I get email, after email, from aspiring work at home moms as how they should get started on building a website.  At this point I USUALLY assume you have your products, and you just need a new way to market these products, and promote you company.  I'm not going to do that here.

 

1. What is your Niche?  What's your thang, hot momma?  What makes you tick?  Please gives this thorough thought before you jump into anything.  Your new business will not succeed unless it's your true love.  Not just some idea you came up with to make a buck. Go with what ya know....go with the flow and then follow thy heart without an ounce of hesitation.

 

2. Once you know what products or services you are going to offer, you need  a name, a logo......you need to be branded. I would recommend getting a logo before anything else.  That Logo will stand for everything you and your business are.  The logo must be something you can stick with through thick and thin.....or atleast until the cows go fishing wearing rain coats.  That's the whole point of "branding".  Like when you see a golden arch, you know without taking a half second think that it's a McDonalds.  And ultimately you want your consumers to eventually see your brand in that manner.  You want people to see your name or logo and know exactly who you are, what you offer and what you stand for.

 

3. Once you have your product and service ducks in a row, and you've created your branding tools (logo, letterhead, business cards and such)  You need a domain name.  You can register your domain name at GoDaddy.com at the annual rate of about $11.00 (give or take a few cents)

 

4. Next you need to decide on a hosting plan and decide what you need from your hosting plan.  Do you need a shopping cart, or will you site be purely informational?  You can look at all the best web hosts in Boutique Town by clicking here.   The hosts will help you create the right hosting plan for you and what kind of site you are planning to have.

 

5. Once you have signed up with a host, the next thing you want to do is change your nameservers.  Your host will provide you 2 Namerservers, and you will input them into you GoDaddy.com account. ::  In Godaddy.com ::  Go to "Manage Domains" Click on the domain you want to make changes to, then click on the tab on top that says nameservers, and sometimes it asks you if you want to have custom nameservers and the answer is yes.  Then you will be able to replace the existing nameservers with the ones that your host gave you.  NOTE:  sometimes it takes 24 hours to take effect after you change them.  Don't forget to click save before you finish.

 

6. Once you have your site up and running, you will need to hire a web designer.  You will give your designer your logo and he or she can incorporate it into the site they builds for you.  There will be a list of designers here on the site soon.  Click Here to View

 

7. Once your designer is done decorating you site, you can finally go in and start adding your pages, services or products that you have available.  Then, when your site is ready for customers, you'll want to start getting the word out.  The easiest way to do that for now is by word of mouth.  Tell friends and Family and ask that they tell family members.  Also, if it's in your budget, you can hire an SEO firm to help you get noticed on the web, almost organically.  I have a lot of tips you can use for getting the word out, and I'll tell you 1 really quick.  Remember those business cards I told you to get earlier?  Well, everytime you go shopping, leave a card in the cart.  everytime you go out to eat, leave one at table.  Everytime you get your hair trimmed, leave one at your hairdressers station or at the front desk when you're checking out.  Pretty much everywhere.

  There's more....we will discuss it later! :)   Getting started is the hardest part as a beginner, but it can be made very simple with a little help!