users are likely to want next, but at the same time leave them free to make their own navigational choices.

    The 'three click rule'

    The 'three click rule' is an unofficial design rule that suggests that users should be able to find any information on your site within no more than three mouse clicks. This may not always be achievable if you are designing a large site. In this case, keeping the user informed of where they are, where they have come from and where they are going, should be enough to keep them on task.

    If your website is large or has a complex structure, consider using a breadcrumb trail to show users where they are within the website. This will help with navigation and can also improve your visibility in the search engines. For more, see search engine optimisation.

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  • Mobile web design best practice

    Find out how to create a mobile-friendly website, and choose between mobile-dedicated, responsive or adaptive design.

    Mobile web design is necessary for most modern businesses. Devices such as smartphones and tablets are widespread and people are increasingly using them to shop, interact and conduct business online.

    If your company relies on a desktop website, at the very least you should check how compatible it is with mobile devices. If your customers can't access your website on the go, you may well be missing out on potential sales and business.

    How to create a mobile-friendly website?

    You can take different approaches to create a mobile-friendly website. The three most common strategies are:

    • responsive design
    • adaptive design
    • designing a separate mobile version of your website

    There are pros and cons to each. What is best for your business will depend on your circumstances, your existing website and the experience you wish to provide to your customers.

    What is responsive design?

    Responsive web design involves using HTML and CSS to create grids, layouts and other website elements that automatically respond and adapt to the user's device based on screen size, platform and orientation.

    Such design provides an optimal viewing experience across a wide range of devices. It also removes the need to have two separate versions of the website and duplicate content. This makes responsive sites easier to maintain and configure for search engines. Learn more about responsive web design.

    Responsive vs adaptive design

    Adaptive design involves creating several distinct layouts for specific screen sizes, including mobile phones, tablets and desktop computers. The website detects the type of device a user is accessing from and delivers the pre-set layout for that particular device.

    This can work well and preserve resources if you wish to retrofit an existing desktop site. However, the results don't always display optimally on a wide variety of screen sizes. Most new websites now use responsive as it takes less work to build and maintain.

    Separate website for mobile and desktop

    Some businesses choose to take the 'separate websites' approach. They create mobile-dedicated websites designed specifically for mobile devices.

    This strategy uses server-side logic to send a different version of the site to a user depending on the device they are using. There are typically higher costs associated with maintenance of, what is effectively, two different versions of the site, and greater potential for issues around search engine indexation.

    Tips for mobile web design

    When designing a mobile website, regardless of the approach you take, basic web design principles still apply. Keep the website as simple as possible and consider:

    • Using CSS layouts (cascading style sheets) - to support cross platform compatibility.
    • Page layout and information hierarchy given the limited screen space - divide content into smaller segments across pages to minimise download time and make them easier to read.
    • The types of content that you use - eg the use of rich media (including animations and video). These will increase download times and may not be supported across all devices.
    • The placement of navigation and its ease of use on mobile devices - consider visual cues to provide a better user experience. Use spacing between buttons to extend the clickable area.
    • Use mobile-appropriate technology - such as drop-down lists or radio buttons for information input, rather than entering free text (which can be difficult on a keypad).
    • Optimising e-commerce functionality for mobile, eg the shopping cart - reduce the steps customers have to take to complete a purchase to improve conversion rates.
    • If you have a separate mobile version of your website, as opposed to a responsive site, always give users the option to visit your main website and vice versa.

    See also mobile marketing and m-commerce.

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What to expect from your internet service provider

In this guide:

  • Different types of internet service providers

    Understand the different types of internet service providers and the services they offer to businesses.

    There are over 100 internet service providers (ISPs) in the UK. It is a very competitive market with lots of different offerings and deals. Even household names, such as banks and retailers, provide ISP services.

    What is the role of ISPs and what do they do?

    Internet service providers connect your personal or business computer, laptop, mobile device etc to the internet. ISPs may be commercial, non-profit, privately owned or community owned companies.

    Most providers offer the same types of internet services to customers, including:

    • internet access
    • email access
    • domain name registration
    • web hosting
    • co-location (or data centre services)

    Some ISPs also provide services such as website design or development of e-commerce facilities. See different types of ISPs.

    Different types of ISP connections

    ISPs use a range of technologies to enable customers' connection to their network. The most common types of internet connections include:

    • DSL (digital subscriber line)
    • cable broadband
    • fibre optic broadband
    • wireless or Wi-Fi broadband
    • satellite and mobile broadband
    • dedicated leased line

    Most ISPs offer a range of packages aimed at different levels of users, based on factors such as the speed of connection, the number of email addresses needed or the amount of free web space. See how ISP pricing models work.

    Choosing the right type of internet service provider

    When selecting an ISP, you should carefully determine your ISP requirements. You should consider:

    • the type of services you need
    • the costs and quality of services
    • the number of users needing an internet connection
    • the location of the users
    • the bandwidth capacity
    • contention ratios and other terms and conditions of the service

    See more on ISP tiers, connectivity and speed capacity.

    You should also determine if, either now or in the future, you might need:

    • Virtual Private Network (VPN) access
    • email access
    • website hosting services
    • domain registration
    • e-commerce facilities
    • use of online databases
    • access to cloud technologies

    Keep in mind that, as your business grows, your requirements may change. Some ISPs offer flexible service plans or scalable solutions. You should examine your requirements carefully and consider all the various factors when choosing your ISP.

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  • ISP service level agreements

    What are ISP service level agreements, what needs to be included and how to use SLAs to ensure your business internet is reliably up and running.

    In providing services to their customers, many internet service providers (ISPs) introduce service level agreements (SLAs) against their offerings.

    Known as ISP SLAs, these agreements set out:

    • the terms and conditions of the ISP's service
    • their commitments on the quality and availability of service
    • their responsibilities as agreed with the service user

    Since an SLA ultimately defines what service you will receive, it is worth scrutinising and negotiating the terms before agreeing a deal with your ISP. 

    What to include in a service level agreement with an ISP?

    The most important elements to include in an SLA with your ISP are the following:

    1. Uptime

    Uptime is the percentage of time the ISP's service is running properly. Establish what uptime figure the ISP claims for its services. Will it guarantee this uptime and discount your account if it fails? Consider the level of availability you need against what you can afford. Maximum availability often comes at a greater cost, so make sure you don't pay excessive fees for services that you don't need.

    2. Response times in case of failure

    Outages will inevitably occur, so find out what the ISP's policy is if their network goes down. Will the ISP inform you, or will you find out as your internet connection fails? Is there a help desk you can reach? How long you can afford to have your internet connection interrupted or your website down? It's important to put down in writing any details regarding the ISP's uptime and failure response commitments so that you can hold them to account.

    3. Redundancy

    Redundancy refers to the number of connections that an ISP has to the internet. High redundancy means more connections, which means if part of its system fails, the ISP will simply be able to switch over without affecting your connection.

    4. Hardware and back-up

    The actual web server that ISPs use to provide the hosting services should, ideally, be specialised hardware with built-in fail-safe features. Check the reliability of the service by asking:

    • if there are backup servers in case the server hosting your site fails
    • what system management procedures do they use to backup your system data
    • what contingency plans are in place in case the ISP's web server location is affected by fire, flood or other disasters
    • what security measures are in place - such as firewalls and anti-virus programs - to prevent the ISP's services from being compromised by a security attack from a hacker or fraudster

    It is worth asking business contacts, or your IT adviser, for recommendations. You can also compare service providers by using online comparison services and websites.

    You should check any SLA carefully to ensure it meets your requirements and make sure you understand exactly what your supplier is promising. See more on IT supplier contracts and service level agreements.

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  • ISP tiers, connectivity and speed capacity

    Understand the key factors affecting the speed of your business' internet connection, including the ISP tier, contention ratios and service usage restrictions.

    Connection speed is a major consideration for users, as well as internet service providers (ISPs). Business benefits can be achieved through an 'always-on' connection using:

    • a leased line
    • integrated digital services network (ISDN)
    • asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL)
    • fibre to the cabinet (FTTC)
    • fibre to the premises (FTTP)
    • cable
    • satellite
    • mobile wireless

    Read more on choosing a business broadband connection.

    Tier 1, 2 and 3 service providers

    As far as the ISP's connection to the internet is concerned, check whether it is a Tier 1, 2 or 3 provider. Tier 1 providers own or control their own portion of the internet, while Tier 2 and 3 providers lease bandwidth from them. A Tier 1 provider may be more expensive, but they are also often more reliable.

    The capacity of your own internet connection will directly affect the speed with which you are able to use the internet. For example, with a typical webpage (assuming 1 megabyte of data) you can expect page load speed to be less 1-2 seconds if you are the only one using a standard or fast internet connection. For internet connections with multiple users or downloading large files, email attachments or software updates you can see the following approximate fastest download times and how higher speeds Internet connections can save you time:

    Download speeds


    Internet connection Approximate time to download larger file size (1GB)
    2Mb/s broadband 1 hour and 11 minutes
    8Mb/s broadband 18 minutes
    24Mb/s broadband 6 minutes
    76Mb/s broadband 2 minutes
    150Mb/s broadband 60 seconds
    300Mb/s broadband 30 seconds
    900Mb/s broadband 10 seconds

    Increasingly ISPs are offering a range of broadband services via ADSL, FTTC, FTTP, cable or wireless. Evaluate these carefully for the speed of connection offered, service level agreement if a fault occurs, and other associated costs.

    If you are considering a broadband service, take into account contention ratios. This is the maximum number of users sharing the bandwidth on the connection between your local exchange and the ISP. For example, a user with a contention ratio of 20:1 never has to share this bandwidth with more than 19 other users.

    ISP service terms and conditions

    Some ISPs include clauses in their contracts that impose system-usage restrictions, and bandwidth limits or fair usage policies that aren't declared on the package advertisement. Many providers will quote best-case speeds whereas the actual speeds delivered can be much slower. Look at such terms and conditions carefully prior to signing any ISP service level agreements.

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  • How ISP pricing models work

    How broadband data caps affect the pricing of ISP packages, and what other costs should you consider when choosing an ISP for your business.

    Internet service providers (ISPs) use a wide variety of pricing strategies. You should understand your options before deciding which provider to use.

    ISP bandwidth pricing

    The costs will usually depend on two main criteria: speed and traffic allowances. The most common pricing models include:

    • capped data usage limits - based on fixed monthly limits of data usage across your broadband connection (uploads and downloads)
    • unlimited data - no monthly limits for data throughput, but some providers may still have fair usage policies

    It's important to understand that the monthly service charge isn't the only cost involved in an ISP package. Other fees may include broadband router cost, installation fees, service charges, and early termination fees, among others.

    If your package includes data caps and allowances, you will have to factor in the consequences of exceeding them, such as additional charges, loss of service for the remainder of the billing cycle, etc.

    Additional ISP service costs

    Check with your ISP if static IP addresses are included with the package - this will help you set up remote connections to the workplace. Also, ensure that you can use mail servers outside of the network for sending emails - this can be an issue with certain broadband packages.

    Other questions to ask your ISP include:

    • Fixed IP address - does the line have a specific Internet Protocol (IP) address for your internet connection? This can affect how you use the broadband service.
    • Traffic shaping or throttling - are there any limitations or speed restrictions on certain types of internet traffic at busy times of the day?
    • Hardware requirements - do you have to attach ISP-specific hardware to the line to ensure you have support or can you use your own broadband hardware?
    • Security - can you operate a virtual private network connection across the broadband line or is this prevented by the ISP's own security?

    Website hosting

    Website hosting fees also vary from one ISP to another, from free (though often limited) space, to charges based upon the size and functionality of the website.

    Most small businesses operate on a shared-server basis, with their site hosted on a powerful server along with a large number of other sites. It is possible to have a dedicated server, though this can cost significantly more. Find out more about ISP website hosting services.

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  • Factors when choosing your ISP

    Things to consider before choosing an internet service provider for your business, including the ISP's size and the levels of support offered.

    There are many factors to consider when choosing the right internet service provider (ISP) for your business. These include:

    The ISP's size and the level and quality of the ongoing support it offers can also be relevant factors when choosing a provider.

    Size of company

    There are no major differences in the costs associated with using large or small ISPs. However, bigger companies are likely to have more resources to quickly resolve serious network issues and will typically have access to a wider range of technical expertise.

    On the other hand, smaller companies may provide more personalised service and may be willing to spend time working closely with you to develop tailor-made solutions.

    If possible, read independent reviews or speak to some of the ISP's customers to see how closely its customer service and support actually compare with its promises.

    Level of customer support

    A good ISP will offer customer service and technical support. Remember to check on the availability of telephone support, particularly:

    • when support is available
    • what it costs to call them
    • whether your call will be answered promptly

    You can try calling the ISP to test their level of response, before deciding if they are the right fit for your business.

    You should also check the ISP's resilience to technical problems. Does it have a backup strategy in the event of serious operational problems? Does it monitor the ongoing operational performance of the web? Will its systems still work in the event of a power cut?

    Read more about ISP service level agreements and find out what to expect from your internet service provider.

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  • ISP email service provision

    Understand the main issues that can affect your ISP's email service provision, and what you must do to set up an ISP email account for your business.

    As well as supplying internet connectivity, most internet service providers (ISPs) also run email servers that deliver and transmit emails on behalf of their customers.

    Essentially, all ISPs deliver and transport your email in much the same way. You store all of your incoming and outgoing email on your own PC or client, while the remote mail server at your ISP acts as a storage facility or 'post office box'. You can read your existing email and write outgoing messages using email client software, such as Microsoft Outlook, Apple Mail or Mozilla Thunderbird. Many ISPs or online email providers offer secure webmail where you can send or read your email using any of the popular web browsing software packages via any internet connection.

    How to set up an ISP email account

    You can set up email accounts incorporating the ISP's domain name. For example, John Smith at Invest NI, accessing the internet through an ISP named Largelink, might use the address 'john@investni.largelink.co.uk'.

    Most ISPs offer a number of such addresses free with their standard packages.

    Increasingly businesses are choosing to use their own domain name as part of their email address. So, in the example above, once the legal firm has purchased its own domain, the address would become 'john@investni.co.uk'.

    This approach creates a more professional image and gives the company an unlimited number of email addresses. The downside, however, is that the ISP cannot be expected to sort incoming emails into large numbers of virtual mailboxes. You may need to have a local email server within your business to do this or host your email domain with an email service provider.

    Evaluate your ISP's email service provision

    When choosing an ISP it is worth considering if you can:

    • set up aliases to point email into different accounts
    • re-route emails to different addresses
    • create an auto-responder to emails informing customers that their message has been received and will be dealt with
    • use multiple systems to send and receive emails rather than using the ISP mail server, as this will have an impact on the configuration of users' machines

    Find out if the ISP email server has built-in spam filtering and if it scans emails for viruses and malware before delivering to the end user. Most ISPs stop you from using their service to send 'spam' or unsolicited commercial emails. Read about common email security issues.

    If you use a smartphone, check how easily you can integrate it with your ISP mail servers.

    See what else you should consider when negotiating ISP service level agreements.

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  • ISP website hosting services

    Things to keep in mind if choosing an internet service provider to host your website and e-commerce site.

    As well as providing internet connectivity, your internet service provider (ISP) can also host your website or e-commerce site.

    You can use your ISP for the actual design and development of your website, or work with a specialist web designer and place your designed site on your ISP's host server.

    If you're using your ISP to host your website, make sure that the right capabilities, functionalities and sufficient bandwidth are in place.

    Server software

    Any ISP that offers website hosting will be able to host a straightforward website. If all that you need is web pages displaying information, you don't need to worry too much about the technology behind it.

    However, if you want a more complex website, eg to provide a search facility or e-commerce using a secure payment system, you will need to ensure that your ISP is capable of supporting it. If not, you may want to consider a specialist web hosting company.

    See more on website hosting options.

    Some website applications require specific operating systems. The two main types are Linux and Microsoft. It is important to check which of these your website hosting provider can support and if they have any other requirements for databases, web servers, programming languages etc.

    Bandwidth speed and throttling

    Your website will need a fast connection to the internet. This is determined by the bandwidth - the amount of data that can be transmitted and received by an internet connection.

    If your connection is not fast enough, accessing your web pages will be slow - particularly if many users are trying to access your site at the same time. If you exceed your monthly website hosting data transfer allowance, your website may not be accessible or the bandwidth may be throttled to operate more slowly.

    The ISP hosting your website will impose bandwidth limitations, so you will need to consider:

    • if these are feasible
    • how much will it cost if you exceed them
    • how will the ISP inform you if are close to exceeding your limits

    E-commerce requirements

    E-commerce sites will need a shopping cart and e-catalogue software and may need online access to database applications. If you need an e-commerce site, you should establish:

    • which database and web server technologies your ISP supports
    • how much information they can hold and what storage space they offer
    • how frequently do they do automatic backups of your website files and database
    • how much web traffic they can handle
    • what are the monthly data transfer costs
    • are guaranteed hosting uptime, security and customer support available

    You will need a secure server for the receipt of payment information such as credit card details. Check that the security controls and features are in place.

    See how to set up an e-commerce website (video tutorials).

    Be aware that the ISP may charge a large premium if it needs to install and maintain software specifically for your site, or set up and renew Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificates. Depending upon your requirements it may be better to use a dedicated web hosting service provider.

    Consider more pros and cons of using ISP for hosting.

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  • What to expect from your internet service provider

    Things to expect from your internet service provider, including managing security, content filtering and updating.

    Your internet service provider (ISP) should provide you with fast, secure and reliable internet service on an ongoing basis. You should agree the expectations for the levels of quality and availability of service in your ISP service level agreement.

    Role of ISPs in managing security

    If your business relies on e-communications or carries out e-commerce transactions, you need assurance from your ISP that its servers are located within a secure environment, ie one that has:

    • good physical security
    • good network security
    • the latest anti-virus software and new software security patches applied quickly
    • a secure server for e-commerce transactions

    See more on securing your wireless network.

    Most ISPs also offer web content filtering services that block inappropriate content from the internet user, often as part of corporate acceptable internet use policy.

    Role of ISPs in managing your website

    If you have a website, you will need to update your web content regularly to keep it fresh. Most ISPs will allow you (or your web designer) to carry out the updates using one of the many content management systems available on the market.

    If your ISP also hosts your website, they should be able to provide you with key statistics including:

    • the number of visitors to your website
    • the web pages viewed
    • how long they viewed each page for
    • which countries or regions the visitors are from
    • details of the search engine they used to find your site

    See how to measure and benchmark your website performance.

    Switching your business internet service providers

    Some businesses switch their ISP as their contract term ends or to take advantage of better offers, faster services, etc.

    Most agents and ISPs will provide this service for free, although some may charge a small administration fee. More important is how long any change will take to complete. You do not want your internet access, website, e-commerce site or email service to be offline for any longer than necessary.

    It can help to know in advance how to switch business ISPs, as it is not always straightforward. The key factors you should consider are:

    • your IP address or addresses (and whether you need a static IP address)
    • your firewall or router capabilities and configurations (if a part of the ISP service)
    • how difficult it may be to move your email or website hosting
    • how long is the new ISP's lead time
    • what are their customer service and support like
    • your bandwidth needs (and any foreseeable changes)
    • time, skills and effort you will need to put in to get a new service set up

    Migrating your website to a new ISP will be easier if they use the same website technology and content management system. However, you will still typically need technical support to complete this successfully.

    Carefully plan the transition to your new ISP to minimise the disruption to your business operations. See how to manage your suppliers.

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Factors when choosing your ISP

In this guide:

  • Different types of internet service providers

    Understand the different types of internet service providers and the services they offer to businesses.

    There are over 100 internet service providers (ISPs) in the UK. It is a very competitive market with lots of different offerings and deals. Even household names, such as banks and retailers, provide ISP services.

    What is the role of ISPs and what do they do?

    Internet service providers connect your personal or business computer, laptop, mobile device etc to the internet. ISPs may be commercial, non-profit, privately owned or community owned companies.

    Most providers offer the same types of internet services to customers, including:

    • internet access
    • email access
    • domain name registration
    • web hosting
    • co-location (or data centre services)

    Some ISPs also provide services such as website design or development of e-commerce facilities. See different types of ISPs.

    Different types of ISP connections

    ISPs use a range of technologies to enable customers' connection to their network. The most common types of internet connections include:

    • DSL (digital subscriber line)
    • cable broadband
    • fibre optic broadband
    • wireless or Wi-Fi broadband
    • satellite and mobile broadband
    • dedicated leased line

    Most ISPs offer a range of packages aimed at different levels of users, based on factors such as the speed of connection, the number of email addresses needed or the amount of free web space. See how ISP pricing models work.

    Choosing the right type of internet service provider

    When selecting an ISP, you should carefully determine your ISP requirements. You should consider:

    • the type of services you need
    • the costs and quality of services
    • the number of users needing an internet connection
    • the location of the users
    • the bandwidth capacity
    • contention ratios and other terms and conditions of the service

    See more on ISP tiers, connectivity and speed capacity.

    You should also determine if, either now or in the future, you might need:

    • Virtual Private Network (VPN) access
    • email access
    • website hosting services
    • domain registration
    • e-commerce facilities
    • use of online databases
    • access to cloud technologies

    Keep in mind that, as your business grows, your requirements may change. Some ISPs offer flexible service plans or scalable solutions. You should examine your requirements carefully and consider all the various factors when choosing your ISP.

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  • ISP service level agreements

    What are ISP service level agreements, what needs to be included and how to use SLAs to ensure your business internet is reliably up and running.

    In providing services to their customers, many internet service providers (ISPs) introduce service level agreements (SLAs) against their offerings.

    Known as ISP SLAs, these agreements set out:

    • the terms and conditions of the ISP's service
    • their commitments on the quality and availability of service
    • their responsibilities as agreed with the service user

    Since an SLA ultimately defines what service you will receive, it is worth scrutinising and negotiating the terms before agreeing a deal with your ISP. 

    What to include in a service level agreement with an ISP?

    The most important elements to include in an SLA with your ISP are the following:

    1. Uptime

    Uptime is the percentage of time the ISP's service is running properly. Establish what uptime figure the ISP claims for its services. Will it guarantee this uptime and discount your account if it fails? Consider the level of availability you need against what you can afford. Maximum availability often comes at a greater cost, so make sure you don't pay excessive fees for services that you don't need.

    2. Response times in case of failure

    Outages will inevitably occur, so find out what the ISP's policy is if their network goes down. Will the ISP inform you, or will you find out as your internet connection fails? Is there a help desk you can reach? How long you can afford to have your internet connection interrupted or your website down? It's important to put down in writing any details regarding the ISP's uptime and failure response commitments so that you can hold them to account.

    3. Redundancy

    Redundancy refers to the number of connections that an ISP has to the internet. High redundancy means more connections, which means if part of its system fails, the ISP will simply be able to switch over without affecting your connection.

    4. Hardware and back-up

    The actual web server that ISPs use to provide the hosting services should, ideally, be specialised hardware with built-in fail-safe features. Check the reliability of the service by asking:

    • if there are backup servers in case the server hosting your site fails
    • what system management procedures do they use to backup your system data
    • what contingency plans are in place in case the ISP's web server location is affected by fire, flood or other disasters
    • what security measures are in place - such as firewalls and anti-virus programs - to prevent the ISP's services from being compromised by a security attack from a hacker or fraudster

    It is worth asking business contacts, or your IT adviser, for recommendations. You can also compare service providers by using online comparison services and websites.

    You should check any SLA carefully to ensure it meets your requirements and make sure you understand exactly what your supplier is promising. See more on IT supplier contracts and service level agreements.

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  • ISP tiers, connectivity and speed capacity

    Understand the key factors affecting the speed of your business' internet connection, including the ISP tier, contention ratios and service usage restrictions.

    Connection speed is a major consideration for users, as well as internet service providers (ISPs). Business benefits can be achieved through an 'always-on' connection using:

    • a leased line
    • integrated digital services network (ISDN)
    • asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL)
    • fibre to the cabinet (FTTC)
    • fibre to the premises (FTTP)
    • cable
    • satellite
    • mobile wireless

    Read more on choosing a business broadband connection.

    Tier 1, 2 and 3 service providers

    As far as the ISP's connection to the internet is concerned, check whether it is a Tier 1, 2 or 3 provider. Tier 1 providers own or control their own portion of the internet, while Tier 2 and 3 providers lease bandwidth from them. A Tier 1 provider may be more expensive, but they are also often more reliable.

    The capacity of your own internet connection will directly affect the speed with which you are able to use the internet. For example, with a typical webpage (assuming 1 megabyte of data) you can expect page load speed to be less 1-2 seconds if you are the only one using a standard or fast internet connection. For internet connections with multiple users or downloading large files, email attachments or software updates you can see the following approximate fastest download times and how higher speeds Internet connections can save you time:

    Download speeds


    Internet connection Approximate time to download larger file size (1GB)
    2Mb/s broadband 1 hour and 11 minutes
    8Mb/s broadband 18 minutes
    24Mb/s broadband 6 minutes
    76Mb/s broadband 2 minutes
    150Mb/s broadband 60 seconds
    300Mb/s broadband 30 seconds
    900Mb/s broadband 10 seconds

    Increasingly ISPs are offering a range of broadband services via ADSL, FTTC, FTTP, cable or wireless. Evaluate these carefully for the speed of connection offered, service level agreement if a fault occurs, and other associated costs.

    If you are considering a broadband service, take into account contention ratios. This is the maximum number of users sharing the bandwidth on the connection between your local exchange and the ISP. For example, a user with a contention ratio of 20:1 never has to share this bandwidth with more than 19 other users.

    ISP service terms and conditions

    Some ISPs include clauses in their contracts that impose system-usage restrictions, and bandwidth limits or fair usage policies that aren't declared on the package advertisement. Many providers will quote best-case speeds whereas the actual speeds delivered can be much slower. Look at such terms and conditions carefully prior to signing any ISP service level agreements.

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  • How ISP pricing models work

    How broadband data caps affect the pricing of ISP packages, and what other costs should you consider when choosing an ISP for your business.

    Internet service providers (ISPs) use a wide variety of pricing strategies. You should understand your options before deciding which provider to use.

    ISP bandwidth pricing

    The costs will usually depend on two main criteria: speed and traffic allowances. The most common pricing models include:

    • capped data usage limits - based on fixed monthly limits of data usage across your broadband connection (uploads and downloads)
    • unlimited data - no monthly limits for data throughput, but some providers may still have fair usage policies

    It's important to understand that the monthly service charge isn't the only cost involved in an ISP package. Other fees may include broadband router cost, installation fees, service charges, and early termination fees, among others.

    If your package includes data caps and allowances, you will have to factor in the consequences of exceeding them, such as additional charges, loss of service for the remainder of the billing cycle, etc.

    Additional ISP service costs

    Check with your ISP if static IP addresses are included with the package - this will help you set up remote connections to the workplace. Also, ensure that you can use mail servers outside of the network for sending emails - this can be an issue with certain broadband packages.

    Other questions to ask your ISP include:

    • Fixed IP address - does the line have a specific Internet Protocol (IP) address for your internet connection? This can affect how you use the broadband service.
    • Traffic shaping or throttling - are there any limitations or speed restrictions on certain types of internet traffic at busy times of the day?
    • Hardware requirements - do you have to attach ISP-specific hardware to the line to ensure you have support or can you use your own broadband hardware?
    • Security - can you operate a virtual private network connection across the broadband line or is this prevented by the ISP's own security?

    Website hosting

    Website hosting fees also vary from one ISP to another, from free (though often limited) space, to charges based upon the size and functionality of the website.

    Most small businesses operate on a shared-server basis, with their site hosted on a powerful server along with a large number of other sites. It is possible to have a dedicated server, though this can cost significantly more. Find out more about ISP website hosting services.

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  • Factors when choosing your ISP

    Things to consider before choosing an internet service provider for your business, including the ISP's size and the levels of support offered.

    There are many factors to consider when choosing the right internet service provider (ISP) for your business. These include:

    The ISP's size and the level and quality of the ongoing support it offers can also be relevant factors when choosing a provider.

    Size of company

    There are no major differences in the costs associated with using large or small ISPs. However, bigger companies are likely to have more resources to quickly resolve serious network issues and will typically have access to a wider range of technical expertise.

    On the other hand, smaller companies may provide more personalised service and may be willing to spend time working closely with you to develop tailor-made solutions.

    If possible, read independent reviews or speak to some of the ISP's customers to see how closely its customer service and support actually compare with its promises.

    Level of customer support

    A good ISP will offer customer service and technical support. Remember to check on the availability of telephone support, particularly:

    • when support is available
    • what it costs to call them
    • whether your call will be answered promptly

    You can try calling the ISP to test their level of response, before deciding if they are the right fit for your business.

    You should also check the ISP's resilience to technical problems. Does it have a backup strategy in the event of serious operational problems? Does it monitor the ongoing operational performance of the web? Will its systems still work in the event of a power cut?

    Read more about ISP service level agreements and find out what to expect from your internet service provider.

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  • ISP email service provision

    Understand the main issues that can affect your ISP's email service provision, and what you must do to set up an ISP email account for your business.

    As well as supplying internet connectivity, most internet service providers (ISPs) also run email servers that deliver and transmit emails on behalf of their customers.

    Essentially, all ISPs deliver and transport your email in much the same way. You store all of your incoming and outgoing email on your own PC or client, while the remote mail server at your ISP acts as a storage facility or 'post office box'. You can read your existing email and write outgoing messages using email client software, such as Microsoft Outlook, Apple Mail or Mozilla Thunderbird. Many ISPs or online email providers offer secure webmail where you can send or read your email using any of the popular web browsing software packages via any internet connection.

    How to set up an ISP email account

    You can set up email accounts incorporating the ISP's domain name. For example, John Smith at Invest NI, accessing the internet through an ISP named Largelink, might use the address 'john@investni.largelink.co.uk'.

    Most ISPs offer a number of such addresses free with their standard packages.

    Increasingly businesses are choosing to use their own domain name as part of their email address. So, in the example above, once the legal firm has purchased its own domain, the address would become 'john@investni.co.uk'.

    This approach creates a more professional image and gives the company an unlimited number of email addresses. The downside, however, is that the ISP cannot be expected to sort incoming emails into large numbers of virtual mailboxes. You may need to have a local email server within your business to do this or host your email domain with an email service provider.

    Evaluate your ISP's email service provision

    When choosing an ISP it is worth considering if you can:

    • set up aliases to point email into different accounts
    • re-route emails to different addresses
    • create an auto-responder to emails informing customers that their message has been received and will be dealt with
    • use multiple systems to send and receive emails rather than using the ISP mail server, as this will have an impact on the configuration of users' machines

    Find out if the ISP email server has built-in spam filtering and if it scans emails for viruses and malware before delivering to the end user. Most ISPs stop you from using their service to send 'spam' or unsolicited commercial emails. Read about common email security issues.

    If you use a smartphone, check how easily you can integrate it with your ISP mail servers.

    See what else you should consider when negotiating ISP service level agreements.

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  • ISP website hosting services

    Things to keep in mind if choosing an internet service provider to host your website and e-commerce site.

    As well as providing internet connectivity, your internet service provider (ISP) can also host your website or e-commerce site.

    You can use your ISP for the actual design and development of your website, or work with a specialist web designer and place your designed site on your ISP's host server.

    If you're using your ISP to host your website, make sure that the right capabilities, functionalities and sufficient bandwidth are in place.

    Server software

    Any ISP that offers website hosting will be able to host a straightforward website. If all that you need is web pages displaying information, you don't need to worry too much about the technology behind it.

    However, if you want a more complex website, eg to provide a search facility or e-commerce using a secure payment system, you will need to ensure that your ISP is capable of supporting it. If not, you may want to consider a specialist web hosting company.

    See more on website hosting options.

    Some website applications require specific operating systems. The two main types are Linux and Microsoft. It is important to check which of these your website hosting provider can support and if they have any other requirements for databases, web servers, programming languages etc.

    Bandwidth speed and throttling

    Your website will need a fast connection to the internet. This is determined by the bandwidth - the amount of data that can be transmitted and received by an internet connection.

    If your connection is not fast enough, accessing your web pages will be slow - particularly if many users are trying to access your site at the same time. If you exceed your monthly website hosting data transfer allowance, your website may not be accessible or the bandwidth may be throttled to operate more slowly.

    The ISP hosting your website will impose bandwidth limitations, so you will need to consider:

    • if these are feasible
    • how much will it cost if you exceed them
    • how will the ISP inform you if are close to exceeding your limits

    E-commerce requirements

    E-commerce sites will need a shopping cart and e-catalogue software and may need online access to database applications. If you need an e-commerce site, you should establish:

    • which database and web server technologies your ISP supports
    • how much information they can hold and what storage space they offer
    • how frequently do they do automatic backups of your website files and database
    • how much web traffic they can handle
    • what are the monthly data transfer costs
    • are guaranteed hosting uptime, security and customer support available

    You will need a secure server for the receipt of payment information such as credit card details. Check that the security controls and features are in place.

    See how to set up an e-commerce website (video tutorials).

    Be aware that the ISP may charge a large premium if it needs to install and maintain software specifically for your site, or set up and renew Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificates. Depending upon your requirements it may be better to use a dedicated web hosting service provider.

    Consider more pros and cons of using ISP for hosting.

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  • What to expect from your internet service provider

    Things to expect from your internet service provider, including managing security, content filtering and updating.

    Your internet service provider (ISP) should provide you with fast, secure and reliable internet service on an ongoing basis. You should agree the expectations for the levels of quality and availability of service in your ISP service level agreement.

    Role of ISPs in managing security

    If your business relies on e-communications or carries out e-commerce transactions, you need assurance from your ISP that its servers are located within a secure environment, ie one that has:

    • good physical security
    • good network security
    • the latest anti-virus software and new software security patches applied quickly
    • a secure server for e-commerce transactions

    See more on securing your wireless network.

    Most ISPs also offer web content filtering services that block inappropriate content from the internet user, often as part of corporate acceptable internet use policy.

    Role of ISPs in managing your website

    If you have a website, you will need to update your web content regularly to keep it fresh. Most ISPs will allow you (or your web designer) to carry out the updates using one of the many content management systems available on the market.

    If your ISP also hosts your website, they should be able to provide you with key statistics including:

    • the number of visitors to your website
    • the web pages viewed
    • how long they viewed each page for
    • which countries or regions the visitors are from
    • details of the search engine they used to find your site

    See how to measure and benchmark your website performance.

    Switching your business internet service providers

    Some businesses switch their ISP as their contract term ends or to take advantage of better offers, faster services, etc.

    Most agents and ISPs will provide this service for free, although some may charge a small administration fee. More important is how long any change will take to complete. You do not want your internet access, website, e-commerce site or email service to be offline for any longer than necessary.

    It can help to know in advance how to switch business ISPs, as it is not always straightforward. The key factors you should consider are:

    • your IP address or addresses (and whether you need a static IP address)
    • your firewall or router capabilities and configurations (if a part of the ISP service)
    • how difficult it may be to move your email or website hosting
    • how long is the new ISP's lead time
    • what are their customer service and support like
    • your bandwidth needs (and any foreseeable changes)
    • time, skills and effort you will need to put in to get a new service set up

    Migrating your website to a new ISP will be easier if they use the same website technology and content management system. However, you will still typically need technical support to complete this successfully.

    Carefully plan the transition to your new ISP to minimise the disruption to your business operations. See how to manage your suppliers.

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How ISP pricing models work

In this guide:

  • Different types of internet service providers

    Understand the different types of internet service providers and the services they offer to businesses.

    There are over 100 internet service providers (ISPs) in the UK. It is a very competitive market with lots of different offerings and deals. Even household names, such as banks and retailers, provide ISP services.

    What is the role of ISPs and what do they do?

    Internet service providers connect your personal or business computer, laptop, mobile device etc to the internet. ISPs may be commercial, non-profit, privately owned or community owned companies.

    Most providers offer the same types of internet services to customers, including:

    • internet access
    • email access
    • domain name registration
    • web hosting
    • co-location (or data centre services)

    Some ISPs also provide services such as website design or development of e-commerce facilities. See different types of ISPs.

    Different types of ISP connections

    ISPs use a range of technologies to enable customers' connection to their network. The most common types of internet connections include:

    • DSL (digital subscriber line)
    • cable broadband
    • fibre optic broadband
    • wireless or Wi-Fi broadband
    • satellite and mobile broadband
    • dedicated leased line

    Most ISPs offer a range of packages aimed at different levels of users, based on factors such as the speed of connection, the number of email addresses needed or the amount of free web space. See how ISP pricing models work.

    Choosing the right type of internet service provider

    When selecting an ISP, you should carefully determine your ISP requirements. You should consider:

    • the type of services you need
    • the costs and quality of services
    • the number of users needing an internet connection
    • the location of the users
    • the bandwidth capacity
    • contention ratios and other terms and conditions of the service

    See more on ISP tiers, connectivity and speed capacity.

    You should also determine if, either now or in the future, you might need:

    • Virtual Private Network (VPN) access
    • email access
    • website hosting services
    • domain registration
    • e-commerce facilities
    • use of online databases
    • access to cloud technologies

    Keep in mind that, as your business grows, your requirements may change. Some ISPs offer flexible service plans or scalable solutions. You should examine your requirements carefully and consider all the various factors when choosing your ISP.

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  • ISP service level agreements

    What are ISP service level agreements, what needs to be included and how to use SLAs to ensure your business internet is reliably up and running.

    In providing services to their customers, many internet service providers (ISPs) introduce service level agreements (SLAs) against their offerings.

    Known as ISP SLAs, these agreements set out:

    • the terms and conditions of the ISP's service
    • their commitments on the quality and availability of service
    • their responsibilities as agreed with the service user

    Since an SLA ultimately defines what service you will receive, it is worth scrutinising and negotiating the terms before agreeing a deal with your ISP. 

    What to include in a service level agreement with an ISP?

    The most important elements to include in an SLA with your ISP are the following:

    1. Uptime

    Uptime is the percentage of time the ISP's service is running properly. Establish what uptime figure the ISP claims for its services. Will it guarantee this uptime and discount your account if it fails? Consider the level of availability you need against what you can afford. Maximum availability often comes at a greater cost, so make sure you don't pay excessive fees for services that you don't need.

    2. Response times in case of failure

    Outages will inevitably occur, so find out what the ISP's policy is if their network goes down. Will the ISP inform you, or will you find out as your internet connection fails? Is there a help desk you can reach? How long you can afford to have your internet connection interrupted or your website down? It's important to put down in writing any details regarding the ISP's uptime and failure response commitments so that you can hold them to account.

    3. Redundancy

    Redundancy refers to the number of connections that an ISP has to the internet. High redundancy means more connections, which means if part of its system fails, the ISP will simply be able to switch over without affecting your connection.

    4. Hardware and back-up

    The actual web server that ISPs use to provide the hosting services should, ideally, be specialised hardware with built-in fail-safe features. Check the reliability of the service by asking:

    • if there are backup servers in case the server hosting your site fails
    • what system management procedures do they use to backup your system data
    • what contingency plans are in place in case the ISP's web server location is affected by fire, flood or other disasters
    • what security measures are in place - such as firewalls and anti-virus programs - to prevent the ISP's services from being compromised by a security attack from a hacker or fraudster

    It is worth asking business contacts, or your IT adviser, for recommendations. You can also compare service providers by using online comparison services and websites.

    You should check any SLA carefully to ensure it meets your requirements and make sure you understand exactly what your supplier is promising. See more on IT supplier contracts and service level agreements.

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  • ISP tiers, connectivity and speed capacity

    Understand the key factors affecting the speed of your business' internet connection, including the ISP tier, contention ratios and service usage restrictions.

    Connection speed is a major consideration for users, as well as internet service providers (ISPs). Business benefits can be achieved through an 'always-on' connection using:

    • a leased line
    • integrated digital services network (ISDN)
    • asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL)
    • fibre to the cabinet (FTTC)
    • fibre to the premises (FTTP)
    • cable
    • satellite
    • mobile wireless

    Read more on choosing a business broadband connection.

    Tier 1, 2 and 3 service providers

    As far as the ISP's connection to the internet is concerned, check whether it is a Tier 1, 2 or 3 provider. Tier 1 providers own or control their own portion of the internet, while Tier 2 and 3 providers lease bandwidth from them. A Tier 1 provider may be more expensive, but they are also often more reliable.

    The capacity of your own internet connection will directly affect the speed with which you are able to use the internet. For example, with a typical webpage (assuming 1 megabyte of data) you can expect page load speed to be less 1-2 seconds if you are the only one using a standard or fast internet connection. For internet connections with multiple users or downloading large files, email attachments or software updates you can see the following approximate fastest download times and how higher speeds Internet connections can save you time:

    Download speeds


    Internet connection Approximate time to download larger file size (1GB)
    2Mb/s broadband 1 hour and 11 minutes
    8Mb/s broadband 18 minutes
    24Mb/s broadband 6 minutes
    76Mb/s broadband 2 minutes
    150Mb/s broadband 60 seconds
    300Mb/s broadband 30 seconds
    900Mb/s broadband 10 seconds

    Increasingly ISPs are offering a range of broadband services via ADSL, FTTC, FTTP, cable or wireless. Evaluate these carefully for the speed of connection offered, service level agreement if a fault occurs, and other associated costs.

    If you are considering a broadband service, take into account contention ratios. This is the maximum number of users sharing the bandwidth on the connection between your local exchange and the ISP. For example, a user with a contention ratio of 20:1 never has to share this bandwidth with more than 19 other users.

    ISP service terms and conditions

    Some ISPs include clauses in their contracts that impose system-usage restrictions, and bandwidth limits or fair usage policies that aren't declared on the package advertisement. Many providers will quote best-case speeds whereas the actual speeds delivered can be much slower. Look at such terms and conditions carefully prior to signing any ISP service level agreements.

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  • How ISP pricing models work

    How broadband data caps affect the pricing of ISP packages, and what other costs should you consider when choosing an ISP for your business.

    Internet service providers (ISPs) use a wide variety of pricing strategies. You should understand your options before deciding which provider to use.

    ISP bandwidth pricing

    The costs will usually depend on two main criteria: speed and traffic allowances. The most common pricing models include:

    • capped data usage limits - based on fixed monthly limits of data usage across your broadband connection (uploads and downloads)
    • unlimited data - no monthly limits for data throughput, but some providers may still have fair usage policies

    It's important to understand that the monthly service charge isn't the only cost involved in an ISP package. Other fees may include broadband router cost, installation fees, service charges, and early termination fees, among others.

    If your package includes data caps and allowances, you will have to factor in the consequences of exceeding them, such as additional charges, loss of service for the remainder of the billing cycle, etc.

    Additional ISP service costs

    Check with your ISP if static IP addresses are included with the package - this will help you set up remote connections to the workplace. Also, ensure that you can use mail servers outside of the network for sending emails - this can be an issue with certain broadband packages.

    Other questions to ask your ISP include:

    • Fixed IP address - does the line have a specific Internet Protocol (IP) address for your internet connection? This can affect how you use the broadband service.
    • Traffic shaping or throttling - are there any limitations or speed restrictions on certain types of internet traffic at busy times of the day?
    • Hardware requirements - do you have to attach ISP-specific hardware to the line to ensure you have support or can you use your own broadband hardware?
    • Security - can you operate a virtual private network connection across the broadband line or is this prevented by the ISP's own security?

    Website hosting

    Website hosting fees also vary from one ISP to another, from free (though often limited) space, to charges based upon the size and functionality of the website.

    Most small businesses operate on a shared-server basis, with their site hosted on a powerful server along with a large number of other sites. It is possible to have a dedicated server, though this can cost significantly more. Find out more about ISP website hosting services.

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  • Factors when choosing your ISP

    Things to consider before choosing an internet service provider for your business, including the ISP's size and the levels of support offered.

    There are many factors to consider when choosing the right internet service provider (ISP) for your business. These include:

    The ISP's size and the level and quality of the ongoing support it offers can also be relevant factors when choosing a provider.

    Size of company

    There are no major differences in the costs associated with using large or small ISPs. However, bigger companies are likely to have more resources to quickly resolve serious network issues and will typically have access to a wider range of technical expertise.

    On the other hand, smaller companies may provide more personalised service and may be willing to spend time working closely with you to develop tailor-made solutions.

    If possible, read independent reviews or speak to some of the ISP's customers to see how closely its customer service and support actually compare with its promises.

    Level of customer support

    A good ISP will offer customer service and technical support. Remember to check on the availability of telephone support, particularly:

    • when support is available
    • what it costs to call them
    • whether your call will be answered promptly

    You can try calling the ISP to test their level of response, before deciding if they are the right fit for your business.

    You should also check the ISP's resilience to technical problems. Does it have a backup strategy in the event of serious operational problems? Does it monitor the ongoing operational performance of the web? Will its systems still work in the event of a power cut?

    Read more about ISP service level agreements and find out what to expect from your internet service provider.

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  • ISP email service provision

    Understand the main issues that can affect your ISP's email service provision, and what you must do to set up an ISP email account for your business.

    As well as supplying internet connectivity, most internet service providers (ISPs) also run email servers that deliver and transmit emails on behalf of their customers.

    Essentially, all ISPs deliver and transport your email in much the same way. You store all of your incoming and outgoing email on your own PC or client, while the remote mail server at your ISP acts as a storage facility or 'post office box'. You can read your existing email and write outgoing messages using email client software, such as Microsoft Outlook, Apple Mail or Mozilla Thunderbird. Many ISPs or online email providers offer secure webmail where you can send or read your email using any of the popular web browsing software packages via any internet connection.

    How to set up an ISP email account

    You can set up email accounts incorporating the ISP's domain name. For example, John Smith at Invest NI, accessing the internet through an ISP named Largelink, might use the address 'john@investni.largelink.co.uk'.

    Most ISPs offer a number of such addresses free with their standard packages.

    Increasingly businesses are choosing to use their own domain name as part of their email address. So, in the example above, once the legal firm has purchased its own domain, the address would become 'john@investni.co.uk'.

    This approach creates a more professional image and gives the company an unlimited number of email addresses. The downside, however, is that the ISP cannot be expected to sort incoming emails into large numbers of virtual mailboxes. You may need to have a local email server within your business to do this or host your email domain with an email service provider.

    Evaluate your ISP's email service provision

    When choosing an ISP it is worth considering if you can:

    • set up aliases to point email into different accounts
    • re-route emails to different addresses
    • create an auto-responder to emails informing customers that their message has been received and will be dealt with
    • use multiple systems to send and receive emails rather than using the ISP mail server, as this will have an impact on the configuration of users' machines

    Find out if the ISP email server has built-in spam filtering and if it scans emails for viruses and malware before delivering to the end user. Most ISPs stop you from using their service to send 'spam' or unsolicited commercial emails. Read about common email security issues.

    If you use a smartphone, check how easily you can integrate it with your ISP mail servers.

    See what else you should consider when negotiating ISP service level agreements.

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  • ISP website hosting services

    Things to keep in mind if choosing an internet service provider to host your website and e-commerce site.

    As well as providing internet connectivity, your internet service provider (ISP) can also host your website or e-commerce site.

    You can use your ISP for the actual design and development of your website, or work with a specialist web designer and place your designed site on your ISP's host server.

    If you're using your ISP to host your website, make sure that the right capabilities, functionalities and sufficient bandwidth are in place.

    Server software

    Any ISP that offers website hosting will be able to host a straightforward website. If all that you need is web pages displaying information, you don't need to worry too much about the technology behind it.

    However, if you want a more complex website, eg to provide a search facility or e-commerce using a secure payment system, you will need to ensure that your ISP is capable of supporting it. If not, you may want to consider a specialist web hosting company.

    See more on website hosting options.

    Some website applications require specific operating systems. The two main types are Linux and Microsoft. It is important to check which of these your website hosting provider can support and if they have any other requirements for databases, web servers, programming languages etc.

    Bandwidth speed and throttling

    Your website will need a fast connection to the internet. This is determined by the bandwidth - the amount of data that can be transmitted and received by an internet connection.

    If your connection is not fast enough, accessing your web pages will be slow - particularly if many users are trying to access your site at the same time. If you exceed your monthly website hosting data transfer allowance, your website may not be accessible or the bandwidth may be throttled to operate more slowly.

    The ISP hosting your website will impose bandwidth limitations, so you will need to consider:

    • if these are feasible
    • how much will it cost if you exceed them
    • how will the ISP inform you if are close to exceeding your limits

    E-commerce requirements

    E-commerce sites will need a shopping cart and e-catalogue software and may need online access to database applications. If you need an e-commerce site, you should establish:

    • which database and web server technologies your ISP supports
    • how much information they can hold and what storage space they offer
    • how frequently do they do automatic backups of your website files and database
    • how much web traffic they can handle
    • what are the monthly data transfer costs
    • are guaranteed hosting uptime, security and customer support available

    You will need a secure server for the receipt of payment information such as credit card details. Check that the security controls and features are in place.

    See how to set up an e-commerce website (video tutorials).

    Be aware that the ISP may charge a large premium if it needs to install and maintain software specifically for your site, or set up and renew Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificates. Depending upon your requirements it may be better to use a dedicated web hosting service provider.

    Consider more pros and cons of using ISP for hosting.

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  • What to expect from your internet service provider

    Things to expect from your internet service provider, including managing security, content filtering and updating.

    Your internet service provider (ISP) should provide you with fast, secure and reliable internet service on an ongoing basis. You should agree the expectations for the levels of quality and availability of service in your ISP service level agreement.

    Role of ISPs in managing security

    If your business relies on e-communications or carries out e-commerce transactions, you need assurance from your ISP that its servers are located within a secure environment, ie one that has:

    • good physical security
    • good network security
    • the latest anti-virus software and new software security patches applied quickly
    • a secure server for e-commerce transactions

    See more on securing your wireless network.

    Most ISPs also offer web content filtering services that block inappropriate content from the internet user, often as part of corporate acceptable internet use policy.

    Role of ISPs in managing your website

    If you have a website, you will need to update your web content regularly to keep it fresh. Most ISPs will allow you (or your web designer) to carry out the updates using one of the many content management systems available on the market.

    If your ISP also hosts your website, they should be able to provide you with key statistics including:

    • the number of visitors to your website
    • the web pages viewed
    • how long they viewed each page for
    • which countries or regions the visitors are from
    • details of the search engine they used to find your site

    See how to measure and benchmark your website performance.

    Switching your business internet service providers

    Some businesses switch their ISP as their contract term ends or to take advantage of better offers, faster services, etc.

    Most agents and ISPs will provide this service for free, although some may charge a small administration fee. More important is how long any change will take to complete. You do not want your internet access, website, e-commerce site or email service to be offline for any longer than necessary.

    It can help to know in advance how to switch business ISPs, as it is not always straightforward. The key factors you should consider are:

    • your IP address or addresses (and whether you need a static IP address)
    • your firewall or router capabilities and configurations (if a part of the ISP service)
    • how difficult it may be to move your email or website hosting
    • how long is the new ISP's lead time
    • what are their customer service and support like
    • your bandwidth needs (and any foreseeable changes)
    • time, skills and effort you will need to put in to get a new service set up

    Migrating your website to a new ISP will be easier if they use the same website technology and content management system. However, you will still typically need technical support to complete this successfully.

    Carefully plan the transition to your new ISP to minimise the disruption to your business operations. See how to manage your suppliers.

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