How to Create a Business Website for Free

Businesses often want to create their website themselves and just want some guidance on what to do and of course how to do it as cheaply as possible.

You can do it for free but you will have fewer headaches if you spend a little on getting a decent hosting package (see later).

So this is my recipe for 1 simple basic business website.

All you need is

1 tech person
1 internet connection

I would recommend you should choose a website designer to be that tech person (preferably me!) but whatever you decide here 's what needs to be done.

1. Decide what the website is for.

You need a clear idea of what the website is for. "I just want a website" isn't good enough. "I just want a website that lets people find out how to contact us and see what products we sell and find out a bit about the history of the company" is a good start.

2. Decide who your audience are and why they will come to your website.

Don't make the mistake of creating a website for yourself. It 's not for you its for your customers. You need to think like them. What do they want and how will they want it presented.

3. Learn some basic Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and Accessibility facts.

The biggest problem businesses have is that after they put a lot of effort into creating their website, they type "home made cakes" into Google and where do they appear in the list of results? Nowhere! This is a huge subject and I can't tell you what to do in a paragraph.

Accessibility. It is now the law in many countries that you must make your website accessible to all. Like SEO this is also a big subject that can't be explained in a paragraph.

4. Choose a website design template.

Search for an Open Source Web Design site and you will find thousands of free website designs.

Choose an XHTML 1.0 Strict design that uses CSS and download it.

Check the license file or read the text on the webpage. The designer will probably say that you must keep his or her copyright statement intact.

5. Change it to match what is right for your company.

To edit a website you can use the simplest of editors e.g notepad on windows but it is best to use a dedicated website editor.

6. Fill in the content i.e. your words and images.

Type in all your textual content and insert any images

7. Choose a web address.

You are going to need a website address. Think up a good one and check if it is available. Wait until you get your website hosting sorted out as companies often give a free domain name with the hosting.

8. Choose some web hosting.

Choose some web hosting. i.e. somewhere to put your website. You can find free hosting but I wouldn't recommend it. Paid for hosting costs little and is easily worth it.

* Sign up and wait for them to email you the technical details of how you get your site onto their computers. As part of the sign up you can also usually register a domain name. i.e. the web address for your site. Make sure you put the correct name and address details here as it can be tricky to change later. The person you specify will be the legal owner of the domain.

9. Upload your website.

To upload your website you need an FTP program or if you are using a dedicated website editing application the function is likely to be built in and named "Publish" or something similar.

Good Luck.

About the Author

Mike Kay BEng Cert Web Apps (Open) MBCS is a website designer located in Liverpool, UK. Find out more about free business websites at merseyinternet.com.

Article Source: Content for Reprint

Maintaining Your Business Website

QUESTION:
Should I build and maintain my business Web site myself or pay someone else to do the work for me? -- Wesley L.

ANSWER:
When you say, pay someone else to do the work for you, Wesley, I am going to assume that you are talking about hiring a professional Web site designer to do the work and not your next-door neighbor’s teenage son. If my assumption is correct, then read on. If not, go ahead and flip over to the comics section. You will get no good out of the advice I’m about to give, so you might as well consult Dilbert for your hot business tips.

Should you build and maintain your business Web site yourself or pay someone to do it for you? Let me answer your question with a couple of my own. Number one: is building and maintaining Web sites the key focus of your business? Number two: could your time be better spent doing more important things like, oh I don’t know, say running your business? If your answers were no and yes, respectively, then you have no business building and maintain a Web site.

Remember this: every minute you spend on tasks that are not related to the key focus of your business is time spent to the detriment of your business. In other words, every minute you spend focusing on tasks that do not contribute to the growth of your business and thereby increase your bottom line is time wasted.

If you want to be a web designer, be a web designer. However, if the key focus of your business is building widgets, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that your time would be better spent building widgets, not Web sites.

Case in point: I once had a very wealthy dentist ask if I could teach him how to maintain his Web site so he wouldn’t have to pay me to do it. Now my teeth had helped put this guy’s kids through college, but that didn’t seem to matter. At that moment he was more concerned about having to pay for changes to his Web site than my personal oral hygiene. Sure, I said, I’ll be glad to teach you how to update your Web site, just as soon as you teach me how to clean my own teeth so I don’t have to pay you to do it. He got the point. And he charged me enough for the cleaning to keep his site updated for months. Smart man.

Many business owners think they can’t afford a professionally designed Web site and that simply is not true. While the old adage, “you get what you pay for” is never more true than when applied to Web site design, having a professional web designer do the work for you is money well spent. A well-designed Web site can bring you a many-fold return on your investment. You can’t say that about too many other collaterals.

While it is best to leave Web site design and maintenance to the experts, it is up to you (or someone considered a subject matter expert within your company) to provide the designer with the content (text and photographs) that best conveys your company’s message to your customers. A Web site, no matter how well designed, is meaningless if it lacks the content required to interest customers in the products you sell or services you provide.

Here’s are a few questions that, once answered, will help ensure that your Web site’s message is as appealing as its design. Go over these points with the designer before the design process begins as the answers will help determine the direction your Web site’s design should take.

What Is The Purpose Of Your Web Site?

Most business Web sites have two purposes: (1) to educate the consumer and, (2) to sell them products or services. If you sell shoes, for example, the purpose of your Web site is to educate potential customers on the quality and durability of your shoes and as a result, to sell them shoes. If you paint houses the purpose of your Web site is to educate home owners on why your services are superior to other painters and sell them on hiring you to paint their house. By defining the purpose of your Web site you will give the designer the information required to create a Web site that best conveys that purpose to your target audience.

Who Is My Target Audience?

Your target audience consists of those folks you want to attract to your Web site: potential and current customers, future and current employees, possible investors, etc. Anyone who might be interested in your company and its products or services is a member of your target audience. Correctly identifying your target audience is vital since your Web site should be designed specifically to appeal to your target audience.

Put yourself in their shoes (or in front of their computers). Imagine your Web site through their eyes. If you were visiting a Web site such as yours what would you expect to find and what would you be disappointed not to find? Identify your target audience, then have your Web site designed to fulfill their needs and surpass their expectations.

What Content Should My Web Site Feature?

Your Web site content should be driven by the nature of your business. If you're a real estate agent, your site should feature photographs of homes you have for sale and information on buying and selling a home. If you own an auto body shop, your site might feature before and after photographs of cars that you have repaired. Remember to determine the purpose of your site, then develop the content to serve that purpose.

What’s My Competition Doing?

The last question you should ask is one of the most important: What is your competition doing on the Web? Do a Google search for similar businesses and click around their Web sites. How are their Web sites designed? What message are they trying to convey? Are they doing a good job of conveying that message and as a result, selling products? What do you like about their Web sites? What don't you like? Make note of the things you like and the things you hate, then share your findings with your site designer.

Remember, you're not stealing trade secrets here.

You're just borrowing ideas.

---

About the Author: Tim Knox
Entrepreneur, Author, Speaker
Tim Knox is a nationally-known small business expert who writes and speaks
frequently on the topic.
For more information or to contact Tim please visit one of his sites below.
http://www.dropshipwholesale.net
http://www.smallbusinessqa.com
http://www.timknox.com