How to Create, Design & Build Your Own Website 1-2-3
Step 1: Register a Domain Name
Great Deal! Instead of paying $35/year for your domain name, you can pay less than a third of that
price with either of these two reputable domain registration companies.
Want help? >> How to
Find a Domain Name
>> GoDaddy Domains Under $10 (See
specials)
Step 2: Choose a Website Host
When you compare hosting companies for your small business website, these are some important factors to keep
in mind and why.
Beginners: Build a Website in 10
Minutes.
Reliability: Get a website that has 99.9% uptime. If your website is continuously "down" and
inaccessible to your customers, you won't be selling much.
Support: Get a website host that offers support 7 days a week with a fast response time and
look for phone support in addition to e-mail support. Having a good support system will save you
time, and in a crisis situation you may not able to afford to wait for a solution.
Ease-of-use: Spend your time doing work that you will get paid for. Using unnecessary complicated
systems will end up making your business less profitable.
Web Hosting Companies:
iPage
about $3.50/month
Affordable website hosting with unlimited disk space, bandwidth and email boxes. Free domain is included
with free online store and site building tools. $400 worth of free bonuses come with package, and if that
wasn't enough, the company is green - providing hosting services powered 100% by wind energy.
Free Set-up
FatCow Web Hosting
about $7.50/month
FatCow runs on 100% wind energy. WooHoo! The annual hosting cost is $88, but your get $75 worth of
advertising credits on Google and Yahoo, plus a free domain name - so you almost break even, and you're
helping the environment. If you want to set up a blog or a photo gallery, you can do that with FatCow. Free
Trial , Free Setup, Free Support - All risk free.
Yahoo Small Business Websites
about $12/month
Yahoo Small Business won the 2008 PC Magazine's Editor's Choice Award, so you know they're good. Yahoo's
hosting service is a good solution for people wanting a more professional-looking site, additional features
that they can use as their business grows and a 24/7 toll-free support line. If online business "is" your
business, I suggest taking a look at Yahoo's hosting solution. You can try a Free Demo here >>
Yahoo Small Business Websites
Weebly.com starting at
Free 
Create a free website and blog, with easy drag-and-drop interface. Get the basics for free or upgrade to a
Pro Account for a small fee.
Step 3: Website Design Tools Make Designing Your Website Easier
T I P : Make More Money with a
Talking Website
Find out how to instantly add streaming audio to your website without expensive equipment or
technical know-how. (A Telephone!) Let your website do the talking and make sales for
you. |
More Tips
Avoiding "Bad" Web Hosts
The Internet represents the most powerful communication revolution since the dawn of
mankind. Its communication power can literally create business empires faster and with less startup capital
than in all human history.
Yet, with all this power at their fingertips, it amazes me that most businesses and entrepreneurs will put
their business in jeopardy just to save a couple of bucks.
Would you build a luxury home on a foundation made for a double-wide trailer? Would you mount a race car
body and engine on a chassis built for a go-cart?
If not, then why would you try to build a legitimate online business to support your family and contribute
to your livelihood using $4 a month hosting? It doesn't make sense, but people do it every day and,
unfortunately, the consequences can often cost you a hundred times or more of what you "saved."
When you go to choose a web host, you need to think in terms of the purpose for your website(s). If you want
a little family site or a non-commercial blog, then $5 a month hosting may be just what you need.
If you want to host a basic, but dependable
website to sell your own, or someone else's products, then plan on $9-20 a month, depending on how much
hand-holding you need from your web host's technical support staff.
If you want to host multiple sites to generate search engine traffic, sell your own products online, and get
a moderate amount of traffic, then plan to spend $15-$50 a month, depending on which options you choose.
If you plan to operate a serious e-commerce site and need the flexibility to grow, then a dedicated server
for $100- $200 a month may fit the bill. When evaluating a web host, keep the following in mind.
Will you run scripts on your website?
If yes, then make sure the web host offers a cgi-bin and mysql database. Those allow you to run almost any
kind of script you'll need on a basic to intermediate level site.
Will you have your own "dedicated IP address?"
All domain names correspond to an IP address, which is just a series of numbers. Just like a phone number
dials up the correct phone anywhere on earth, each domain has its own number.
However, depending on how your host sets up their server, your domain can actually share an IP address with
dozens, even hundreds, of other websites. If one of those websites misbehaves, it can adversely affect everyone
on that same IP address. My advice: pay a little extra to make sure you get your own dedicated IP.
How much space will you need?
Make sure you get at least 100 megabytes of space from your web host. Also, make sure you get at least 10
email forwarding accounts and 10 gigabytes of data transfer per month. Also, the hosting market is so
competitive now that you should never pay a setup fee.
If in doubt, shop around, compare and always ask someone you trust or check up on what others have to say
about a specific hosting service by visiting sites like http://www.webhostingtalk.com
The moral here? Understand that your web hosting account is literally the "foundation" for your online
business, so don't skimp. You're only hurting yourself in the long run if you do.
About the Author Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the creator of an amazing course
that will teach you step-by- step and click-by-click how to finally create your own money-making mini-sites...
"Finally! A Quick and Easy Way For YOU to Painlessly Set Up Your OWN Moneymaking 'Mini' Websites... Without
Being a Computer Geek, Buying Expensive Software, or Paying Outrageous Fees To A Webmaster!" http://www.MiniSiteCreator.com
2,000 Business Plans
