Do Your Website Yourself - 4 Simple Steps to Get Your Dreams on the Web
Many people hire professional web site designers for as much as a thousand plus USD! You can, and very easily, make a web site for almost one hundredth of that price, and probably in half the time. Here are 4 easy steps to get you started.
1. Find a quality Web Host
This will probably take longer than you imagine, so I always like to start here. Googling "web host" itself pops up over 70 million results and includes many, many advertisements. Ask around, find forums, and rely on your feelings to find a host that you feel has the best quality for price (bang for your buck). Normally around $10 to $15 a month is a reasonable price (with no perks added). In addition, you should make sure that they can handle your needs (do you need a MySQL database, PHP, ASP, ColdFusion, etc.) with no additional charges added for standard options.
If the host that you are using is a quality host, they should allow you to register a domain name on their site (or they will refer you to one of their partner sites). Which leads us into..
2. Create a Domain Name
What is your web site going to be about? Try to come up with a short list of specific keywords that relates to your web site's theme. Many web sites that let you register domains offer a tool to find available web site domains based on your list of keywords. Some qualities of a good domain name are: short, rememberable, easy to type, on topic with your site, and preferablely .com (most people just think of web sites as .com so if you have a .net they might end up on the wrong site). Finding a good domain name can be hard, so don't worry about taking to much time in finding the perfect one.
3. Find a Design
Instead of trying to code your own site, try looking around for templates that are relatively inexpensive. Many web hosts offer packages within their plans for web site designs and plans. A good template might cost as much as $100 but remember, by doing this yourself you are already saving almost a thousand dollars, don't feel like you can't splurge on a design you like.
4. Put it Online
This should be a piece of cake if you have purchased a design from your host, but if you found one from a different site, it make take some getting use to. You will need a FTP client (try SmartFTP, it's free for personal use) to upload your files to your server. Customer support will help you if you can't figure it out, but most web hosts give you all the information you need with a step by step process as well.
Good luck with the next phase of your site, promotion and marketing.
Jeffrey Abbott is a respected author and editor of eMoneyReport.com
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