I Want to Build a Web Site But Where Do I Begin?

by Meme
(ST. CROIX)

How do I Begin to Build a Web Site?

How do I begin to build a web site?

I have a small clothing boutique and am looking to expand my customer base.

Having a website is indeed the way to go; however, I don't know where to begin.

Please help!

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Create Your First Website By 3.45 This Afternoon
by: Toni Roa

Hi Meme

I do not know how long ago your thread has been here so I will just add my 2 cents worth!! Hope it helps. :)

I do agree with what Sue said above with the Hosting.

In building a website you do need 3 things:

Domain Name:
You need to use a uniqueness for this as it is going to be what your customers will remember.

Your Boutique Name is a good start:
www.YourBoutiqueName
www.YourName

When choosing a Domain name you also need to think about the "extension" you will use like .com .info .org etc.

The one people think of most when typing the address into a search engine is .com so it makes sense to get a .com so your web address will look like this:
www.YourBoutiqueName.com (.info - .org etc)
www.YourName.com (.info - .org etc)

You need to get your Domain Name from a "Registrar" and there are literally thousands of these.

www.GoDaddy.com is very popular

Use the "search" feature to see if your "boutique" name is available to buy.

Prices for the extensions start out at about 99c/yr for a .info
The .com ones cost a little more.

Hosting:
AVOID FREE HOSTING.

Look for a Hosting site that has lots of different offers within the price - example:

SBI as Sue suggests sounds good. I use a different one but it is part of the membership I joined.

Cost can be from about $15/monthly upwards

Autoresponders:

Again there are thousands of these out there and again do not go for the free ones. (Lots of hassle and not worth it.)

This is a business after all and you do need a good autoresponder to handle all your mail. Both incoming and out going.

With the new laws in place about spamming you first need to get the persons permission to be able to send them the information they requested when they click on the link at your website.

This is called optin or better as it is a two way street - Double Optin.

Your autoresponder will handle all this automatically when you have set it up correctly. There are lots thing your autoresponder can do for you as well.

Tracking, Webforms, Email Templates and video tutorials.

Cost - anywhere from about $17/monthly

Here is my FREE ebook on how easy it is to "Create Your First Website By 3:45 This Afternoon".

Just copy and paste the link below into your browser to download a 3.77MB file:
http://www.cmysystem.com/Create-Your-First-Website-ebook.pdf

Good luck in your new business.

Toni

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I agree completly with what you say, BUT
by: Steve Hall

I would also tell the prospective customer to sign up for SEO too!

SEO is traffic to your site, and you cannot live without traffic!!!

Thanks so much!

Steve Hall

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Start to Build a Web Site Begins With An Idea, a Plan and a Web Hosting Company
by: Sue

Hi Meme,

Believe it or not Meme, you have the hardest part already done! You already have a business which means you already have a business plan, and you have merchandise to sell.

You're light years ahead of where I was when I started as a clueless wannabe online business owner!

So your next step is to showcase your brick and mortar boutique across the world, attract more customers and generate more sales. (I personally think a website is an absolute must now-a-days.)

Your reach to customers is so much greater, opportunities to develop a relationship and loyalty is enhanced by a website because you can collect email addresses so easily to send out newsletters, special offers, and so on.

So your next step is to get started building your website!

To get started you need a website hosting service that will have all the features you need for a business website. . . from an easy point and click web page creation tool, newsletter, and shopping cart functionality to automatic submission to the search engines and website optimization so potential customers can find your website easily on all the major search engines.

I personally use Site-Build-It since they specialize in ecommerce websites and offer a hand holding approach to building a website.

I find SBI reasonably priced at $29.99 a month or $299 for a year. (Plus, everything is included so you are not charged for anything else along the way like some other hosting companies do. I found that particularly annoying myself!)

SBI happens to be running a 2 for 1 special right now so you can actually end up saving half off your first year hosting fee. Here are the details:
SBI Website Special

Once you have chosen a web host, you can register your domain name through the hosting service (it is usually included in the yearly or monthly fee), then you can create your site.

Web hosts will have a variety of templates to pick from that you can customize so your website matches the colors and logo (or sign) of your land store, then you begin to add web pages one at a time.

With SBI, it's kind of like filling in an online order form, Facebook or MySpace: Put the title of your page here, add your content here, insert a picture, put a link to your jewlery page here, etc.

It does take some time, and you do need to put some work into it but once you get the hang of it, site building goes really fast!

Best of Luck Meme. If I can be of further help just post back. . .

Sue

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