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Tips on Obtaining Your First Website
If you are a business owner that is planning to make your first website, “Congratulations!” You really are taking a step in the right direction. You see, having your own website is a powerful marketing mechanism and a great way to establish brand awareness and get your name out there. What you may not know, however, is how to go about it. Well, in this article, we’ll provide you with tips on obtaining your first website. Let’s begin.
Figure out what kind of site you want. Your first step is to figure out what type of site you would like. For instance, are you interested in a static site or a blog, built on a Wordpress platform that you can update without knowing HTML? Do you prefer an informative site that simply announces your service or product offering or something with more bang like a forum? Either way, to figure out your likes and dislikes, you should review several websites, preferably those of your competitors to see which type of site you like. Once you have an idea, you should move on to the next step.
Decide if you’ll build your website yourself or hire someone. If you know a bit of HTML and understand how to FTTP files or work Fantastico in wordpress, you may be able to build and upload your own site. However, if you are not technically savvy, you may want to hire professional web designers to assist you. Both Rentacoder, Guru, Elance and oDesk have great designers that you can hire for your project. By hiring a freelancer, you can effortlessly put up a website that is aesthetically pleasing and search engine friendly. Simply check out the freelance professionals’ feedback and profile and interview them thoroughly. Make sure that they agree to the terms and conditions you set forth for project completion and agree to complete the project within your stated deadline. In addition, you may want to try out their services by asking them for a “paid mockup” to make sure that you’re both on the same page.
Get deliverables in writing. Before you plunk down any cash whatsoever, get everything in writing. There are plenty of free web design contracts that you can use however, you must make sure that you are both in agreement to the terms. If either one of you is not, the contract should not be signed.
In conclusion, it does not really matter if you go for a professional or build it yourself. What matters is that you put your website together now and then start marketing it immediately. After all, you can’t expect to get clients if you don’t have a website to show them. Websites are the wave of the future so stop procrastinating and get your site up. You can always improve upon it later by adding forums and other features. Have fun.
Additional Resource
Learn How to Market Your New Website
Comments
best place for quick and dirty site is www.sites.google.com, best place for community site is ning, after that the world is your oyster, but I agree, better to have an online presence, things can only get better from there, but u have to make a start...
I think that in this day and age if you haven't gotten a website up and running then you really have some catching up to do.
If hiring a professional is not something you can justify with your current marketing budget, I would say get something up and quick, using google sites or even wordpress.
Then analyze what's working and what's not, making tweaks until you find something that works.
Do it incrementally but do it. Don't wait until you have the perfect website designed and built before starting your online presence...
Thanks & Regards
Noel from nopun.com
a professional graphic design studio
One other tip for people creating their first website and hiring a programmer over the web. It's a great idea to use a site that allows you to require the bidder to place a guarantee of completion...and that will eliminate many unqualified bidders in addition to reducing your stress levels regarding who to select to do the job. On Rent a Coder, this is called the "Expert Guarantee" and requires the bidder to place a deposit to guarantee completion, or they lose it...which is excellent motivation for them.
Ian Ippolito
www.RentACoder.com
Try eMarketTeam, http://www.eMarketTeam.com, their website builder is awesome and they provide design support which no other cms system does.
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