You've acquired the perfect URL for your Web business. Now what? In an economic recession, the last thing you want to do is spend thousands of dollars hiring a professional Web designer to create a site for you. Fortunately, there are other more cost-effective options available.
Consider using a Web template and customizing it. A template lays out the look and feel of your website. Think of it as a blank form populated with generic information and you get to fill in all the blanks with your own content and programming to customize it.
While many companies offer design templates, not all deliver the same services. Here are my top three picks to help you get started.
• Intuit, the California-based company that makes Quicken, QuickBooks and TurboTax, also provides great resources for those looking to start a Web business with little money. Go to http://www.intuit.com/ and click on ''Get a Website.'' There you will find more than 2,000 site templates that you can download and customize to your liking. Intuit even offers a free 30-day trial, which includes creation of a five-page website, Web hosting and free tech support.
If you like the Intuit-created site, pay $4.99 a month to host it once your trial is over. Do you want to work with a skilled designer rather than do it yourself? For as little as $599, Intuit offers packages where their designers will design your site according to your specs, including e-commerce features that allow you to sell products on your site. That's a fraction of what you would have to pay a Web design firm.
Intuit's package also includes site metrics, so you can see how many people are visiting your site each day and which pages they're visiting the most.
• Template Monster -- Go to http://www.templatemonster.com/. One of my websites, http://www.chickcentric.com/ started as a version of a template I found on Template Monster. The company offers several options. You can purchase a template for as low as $69, which in essence allows you to download and customize the template with an understanding that others will also download that template at any time. If you absolutely love a template and don't want anyone else to buy that design, you can pay what's called a ''unique price,'' typically $3,000 to $5,000 to ensure that no one else can buy that design -- and it is uniquely yours.
Like Intuit, Template Monster offers several packages including Turnkey Websites, where for $49.95 a month and up you can get a professionally designed site, unlimited hosting, fully licensed stock photos for use on your site and three hours of webmaster support every month. You can take this package for a test drive with a free seven-day trial offer.
• Yahoo has a similar site-building service. Although they don't offer a free trial, they do guarantee to refund your money in the first 30 days if you're not completely satisfied with their product. Go to http://www.smallbusiness.yahoo.com/ to check out the services offered. Yahoo offers an easy-to-use control panel that allows you to check your site stats.
Now that you know how to build a professional website cheaply, in my next column I'll go over what you'll need to know to provide your users and customers with an experience on your site that will keep them coming back to it over and over again!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Tasha Cunningham - BizBytes 101
By now you've decided what you want to call your online venture. Are you going to create a site to tell the world everything you know about gardening, interior design or politics? Are you going to sell the fabulous products you make in your spare time? Whatever your new venture entails, you've got to claim your name for it online. You can do this quickly and easily by purchasing a URL, or Uniform Resource Locator, through one of the many companies that sell them. Your URL is like your address is cyberspace where people will be able to find what you're selling or talking about.
Grab your domain name by logging on to www.GoDaddy.com or www.Register.com. Both sites allow you to search available domain names and purchase one for less than $10. But before you do, here are five things you need to know to create a great name:
• Be relevant -- Buy a domain name that is directly related to your business. Don't buy a domain name just because you think it's cool or because it has some meaning to you personally.
• Buy ``.com'' -- The .com version of your domain name is the way to go. While there is nothing wrong with buying extensions such as .net, .ca or .biz, the .com extension is perceived as the most professional and valuable one of them all.
• Keep it simple -- Don't buy a domain name that is too long or too complicated to access. Buying PetSitters.com is better than buying best-pet-sitters-in-cyberspace.com. The shorter your URL, the better.
• Beware of trademarks -- Don't buy a domain name that is too close to one that is trademarked. You may love Nike sneakers and want to tell the world about it, but it is best not to purchase a domain name with the word Nike in it, such as ILoveNikeSneakers.com.
• Unlock your keywords -- A keyword is a term that captures the essence of what a particular document or Web page is about. It's also what people who search the Internet type in to find what they're looking for. So before you purchase the perfect domain name, check out sites like www.Wordtracker.com to find out how many people are searching the Internet for the words you would like in your domain name.
If the URL you want is owned by someone else, don't worry. Type the URL into your browser and see what comes up. If it's for sale, you will often find a page that shows who you can contact, whether it's the owner directly or the domain registrar. If not, go to out www.WhoIs.com and type in the domain name you want to find out the owner. In today's economy, most domain owners are willing to negotiate for their URLs so you should be able to get the name you want at a good price. If the owner isn't willing to sell, take a look at other variations of the URL you want that might be available.
In the next BizBytes 101 column, I'll show you exactly what to do now that you've got your URL!
Grab your domain name by logging on to www.GoDaddy.com or www.Register.com. Both sites allow you to search available domain names and purchase one for less than $10. But before you do, here are five things you need to know to create a great name:
• Be relevant -- Buy a domain name that is directly related to your business. Don't buy a domain name just because you think it's cool or because it has some meaning to you personally.
• Buy ``.com'' -- The .com version of your domain name is the way to go. While there is nothing wrong with buying extensions such as .net, .ca or .biz, the .com extension is perceived as the most professional and valuable one of them all.
• Keep it simple -- Don't buy a domain name that is too long or too complicated to access. Buying PetSitters.com is better than buying best-pet-sitters-in-cyberspace.com. The shorter your URL, the better.
• Beware of trademarks -- Don't buy a domain name that is too close to one that is trademarked. You may love Nike sneakers and want to tell the world about it, but it is best not to purchase a domain name with the word Nike in it, such as ILoveNikeSneakers.com.
• Unlock your keywords -- A keyword is a term that captures the essence of what a particular document or Web page is about. It's also what people who search the Internet type in to find what they're looking for. So before you purchase the perfect domain name, check out sites like www.Wordtracker.com to find out how many people are searching the Internet for the words you would like in your domain name.
If the URL you want is owned by someone else, don't worry. Type the URL into your browser and see what comes up. If it's for sale, you will often find a page that shows who you can contact, whether it's the owner directly or the domain registrar. If not, go to out www.WhoIs.com and type in the domain name you want to find out the owner. In today's economy, most domain owners are willing to negotiate for their URLs so you should be able to get the name you want at a good price. If the owner isn't willing to sell, take a look at other variations of the URL you want that might be available.
In the next BizBytes 101 column, I'll show you exactly what to do now that you've got your URL!
Tasha Cunningham - BizBytes 101 - What's Your Cyber Business Goal?
As the global economy continues to falter, everyone is looking for ways to make a little extra money. Most seek second jobs or pick up extra shifts at their current workplace. But what about harnessing the power of the Internet to earn more cash? On the worldwide Web, you can turn a profit for your own pocket by selling products you create, services you're good at or customized content you produce, like articles and how-to videos, on topics that you're passionate about.
Creating a Web business can also be empowering to both you and your bottom line. Besides the cash infusion it gives you, owning an online business allows you to be your own boss, work from home and do so at your own pace.
Almost everyone, including you, knows a lot about at least one subject. Maybe you're into baking, bull riding or ballroom dancing. Whatever it is, there are millions of people around the world who converge in cyberspace because they're interested in exactly the same things you are. You've already got a captive customer base. Use that to your advantage.
''Think about creating a site -- with products, content or services for sale -- for your fellow enthusiasts,'' said branding guru Bruce Turkel, author of Building Brand Value. ``The advantage is you're an instant expert and you know what they want because it's what you want, too.''
If you're an unemployed accountant, use a website as a digital business card to sell your consulting services at tax time or until you find a permanent job. If all your friends rave about the great desserts you make in your spare time, create a website and sell your signature cookies, cupcakes and other delicious treats.
Here's what I did: After the success of my dating advice site http://www.dontdatehimgirl.com/, I decided to create http://www.chickcentric.com/, an organic beauty site. I hope to build it into a brand women will embrace. But it's early yet, and I've got a long way to go. In future columns, I'll chronicle my successes, failures and impart the valuable lessons I learn along the way to Business Monday readers as I try to launch a profitable site in a down economy.
How well you do with your online business depends on you.
Your immediate goal is to inject extra cash into your budget. But just think about what you could do if you thought a little bigger?
Creating a Web business can also be empowering to both you and your bottom line. Besides the cash infusion it gives you, owning an online business allows you to be your own boss, work from home and do so at your own pace.
Almost everyone, including you, knows a lot about at least one subject. Maybe you're into baking, bull riding or ballroom dancing. Whatever it is, there are millions of people around the world who converge in cyberspace because they're interested in exactly the same things you are. You've already got a captive customer base. Use that to your advantage.
''Think about creating a site -- with products, content or services for sale -- for your fellow enthusiasts,'' said branding guru Bruce Turkel, author of Building Brand Value. ``The advantage is you're an instant expert and you know what they want because it's what you want, too.''
If you're an unemployed accountant, use a website as a digital business card to sell your consulting services at tax time or until you find a permanent job. If all your friends rave about the great desserts you make in your spare time, create a website and sell your signature cookies, cupcakes and other delicious treats.
Here's what I did: After the success of my dating advice site http://www.dontdatehimgirl.com/, I decided to create http://www.chickcentric.com/, an organic beauty site. I hope to build it into a brand women will embrace. But it's early yet, and I've got a long way to go. In future columns, I'll chronicle my successes, failures and impart the valuable lessons I learn along the way to Business Monday readers as I try to launch a profitable site in a down economy.
How well you do with your online business depends on you.
Your immediate goal is to inject extra cash into your budget. But just think about what you could do if you thought a little bigger?
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