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Creating a Website: Something from Nothing Part 2
Last week, I posted the first three tips for savvy DIY-entrepreneurs wanting to start their own website (check out tips 1-3 in Part 1). Now, without further delay, I’d like to get right back into providing you with the next 3 steps:
4. Buy a domain name. I suggest to do this even if you don’t want to start a website for a few years. I’d even suggest this if you don’t know what you want your website to be centered around. Buy a domain name that is related to your name, your family, your hobby, your dog, anything! Because once a domain name is off the market, it’s rare that it’ll become available again. Go to GoDaddy.com and buy a domain name NOW! If you know the keywords used when people search for your target product or service, try to get a domain name containing target keywords (e.g. “MensUnderwearStore.com”).
5. Set up persuasive momentum before a line of code gets written. This tip came straight from Melissa Burdon herself! And, she knows a thing or two about creating persuasive momentum. I think of this step as outlining your ideas before writing a term paper. Planning the path your visitors are going to take on your site before building it a) makes your site is easier to navigate for visitors, b) allows visitors to become customers more quickly and c) saves money over the long run because you’ll spend less money on optimization and marketing.
6. Micro-test before you invest. That catchy little phrase came courtesy of Brendan Regan. Consider setting up an eBay or Yahoo! store to see what demand there is for your product and help you gauge interest. This will allow you to also realistically project how much money you can invest upfront and if it’s going to be a profitable venture for you. There’s a chapter dedicated to this concept in Timothy Ferriss’s The 4-hour work Week.
After you’ve completed these first 6 steps, you’ll be ready to begin planning your site. You’ll be prepared for who else you’re up against in the industry, and maybe even have a little money to get you started.
- Nobody wants to read your sh**!September 21st, 2009
- Redesign? Ask The Right Questions!September 18th, 2009
- Cross-post: How to Improve a Product Page, Part 1September 15th, 2009
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January 16th, 2010
2:23 am
Just to add to the resources you’ve already listed, I’ve found that the site bustaname.com helps you combine a variety of words into available URLs (since they can be difficult to come up with sometimes) and then purchase the one(s) you find appropriate. Additionally, if your budget allows, hiring a user experience expert can greatly help in your website planning to ensure the easiest navigation and the most logical path.
January 16th, 2010
9:35 am
Thanks for sharing such a useful information. I am definitely going to consider it next time.
January 16th, 2010
11:13 am
This is a great post for newbies like myself. Thanks for the great post.
January 16th, 2010
11:53 am
i agreed to buy domain name first and it must be picked based on keyword.
normally. google or any search engines need time to index new website. It’s better to get domain name early..
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January 16th, 2010
2:14 pm
well i liked the info shared her and i was looking for the same.
webhosting
January 16th, 2010
6:05 pm
Micro testing is where it’s at. I’m not saying that we have to test 10 different styles, but I think it makes absolute sense to test a few templates or styles and go with the one that has the highest conversion rate. Then leave it alone and work on getting traffic to the page.
January 16th, 2010
6:07 pm
Planning the path your visitors are going to take on your site before building it a) makes your site is easier to navigate for visitors. VERY true. Pretend your visitor has a broken attention span and you have to help them!
January 17th, 2010
9:12 am
Thanks for sharing such a useful information!
This is a great post
January 17th, 2010
10:13 am
hi nice advices, your tips can help anyone who wants to do well in internet marketing.
January 18th, 2010
7:47 am
You should buy a domain name that is generic. Domains that are generic have adavantages when it comes to successful search engine optimisation.
January 18th, 2010
11:51 am
Another reason to buy a domain few years earlier is that google likes older domains!
This will help u with the ranking and in general
January 18th, 2010
12:23 pm
What I personally do before starting to build the site is I DRAW the path my visitors will go through in a big white board. When I am sure my site is user friendly then I start writing the code. This has been very useful to me.
January 18th, 2010
3:05 pm
well, there are some forums and website that sell old domain and not always they are expensive. A good SEO is always the key.
January 18th, 2010
4:32 pm
its easy to actually create a site. its the users and the visitors thats hard to get and maintain.
January 19th, 2010
5:00 am
The 4-hour work Week is a good book. Thanks for your advice!
January 19th, 2010
9:12 pm
a Website must include a domain and host
January 21st, 2010
4:03 am
At 4: its also important to make sure what your package is contains e.g. database like mysql, php or php4-5. Do you have subdomains, email etc.pp.
and !!! donot pay for more transfer!
January 21st, 2010
5:17 am
How long to make a serious website?
January 21st, 2010
5:58 am
Hi,
I really admire the valuable information you offer in your post.I agree that a Website must include a domain and Micro-test is useful before invest.
Thanks for providing such a wonderful post.This is really beneficial for my learning experiance.
January 22nd, 2010
6:21 am
For
Business Review,
You have much, much more to do on the site if you want real results. You must post many links, articles …
But it pays to
Best Regards
January 22nd, 2010
6:22 am
2: business Review:
It takes a lot of time, but actually it depends on how good you are in programming and how good are you skills.
The best is, you create a plan. so it is easy.
January 22nd, 2010
1:32 pm
Definitely true. Particularly getting the domain name as early as possible. Also research, research, research.
January 22nd, 2010
7:30 pm
Great post! Im just starting create my ecommerce blog. Thanks for valued info.
January 24th, 2010
3:37 pm
It is easy to create a site , you cand use a CMS and the site is live, the problem comes when you have to bring users and to make them to stay.
January 24th, 2010
4:11 pm
If you are going to buy the domain name, then get a few inbound links ASAP to get it recognized by search engines.
January 25th, 2010
12:35 am
The old school way of developing web sites is to first consider what value that you are adding to each visitor. Internet web pioneers usually created webs sites on topics that they were interested in. If the site provided something useful, people found out about it and the income followed. I’m thinking that this model could still work…..
January 25th, 2010
2:36 am
to pariuri sportive, yes you’re right if you say that cms is easy to handle. But natalie was telling “how you creating a website” and if youre a beginner or a newbie, cms is just a lil bit too difficult. cms is a system like a board. If you cant creating a websit I also think that you can’t upload a cms =)
And nevertheless I think that cms makes not a lot of fun as creating or programming a website by yourself =)
January 26th, 2010
3:22 am
yes I have to agree hens.
Its really tough at the beginning to start with a cms-system if you dont have the full knowlegde.
Better step by step, but dont plunged in a newbie at the deep end
January 26th, 2010
6:53 pm
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January 26th, 2010
9:02 pm
Thanks for sharing such a useful information!
This is a great post, thnks
January 28th, 2010
2:56 am
Thanks for your post. The site structure planning in advance can be very important for later success of the website.
January 29th, 2010
7:44 am
this post give alot about Planning path of visitors, making site easier to navigate and to allows visitors to become customers more quickly. i love this post as it is useful.
January 29th, 2010
2:50 pm
Thanks for the interesting information. Even though I started with my site a while back and didn’t do all of the steps you recommended at least I think I got some parts of it more or less right!
February 3rd, 2010
7:26 am
Thanks for the article once again.I liked the ‘creating persuasive momentum’ before a line of code gets written concept.
February 10th, 2010
3:14 am
I suspect that most people actually do what you are suggesting. They decide to do a web site and begin by registering a domain. Many go no further and some ninety percent ++ of the rest create by one means or another a site that gets 3-4 visitors a week, month … and then eventually give up.
The final thing I do when starting a new site is to register the domain. The urgency went many years ago. There are no unregistered one word generic domain names left anymore. Hence we have these funny made up domain names that have become so familiar: Google …
Finally after I’ve identified the niche, analyzed the demand, competition and monetization potential it’s time to get a domain. My first port of call is to check out existing registered domains that that contain my site concepts’s keyword. Ideally they will be sitting on a shelf, have a few thousand back links and a PR4 or better. They can save me years of effort. Furthermore the prices are always negotiable.
February 16th, 2010
6:33 am
As far as platform goes i`d suggest Wordpress. You can build a whole web page on that, plus it`s free, has HUGE load of plug-ins and it`s easy to handle.
February 16th, 2010
11:18 am
Thanks for sharing such a useful information. I am definitely going to consider it next time.
February 17th, 2010
8:20 am
thanks for sharing really vital stuff here and everyone can really learn something!
February 18th, 2010
12:21 pm
I agree, Wordpress is the only way to go.
February 18th, 2010
1:30 pm
It’s lucky that your friend has a contact like you to advise them on what to do and where to go.
I was reading about someone that was paying £500 per annum for a domain name that in reality could have been registered for the equivalent of £3 per annum.
February 20th, 2010
8:23 pm
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February 23rd, 2010
5:03 am
There are many place where you can replicate a template and just fill out data and create your website. If you desire a custom and a more professional website, I would use Drupal.
March 8th, 2010
3:08 am
Well, thank you for the two articles, I think there wasn’t much new to get known but thanks anyway.
March 9th, 2010
4:12 am
thank You for these very interesting articles, I am considering making my own web page so these information will be useful to me
March 12th, 2010
2:21 pm
Your tips are great first steps. As hard as it is to come up with the right product, the next steps are the most difficult. That is where most people get frustrated and give up. If you can buy a domain name with an existing page rank, you are already steps ahead of the rest of us.
March 16th, 2010
11:29 pm
great tips, if only the online biz are as easy as we think
March 19th, 2010
2:51 am
@ Denver
So true! Everybody makes it seem like the online overnight sensation is the rule, but it is the exception to the rule. Like anything else, it takes time and energy.