How Can A Dummy Get A Pro Website Set Up?

Lots and lots of people want a website. They need it for their business. Sometimes the web site _is_ their business. Websites are an essential marketing tool these days.
Why?

Because people don't bother looking up the Yellow Pages any more. They type a name into a search engine. They even type web addresses into search engine boxes on their browser. They're lazy. They want it immediately. And the 'net will give it to them.
You want to be that site.
You want to be the website that comes up first in a search. At least for your company name! Established businesses which happily depend on word-of-mouth can manage without a web site. Others can't. A website is a business card if it is nothing else. It says who you are and what you offer.
A _good_ website is a marketing tool. It sells your services to the reader. It's a sales letter on the internet.
So how to get one?
-: Register A Domain Name.
This is an important step. You can go two ways: your-name.com or keyword.com. You can use your keyword or business name/brand name that's used by a lot of folks searching for your product. Or you can do both. This means two or more web sites. There is wisdom in this: the more web sites you have, the more niches in your industry you can target.
Go to a popular registrar like NameCheap.com, 123-reg.co.uk or GoDaddy.com. Open an account and buy your name.
-: Get A Simple Website Designed.
This commonly means using a web designer. You can get a good deal if you keep it simple to begin with. Four pages will do: Index, About Us, What We Sell, Contact us. Plus a logo. No need to get fancy.
Pictures are good: pictures of you, your premises, your product your staff, your vehicles. Pictures let information be absorbed faster. One good picture or symbol is worth 500 words.
You might even try a bit of designing yerself but I wouldn't recommend it, unless you're skint. The learning curve is too steep. You need to be marketing your product ASAP, not messing with CSS.
Web designers lurk in forums, freelance sites and, hey! they can be found using a search-engine, also!
-: Get A Webhosting Account.
I prefer American webhosts. They offer more: more space, more tools, better technical support. Note: A .co.uk domain name will show up in Google.co.uk search results wherever it's hosted. A .com will not, unless it's hosted in the UK. This is important for country-specific sites.
The more features and tools a webhost offers, the better. Nowadays, they should be generous with bandwidth, Mbs MySQL databases etc. These things don't cost them a lot. What _does_ cost them is if your site is greedy with server resources. So they won't let you run chat-rooms for $10 a month, for example.
Lurk in webmaster forums to find out which hosts are the best, currently. Don't bother searching via Google. The results will show bland promo-sites. You need testimonials!
-: Upload Your Site.
Best to let your designer do this for you. A simple site is simple to upload. A site based on a CMS (Content Management System) may take longer. It requires regular upgrades, also. Either is fine, as long as it helps you attain your goal: making a profit!
Joline E. Pouncey

About the Author

Want to hear more? Go to http://www.yourwebfixer.com and then 'phone Tommy. Tommy offers website help from London, UK. He has 12 year's experience in commissioning websites, software and services.

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