Creating Your Own Website

I answered a question posed on the eBay Answer Center and decided to add my answer to this website.  Basically, the question concerned whether to buy one of the many websites for sale.

  When you finish reading my answer, be sure to click on some of the resources shown on this page for more information and ideas.

Don't throw away your money.

I'm not saying you can't make money by buying a "going concern," whether virtual or bricks-and-mortar -- you certainly can, but the virtual world brings a whole new set of possibilities. There are several things you need to do if you're interested in your own site.

1) Research the idea of a web presence. You can buy books, but you can also do a lot of research online FOR FREE -- just be sure to carefully evaluate the information you gather; there is both good and bad information available on the web.

2) Figure out what you want your website to be about. Do you want to sell information? Do you want to sell merchandise? Do you want to sell advertising space? Your website should have a theme, and your site should be unique enough to entice folks to your site versus someone else's. You also need to keep your content interesting and fresh, so that visitors want to RETURN.

3) You need a domain name; this name should normally bear some reasonable resemblance to the name of your business and be relatively easy to remember. Once you figure out what name you want, research available WHOIS engines to find out if the domain name is available so you can register it. Webhosts usually make the WHOIS engines available to aid your search, and many will register your domain as part of a package deal.  I STRONGLY SUGGEST YOU STAY AWAY FROM OnlineNIC.com as a domain registrar.  Domain transfers should be a relatively painless process, but my domain transfers took almost 3 months (2009.0506 to 2009.0731) -- despite having met all my obligations and responsibilities, and despite submitting multiple domain transfer requests, sending numerous emails, filing formal complaints, etc.  OnlineNIC appeared inept, unscrupulous, or both during the process, and a little web-based research revealed I was not the first to have problems with them.  I complained multiple times to ICANN/InterNIC, but their entire complaint process seemed bogged down in a bureaucratic loop; I am firmly convinced that this issue would still not be resolved had I not contacted the U.S. Department of Commerce and asked for their help.

 4) Get a low-cost webhost. You can register the domain and get a web presence from the webhost in one step for a small fee. Look for those with no monthly fee, a reasonable bandwidth, free email addresses, a reasonable amount of website storage space, etc.  I STRONGLY SUGGEST YOU STAY AWAY FROM any webhost who uses OnlineNIC.com as a domain registrar (see item 3).  Ask the webhost who they use for domain registration if you can't find this information on your own. 

 5) You can buy help or you can build your own website. Building the website yourself can cost less and gives you much more flexibility. Many webhosts have template-style website builders to help you. You can also buy special software, like Microsoft FrontPage, get some books, and work until you think you have a good start (if you want to use FrontPage, MAKE SURE the webhost provides FrontPage extensions FOR FREE -- without the extensions, FrontPage won't work properly). Then keep polishing (see point 2). This is a living, breathing, virtual existence. It should never be "finished."  

UPDATE (2007.1104): Microsoft has discontinued sales and support of FrontPage. The new Microsoft product is Expressions Web, intended to compete with higher-end design software. For those who already have FrontPage, you can upgrade to Expressions Web for about $100 -- the non-upgrade price is substantially more. If you don't already own FrontPage, you may still be able purchase it and then buy the upgrade product. There are also other web-design software packages, many of which are available for $100 or less. Use search engines to find your best source and price. As always, the best advice is caution when making any purchase decision.

 6) Add links to other sites to provide live content and reader resources, and to boost your search engine status. Remember your theme (point 2). Be particular about the quality and content of the links you add. Don't fall for some of the "reciprocal link" sites that ask you to pay a fee for "thousands of links to your site." If it were that easy, everyone's site would be at the top of the search list.

 7) Add paid advertising and referral links if applicable. Remember, your website exists to provide a useful product or service to your visitors.  Don't load up on every link available -- try to keep them relevant to your website.  Again, remember your theme (point 2). 

8) Be patient. Unless there is a really good reason, don't spend a lot initially on advertising your website. Keep adding quality content and let the site grow naturally. You can advertise your website later if you still think it's necessary.

 9) Try to figure out what works and what doesn't. Use any web tools your webhost provides to help determine if your traffic is growing, what visitors want, and what keeps visitors there when they arrive.

 10) Remember, free advice is often worth what you pay for it. DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH.

 If you don't understand everything above, don't worry. JUST DO YOUR RESEARCH FIRST, and the fog will begin to clear. Look at what the experts do and learn from them. I won't call myself an expert, but you can certainly see some of the things I've discussed here at www.lkjcpa.com.