Get Started with Business Web Sites
Part 1 of 3 - Ideas
On the 3 Getting Started pages you will find an overall introduction to what is involved in setting up a profitable business web site. Then you can go on to read the other guides, which are listed in the menu to the left of this screen.
First Choices for Business Web Sites
Making or taking your business online involves a three sets of fundamental choices and how you should tackle the enterprise depends upon your responses to these questions. One set of issues relate to the nature of your business, another to your budget, and a third stems from who will actually create and manage your online presence.
1. The nature of your business:
You have products to sell, that can be either tangible or intangible. Tangible goods are real objects like bee's wax candles, engine parts, or furniture. Intangible things are services or products one can't touch but which still have a value, such as your labor as a software programmer or wedding planner, or intangible products such as music files, software, or e-books. You can also make money by charging people to join your site as a member, where they either meet other people who share specific interests or receive access to your online material. If you intend to sell tangible products then you need some means to create or manufacture the product and also to ship it to your customers. If you have intangible goods or services then you will require some way to deliver them online.
If you are selling some goods or services of your own online, then you can set up your internet presence as either a storefront or as a kind of virtual billboard advertising. You can create an online store or office from which you sell directly to your customers, or you can set up your site just as advertising that describes your services or products and then directs people to contact you directly - either by phone e-mail or a visit to your actual store. The second option is certainly easier and cheaper, but there is no doubt that selling directly online is usually the much more profitable way to go.
Another internet business model is to create revenue uniquely from advertising other people's goods and services. With this model you become an "affiliate" and earn commissions from sending business from your site to other sites. This web site uses the affiliate model to earn generate its income - profitably, too! The key to success with this model is to create a site with enough independent content to hold your visitors' attention.
Finally, there's the "drop-shipping" model. You advertise and sell products from your site, but engage a third party to manufacture and ship the goods to your customers. When a sale is completed online, the order information goes directly to your drop-shipper, who completes and ships the order to your customer. Find out more about drop shipping.
Remember, too, that you can combine business models. You can generate extra income by advertising compatible products and services at your site, even if you have your own to sell.
2. Your budget
If you are wanting to dip your toe in the internet waters just as a trial then you likely have a very limited budget for the experiment.
Some will want to make a substantive commitment from the outset and will be able to afford better options for website hosting and design, payment processing, and - particularly - advertising.
A few contemplating e-commerce for the first time are fairly large and established companies that can afford significant development costs.
Whatever the size of your business, don't think only of the money spent on your web site - think what the site can do for you! Remember that your site not only can make money for you from sales and commissions, but it also acts as a giant advertisement of your products and services.
3. Who will create and manage your online presence
If you are in business for yourself then you will be limited by what you are comfortable doing technically yourself, or by what you can afford to pay others to do for you. If you have never created a web page, then your options include hosting services with easy step-by-step website creation utilities or diving into the joys of learning how to create web pages yourself.
More established companies may be able to draw on employees who have some personal experience creating web sites, or they will have a large enough development budget to hire others to do the work for them.
If you intend to hire someone else to create your web site, bear in mind that simply setting up the web site is usually only the beginning of the process. Only for the most simple "billboard" site can you create the necessary web pages and then sit back and leave your web site alone. Most web sites require routine management that incorporates new products or services. Just about all web sites also demand a constant tinkering for three reasons: you want the visitors to your web site to explore beyond the first page they land on, you want to entice them to actually buy, and you also want to try to improve your standings in the search engine results. All of of these considerations mean that you need to continue to refine the appearance and content of your site.
Set Your Site Apart From The Crowd
There are literally millions of websites out there, and in order to get people's attention you will have to think of ways to make your site different from the rest. It can be the particular content - your commentary or advice on the subject, games, comparison ratings, visitor discussions forums - or it could be the range of material or the design of the site.
Check out the competition. If you want to stand out, then you have to know what the rest of the crowd looks like. Use Internet search engines like Google to track down other sites that relate to the subject matter of the site you want to build. Make a note of their strengths and weaknesses. Model your site on what works, and avoid what doesn't.
Research! Research! Research!
Successful sites are only going to come through doing your homework and knowing your market, knowing your competition, and knowing how to put together the best site possible.
What To Consider Spending Money On
While you can do everything for free, there's no doubt that you can create a more appealing - and profitable - web site by spending a little money on your site.
While you can get free web site hosting, it is a wiser option in the long run to pay for web hosting that has yourownname.com domain name and no ads forced by hosting providers. There are lots of affordable hosting services that charge under $10 per month.
It is really a good idea to get your own domain name - www.yoursite.com - for your web site. Not only will this give a more professional air to your business site, but it can also help you in search engine rankings and in joining affiliate programs. The cost of a domain name is often included in the costs of hosting a web site. But if you can also register a name first (to make sure it's still available when you come to set up your site) and then create a web site in the future - the cost for registering domain is about $9 to $35/year. To help you choose a good domain name, download Domain Name Analyzer. This a handy little Windows program available for free, that will help you create a list of potential domain names and check to see if they are available. Before you settle on your domain name, you should consider some of the legal issues discussed on Getting Started Page 2.
You will also definitely thank yourself for set aside money to submit your site to the main search engines and improve your ranking in them. Most of the largest now only accept commercial sites if they pay for their listing; the few that also allow free submission give higher ranking to sites that have paid for inclusion. But there are still a few free search engines worth listing in.
Getting listed is only half the battle, as you also have to make sure that your site is ranked high enough in the search results to draw attention to itself; your ranking will improve with a little time and effort on your part to optimize your site. You can also try the pay-per-click search engines, where you choose a per-click charge and rank as high as you want for particular keywords.
Continue to
Getting Started - Part 2
How To Make Money From Your Site & Clear Legal IssuesGetting Started - Part 3
Choosing a Hosting Service and Building Your Site
A Great Book For Thinking Seriously About Your New Business Site
To find out more or to buy this book for $16.49 at Amazon.com, click:
Starting an Online Business For Dummies, 4th Edition
Sell items with your own logos,& graphics from your own free virtual store - visit CafePress.com!!