There are many things you need to consider when you are building a website.
To begin, will your site be informational only (brochure-style site) or do you
want your visitors to be able to make purchases (e-commerce)? If you are selling
your own products, you will want an e-commerce site (also knowing as shopping
carts) so that your visitor can quickly and easily become a customer.
Many 'start-up' business opportunities have a website that you are given as
part of the package, but I would consider that a gateway only. You need to have
a site, even if it's just a single page, that you can optimize for the search
engines. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a big business and incredibly
important to the success of YOUR business. We'll talk about that more later.
If you have some knowledge of HTML, you can buy a WEBSITE TEMPLATE and add
all the content yourself. Check out our source for website templates here. I've
included a few good tutorials and informational articles below, that may help
you get your template up and running:
What is HTML? - http://www.davesite.com/webstation/html/
Basic Frontpage tutorial - http://edwebs.org/learning/software/frontpage/basics/
Free Dreamweaver training - http://www.learnthat.com/courses/viewlets/dreamweaver/
If you would prefer to have a customized website, made especially for YOUR
business, you will want to consult a Web Designer. Cimmeron Studios can provide
you with a quote especially for YOUR business. To receive a quote, go to
this page: http://www.cimmeronstudios.com/quote.htm
You're getting your site built - now you need those little extras that make
your site unique. Images, clipart, etc., will help create an impression on your
website visitors. A few words of warning, however: Just because you CAN does NOT
mean you SHOULD.
Things to avoid on your new website:
The Sound of Music - unless music helps make your point on your website,
leave it off. If you MUST have it, do not have it loop. Let it play once, and
maybe give your visitor the option of playing it again. Don't make your visitor
leave your site to turn off the sound.
Animations - One is more than enough. Enough said.
Animations/movements attached to the mouse - yes, they are kinda neat, but
your site is meant to represent your business. 'Kinda neat' does not sell.
Any combination of the above - if you cannot restrain yourself from adding
one of these things, only choose ONE. You want your visitors to see what you are
SELLING not jumping images or rabbit mouses.....
Choosing a domain name - One thing to think about when choosing a domain name is to keep it as simple as possible.
You will want to be able
to tell people, over the phone if necessary, what your domain name is so that
they can go to your new website! If it's an extremely long, messy or contains
lots of dashes, etc., it will be difficult to make someone understand what you
are saying. If possible, have your domain name relate in some way to your
business. If that isn't possible, a good method is to choose a phrase that means
something to your business.
Example: A bookkeeping business could have: www.KeepYourBooks.com
Example: A candle business could have: www.WaxOnWaxOff.com
You want to use your business name, if possible, but if that isn't available,
you want something that will stick in your potential customer's mind. I think I
would remember waxonwaxoff.com for a long time :) Now, you have your domain, you
have your hosting, you need to get your files up there. If your hosting provider
doesn't have a web interface for FTP (the method by which you will upload your
files), you'll need to download an FTP program.
Click here to download a 30 day free trial of WS_FTP, my personal
favorite. http://www.ipswitch.com/_download/wsftppro.asp
Another program I've heard of but have not used is CUTE_FTP.
Click here to download a trial of CUTE_FTP. http://www.cuteftp.com/downloads/gsftps.asp
Ok, that's pretty much it. Your website has been completed,
content added, and it's been posted. Now it's time to
optimize!
Optimization involves all elements of your website - they must work together
to get your site placed high on the search engines. Also, you must choose target
words and phrases that are both searched on, and do not have tons of
competitors. It's a difficult dance, but it can be done.
Debbi
Cunnington is a successful freelance web design professional. Visit her website
here: http://www.cimmeronstudios.com
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