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Online Business Ideas | Getting Your First Website Built – Building The Store Front For

Posted by lingodan on October 28th, 2009

One thing that can scare new online business people is the prospects of having to create a website. Most people that run online businesses and have websites, are not the most technologically savvy people, and definitely could not begin to explain how to build a website.

Websites are the virtual store front of your online business, and while you may not know how to make one, or even how one really works, you need one to be easy to use and beautiful. Having a poorly put together web page that is faulty and not easy to use can sink a business in a heartbeat.

Before you build your website, you need to be sure you know what your business is, and what it will do. You need to have a plan in place for your business, because when you begin to build a website, you will need to tailor the website to your vision.

Where Do I Start?

Well once you have your business plan set, and know what it is you want to do, you will need to choose a domain name. You need to ensure it is simple, not very long, and represents your business.

When choosing a domain name that fits your business, it is always best to put some thought into it. Taking your business and listing out keywords that people would type into a search engine when looking up a business in your field of sales or services, will go a long way in assisting you with choosing a domain.

Once you have chosen a domain and registered it, it’s now time to move on to website hosting.

When choosing a website host that will fit your business needs, you will definitely want to avoid the free website hosting services. Free sites are great for personal use, but they force you to display advertisements and this would not look very professional to customers looking to potentially deal with your business. The per month fees for a reputable, full service website hosting company are very low, and will not set you back at all. You cannot afford to settle for subpar in relation to your website as it is your store front in the virtual world!

Once you have secured the domain, and the hosting services you now need to build the actual website.

There are a few options here that you can use; you can build it yourself with HTML. If you know how to produce websites, this will save you money. WYSIWYG editors will allow you to build a website without the computer language knowledge. Popular programs that use this method are Microsoft’s Front Page and Dreamweaver.

One other option is using a free template or purchasing a template and editing it yourself. This requires very little technical knowledge, and can be one of the easiest methods available. Templates are reasonably priced and you can even get a custom template set up to your specifications.

In the end no matter what methods you choose, you need to simply pick your domain name, website hosting, and build your website. Once you do all of this, you will be able to stand back and look at your virtual store front and just smile knowing that you did it and, you are proud!