Don’t waste another day wondering how to create a website business. It’s really not that hard!
If you are part of the Boomer era, computers can be a bit scary. But this doesn’t need to be the case.
Even though creating a website may seem overwhelming, I have put together a comprehensive guide to assist business owners in getting started. A small business without a website will lose out on potential customers.
Let’s begin right away.
What is Your Why?
You need to have a strong reason for creating a website business or you will give up the first time it gets complicated. There will be frustrations along the way and placing yourself within an online structure to support you, will make all the difference.
The days of having a website builder who is always too busy to fix a small issue or spelling on your website are gone.
You need to consider:
- Initial creation time
- Registering a domain
- Getting a host
- Choosing a theme
- Writing content
- Optimizing your content
- Maintaining the general background of your website
- Creating promotions
We are all very busy with our work and our lives, so will a website business enrich your life? Will it bring you more money, more time, and expand what you have now? The immediate answer is, not when you are just setting it up but definitely in the future.
Initial Creation Time
If you have zero computer experience (perhaps you only check your emails online) then it still won’t take you long to get your
head around building a website. You probably already have an idea for the theme of your website. Possibly, the business you are in right now (plumbing).
Maybe a part of your job that you could do from home (nursing). Even a service that you can provide from your website (financial advice). Or even a hobby. Perhaps you paint or make wooden tables.
For instance, I’m a professional musician for over 40 years. So it was a no-brainer to create a website to help other guitarists/singers. After spending 2 weeks researching online to find the cheapest, most supportive, hosting, and learning platform, I selected Wealthy Affiliate.
Why this company? Two reasons. I couldn’t find a bad word about them in the reviews and I could try them out for free, no credit card needed. That showed how solid they were and I’ve enjoyed building my websites and knowledge with them. If you are looking then have a read here and I can help you personally to get started today to build your first-ever website business. Need more information read on!
The lessons take you one step at a time through creating, writing, and maintaining your website. No guessing, just learning.
Register a Domain
You need a custom domain name, which is your brand’s unique web address. It is the URL that visitors enter into their browsers to access your website.
Now, some website builders offer a free domain name for a year when signing up for a premium plan. In that case, you can pick your domain when setting up your account.
Even if you choose a builder that offers a free domain, you might prefer to get yours somewhere else for a variety of reasons.
For instance, if you ever need to switch builders or hosts, you won’t have to deal with the hassle of transferring your domain. You might need to buy your own domain name anyhow since not all website builders include one.
Choose a domain that fits your business in either scenario. I strongly advise using the .com extension for your domain name, if at all possible.
You don’t have to stick with .com or .org if your domain name is already taken. You might want to try a less popular domain suffix. Just make sure the suffix you choose fits your company.
TLDs, or top-level domains, refer to suffixes like .com or .org. But due to the overwhelming number of TLD URLs already in use, ICANN (the nonprofit organization in charge of maintaining internet organization) started introducing new generic TLDs, or gTLDs, back in 2014. As a result, we now have suffixes like .pizza, .bingo, and .rocks.
Get a Host.
Really, this step is necessary for those who select WordPress.org as their website builder of choice. Most other website builders also offer hosting as part of their service, which is why your monthly billing is on the high side. In actuality, most builders won’t let you host your website elsewhere.
You must remember to point your DNS servers at your host regardless of the hosting platform you select.
The setup process for your preferred web host should include instructions for you since the procedure is essentially just some straightforward copying and pasting.
Choose Your Theme
By now you should have selected a builder and domain (and hosting, if needed). Thus, it is time to start building. Whatever type of business website you are creating, look for a clean, modern, readable, and attractive theme.
Remember that your website visitors will rely on clues such as your web design to decide whether or not to trust you and your product.
Hence, if you choose a cluttered or unreadable theme that looks outdated, your visitors will be bouncing around before they even read your content.
Some website builders require you to purchase a premium theme to do this. BigCommerce, for example, only offers two free templates (and they’re pretty poor), so you’ll probably want to buy one. Likewise, premium themes allow you to get the most out of WordPress.org.
Of course, there are website builders that offer hundreds of free themes in each plan that you can modify as you see fit.
It has become so easy to create a website these days – you can even get templates without spending a dime. However, I would recommend spending $50 to $100 for a professional-looking WordPress theme so your business can make the best impression online.
However, consider the ROI: a more attractive website will help you convert more visitors than an ugly website ever could.
Select a theme that looks good and functions well. You don’t have to purchase the priciest one. After deciding on a theme, you can start building your website content.
Write Content
Consider your visitors when adding text and images to your website. Ensure there is enough contrast between the background color and the text color for readability.
Break large blocks of text into multiple paragraphs to help visitors read your content (especially on mobile screens). Also, make sure that the website’s content supports the goals you’ve set for it.
Make your phone number big and noticeable if you want customers to call your contracting business. Use large images throughout your website if you want visitors to check out your illustration portfolio. Soon, your website will start to take shape.
After hitting the Publish button, you can promote your content online. You need more work to do to have your website appear in search results.
This can all seem overwhelming, and without good project management skills and resources, you might easily forget some steps in your plan.
Just as you keep the name and contact details of your customers now, you will collect email addresses to drip-feed promotions to interested buyers. There is an art in all of this but at Wealthy Affiliate, you will get plenty of lessons and free advice to help you build a healthy solid business.
You will learn about great SEO practices and creating backlinks and why.
Optimize Your Content.
If your audience can’t find your great website, it won’t help your business much. Your website will appear on pertinent Google and Bing searches with the help of search engine optimization.
In other words, SEO makes sure that when a customer searches “marketing automation,” your Marketing Automation store appears.
SEO is tricky and has dynamic rules. Though there are other strategies to implement, devoting more hours daily will boost your search engine rankings.
Interact with customers in any type of business using your website and social media handles. That serves as a reminder to Google that you are active and real.
Respond to feedback and comments, whether they are posted on your website, Facebook page, or Yelp.
Maintain Your Website and Make Money
When you first create a website there is a lot to learn. Choosing a Theme, deciding on the structure of your posts,
understanding SEO (Search Engine Optimization), and deciding which Plugins to use.
Update plugins, change the appearance of a page, add pictures (downsize the image) and so much more. Please don’t throw your hands in the air as all this is covered in the tutorials in Wealthy Affiliate.
Update your website whenever you add some important information. This could be your company’s address, hours of operation, or phone number.
To make processing orders as simple as possible with an e-commerce site, think about integrating inventory management software as well as analytics tracking systems.
Use community forums to ask technical questions about your website. The most well-known example of this is WordPress, but many other builders have forums where users can discuss the builder and ask questions.
These forums frequently have brimming communities with personalities who are eager to assist you with your website.
Creating Promotions
In any business, you need to promote to get a sale. Internet business is no different but the way that you share with a customer is more organic. Most of us will go to our computers to find an answer to a problem, much as you are reading this post today. That is the first way that you attract a buyer.
Offer a solution to a problem! By writing an interesting and
informative post that will steer a person to resolving their issue you are building a relationship.
Internet businesses are run on trust and we all like to do business with someone we trust. Much in the way that we will ask a friend for a suggested trade person, your post will help and advise.
Perhaps you are willing to give a prize for signing up or a free e-book that will help with the problem. You can have a post that explains the special deal you are offering.
Then promote it through free social avenues like Pinterest, LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter, just to name a few.
Making it Happen
If you have read this far you are very interested in starting your own website business. Mostly fear is what stops us and
some rational thinking, like how much will it cost? In a nutshell, hosting (having someone to host your website) is usually the most expensive cost, somewhere between $50 and $150 a month.
But not all hosting sites are equal in value. Some also provide amazing training and technical support for the same cost as other hosting sites. Shop around and read the reviews available for any company on the internet.
Subscribe today and receive my free E-Book of the 10 business building tips.
Thank you for visiting, I would love it if you would leave a comment and share this blog.
LILY
A lot of people really used to be scared of creating a website because back then it was so difficult to do. Fortunately, this is no longer the case as websites can now be created within seconds by just the click of a button. It is truly amazing how far technology has come.
Creating a website is just the first step. There are a lot of things one has to do for their website which is their business to become a success. It involves writing content, marketing your content, and several other things.
These are skills that anyone can learn as long as they are willing to and the good thing is that there are a lot of platforms willing to teach this.
Making money online has become really popular that a lot of businesses are making sure they are part of this trend by shifting their offline business to also be able to function online. It is truly amazing.
It is great that you really understand how much the world has changed. I can tell that you’ve had lots of experience on the internet and truly understand how great it is to be part of this exciting world.
Lily
Awesome article.
It is just the thing I was looking for online, a good article for Affiliate Marketing.
You have really put in a lot of work to write this and I respect that.
I am glad that I stumbled upon your article because you gave me a lot of value and tips that I needed.
Thank you for that and I wish you all the best in the future and your business
It can be an exciting journey to build your own affiliate business and create great financial success.
Wishing you happiness and prosperity.
Thanks for a very informative blog. I’ve been looking for a long time for such a blog, showing me how to create a website business, starting with how to develop a website using one of the budget learning platforms available today. This way, one learns a new skills, which is good for the brain, while developing a website which could be a real money-maker. So far, I agree with everything you say, including this: in the last 15 years, the computer has been streamlined. You no longer need to understand or be able to write computer code.
As you say, you need to have a strong reason for creating a website. With me, it was the love of brain games and brain training, because I spent many years recovering from a medical condition and doing tons of brain training in order to regain my smarts. So I created a website devoted to brain games, advanced brain training and optimal brain health. With my experience, answering business and other queries was simple.
I have considered my great love of writing, especially writing good content that people will want to read.
I have also considered maintaining the general background of your website. For me, that was easy: I have a background as a programmer and project manager.
I want to get into creating promotion next. And furthering my knowledge of SEO practice, as well as creating backlinks and why this is necessary. Also, increase my understanding which Plugins to use.
Next, I want to further my knowledge of promotions, offering a solution to a problem!
I like what you said about Wealthy Affiliate: I also spent some time researching online organizations to find the cheapest hosting and learning platform and came to the conclusion that Wealthy Affiliate was the best. Their training is great and teaches you everything you need to know to create and maintain your website.
Finally, I totally agree with you that, if you are not willing to go through the learning process and are thinking of paying one of the advertised companies on the internet that promise to build your site and give you a business making your $$$ in a day, it’s a scam!!!
Thanks for a very informative blog. Now I know that I’m on the right track!
Hi Monique, you sound wonderful and such a highly motivated person. I can see why you would enjoy your journey at Wealthy Affiliate and we are lucky to have you here with us. We can enjoy this together and keep our brains firing on all cylinders. Wishing you great success, your niche sounds interesting.