It is easier than you think to make a website. All you need is a little time, access to the Internet and a willingness to try.

Most small and startup businesses do not have the funds to pay for large, complex web design projects. Even finding budget for very reasonably priced web services can be a challenge so it makes sense for you to learn how to make a website.

Now, there are many routes you can follow. For the purpose of this article I intend to explore the easiest option that I believe will give you the best results.

Step 1 – Begin With the End in Mind

Before diving in decide what you want a website to do for you and your business.

Do you want it to be nothing more than an online brochure? Do you want it to generate sales? Do you want to be able to sell things over the Internet? What exactly are you trying to achieve? Once you know this you’ll know how much you need to learn and you won’t be side tracked. If you don’t need to set up a shopping cart you know you don’t have to waste time learning about the vagaries of ecommerce!

Step 2 – Keywords

These are the words and phrases that web visitors will use to find you. What are web users likely to type into the Google search box? If you are a small or startup business this is almost certainly not your trading or company name. It will be a phrase describing what you offer or identifying a problem you can solve.

The best keywords are those that have a decent volume of traffic but few competing pages. Applying these criteria you will find it easier to get your own web page well ranked by the search engines.

Keyword research can be undertaken using a free tool provided by Google you can also use this tool to see what keywords your competitors are ranked for in Google.

If you are going to make a website you may just as well make one which is going to be found by those searching on the web. Spending time on keyword research is the way to do this.

Step 3 – Hosting

Free hosting, the sort where nobody is paying anything, has to be funded somehow. Free hosting is funded by advertisements. You will have adverts plastered over your site and you will have no control over whether they are appropriate for your market or not. In short, I really do advise you to stay away from free hosting.

It’s true that some of my web packages offer free hosting BUT I am paying for that service. Your site will not be used as an advertising platform.

For reliable hosting I recommend Hostgator. Yes, there are lots of reliable hosts out there. I recommend Hostagtor because I can recommend them through personal experience. My own sites are hosted with Hostgator and I have always found them to be fantastic in both pricing and service quality.

Wherever you go for hosting be sure they offer cpanel access and fantastico. (I know that means nothing to you right now but it will save you a lot of heartache later).

You’ll need a domain name (see next step)  to set up a hosting account.

Step 4 – Domain Name

You should not be paying more than $10 for your domain name.

A .com domain name can be purchased from Namecheap for less than $9 (one year registration) using their current coupon code (Contact us using the contact form on the site to find out what the current coupon code is – it changes every month).

A .co.uk domain name is registered for two years and should cost less than £7 including VAT. For .co.uk domain names I recommend 123-Reg.

When choosing your domain name think carefully before you register your business name as your www address. A domain name based on the best keywords you have identified (step 1 above) will give you a boost in the search engine rankings for that search phrase. It’s worth considering…..

Once you have your domain name registered you can set up your hosting account and set up the DNS information on your domain registrar account to point to your hosting. (Any problems with this you can view this tutorial. You did use Namecheap, didn’t you?)

Step 5 – Make a Website

You have your hosting set up and your domain name pointing to your hosting. You are now ready to make a website!

In cpanel look for the Fantastico link. Click it and then look for the link to install Wordpress (Usually near the top of the left hand column).

Follow the steps for a new installation filling in the details when requested. Wordpress installs itself and makes building a website very easy.

NB NB NB IF you purchased your hosting using our Hostgator link we will do this wordpress set up for you – free of charge

That’s 5 simple steps to make a website. Yes, there’s some form filling to be done at the various stages and it will take some of your time but when time is the resource you have plenty of it is better spent than the cash that is in short supply.

Over at Internet Business Education you’ll find all manner of training materials designed to show you, in depth and step by step, how to make a website. This is a low cost service designed to support those who want to build their own web sites and is well worth checking out.

Who or what is your target market? ?

When you set up a new business you tend to be clear about what it is you intend to provide – be that in the way of products or services – but a surprising number of entrepreneurs are unclear about who they plan to do business with.

No startup business can be all things to all men and for that reason it’s essential that the new business owner is absolutely clear about his or her market segment.

What is a target market?

These are the people or businesses who want and need what you provide. These are the potential customers who have an itch that your goods or services will scratch. Your target market should consist entirely of your ideal clients – the clients you know you can help.

Failing to identify the key traits of your target market will mean that you have no idea where to find these prospects nor will you know how to approach them – your positioning. In short, you’ll be giving yourself a real uphill struggle to get your business off the ground.

By taking the time to get absolutely clear about your business market you’ll reduce that crucial time lag between starting your business and closing the first sales, which will produce much needed early revenues.

In short, doing this groundwork will make the difference between success and failure.

The Planning Process

When you decide to do anything in life the chance of a successful outcome increases in direct proportion to the amount of planning and preparation you do.

You would not expect to run a marathon without training and preparation.

Most people do not just pitch up at the airport when they want to go on holiday – they consider possible destinations and make a preferred choice.

It’s a mystery why so many small business owners set up new businesses without any clear plan or preparation.

It is far, far easier to provide a market with the goods and services they want and need than to create a market for the things you want to sell.

And, whilst we are on that subject, the beauty of getting really clear about your target market and their very specific needs is that you will never have to sell! Your potential customers will come to you to buy.

As part of your business planning process think about the following:

• Who needs your goods or services?

• Are they male, female?

• Is it a business to business market? In which case what type of businesses need you?

• In a business to consumer market in what age range does your target market fall?

• What is their income level?

• What are the benefits of your products and services?

By spending some time on this now you are offering yourself the best chance of enjoying early business success.

Keep these five basic principles of website design in mind when planning your site:

1. Avoid the use of splash pages

A splash page is usually a work of art containing the words ‘Enter’ or ‘Welcome’ and not much else. They often have flash animations; they serve no useful purpose, can take an age to load and give visitors to your site an excellent reason to hit the back button and go elsewhere.

People do not have time to sit through the load of a splash page. They simply want access to the information they thought would be shown when they clicked the link to your site. If you disappoint them you will lose them.

2. Avoid the use of excessive banner advertisements

In much the same way as those who live next to the railway line no longer hear the trains passing by, even the least savvy visitor to your web site will have trained themselves to ignore banner advertisements. Unfortunately, such has been the abuse of banner ads that people simply don’t see them.

You of course want to use your web site to promote your goods and services but do this in a less obvious way. Provide your web visitors with real information. Make your web content valuable and interesting and weave your advertising links into the text as anchor links rather than in your face advertisements.

Help your web visitors come to the decision to buy without pushing them to buy, which will push them away.

3. Make the navigation on your site simple and obvious

If your web visitors can not find what they want within seconds they will go elsewhere. Don’t allow your web designer to go mad with creative menu bars and hidden links. All you will do is confuse your visitors and drive them away.

Navigation needs to be simple, obvious and easy to use. Your visitors will not thank you for bells and whistles.

4. Make use of breadcrumb trails for easy navigation

To encourage your visitors to follow links into the depths of your site make use of a breadcrumb trail menu to give them a way back to the place they started. It’s part of making the navigation on your site easy and simple but it also encourages the visitor to be brave and explore off the beaten path, as they have the comfort of knowing they can get back.

If visitors explore deep into your site and find themselves lost, the quickest way to solve the problem is to click away and do a fresh search. You don’t want them to do that. You want them to stay with you. A breadcrumb trail menu will help.

5. Avoid using autoplay on the audio and video on your site

If you are going to include audio or video on your web pages do not make it run on autoplay. You want your visitors to explore the site and focus on the content. They won’t do that if they are distracted by unwanted audio or video – especially if it’s designed to loop round and replay every time it comes to the end.

Remember that not every one of your web site visitors is using a computer in the comfort and privacy of their own home. Some are using machines in their workplace or a cyber cafe – they will not thank you for offering them an unwanted sound byte.

By all means make use of multi media formats but do be sure that your web visitors have controls to start, stop and mute as is appropriate for them.

There you have 5 simple basic principles which, if applied, will turn your mediocre website design into a great website design.

In addition to attracting new web visitors, many websites depend on returning visitors to account for a major part of their traffic.

Returning visitors are easier to convert into paying customers because the more often they return to a site, the more trust they have in that site. The credibility issue diminishes over time. Following are 5 suggested ways to encourage visitors to come back to your site:

Start a forum or chatroom – build a community

When you start a forum or chatroom you provide your visitors with a place to voice their opinions and interact with their peers. As conversations occur a sense of community is built and your visitors will come back to your site on a daily basis simply to participate and belong.

Start a web log (blog)

Keep an online journal, more commonly known as a blog, on your site and update it with the latest news about you and your business. Human beings are curious creatures and they will welcome the opportunity to peek behind the public facade to get to know you better. There is no better way of building your own credibility and proving you are ‘real.’

Carry out polls or surveys

Polls and surveys are other forms of interaction with your web visitors that you should definitely consider adding to your site. They provide a quick way for visitors to voice their opinions and to get involved in your website. Be sure to publish polls or surveys that are strongly relevant to the target market of your website as this will ensure they return to view the results.

Offer puzzles, quizzes and games

OK, perhaps we shouldn’t be encouraging this, but just imagine how many office workers sit and procrastinate at work every day. Imagine if your site offered something more entertaining than the report that needs writing or the figures that need analysing. Puzzles, quizzes and games are addictive and entertaining. You can also hold competitions rewarding the highest score.

Update frequently with fresh content

Update your site frequently with fresh content so that every time your visitors come back, they will have something new and different to read on your site. This is probably the most effective method of encouraging visitors to return – nobody wants to read old news. It is also the least popular with website owners as it requires work and effort!

Remember, having a website is not enough. Without web traffic your website is the equivalent of leaving your brochures in a box in a cupboard. No-one gets to see them. Websites need constant care and attention to generate traffic and encourage repeat visits.

Which one of these five suggestions could you implement today?

Most small business owners are aware of the Internet or World Wide Web. They may even be aware that having a website can help with their marketing efforts, but many are unclear about how to get their business on the web – at a cost that is within budget. Even more are confused about what a website is supposed to achieve for the business.

Websites for Startups is, as the name suggests, the specialist in providing websites for startup and small businesses. Better still, we provide websites that can grow with your business, are easy to maintain and update and are low or no cost in ongoing maintenance.

So, we’ve established that we can help you get your business on the web. Arguably, that’s the easy part! Have you given any thought to what you want to achieve for your business through a web presence?

Even though our websites are shockingly underpriced there is still a cost. As your small business is going to be just like most – starting with a very tight budget – you need to be clear about priorities and what is going to give you the ‘most bang for your buck’ in marketing spend.

Hopefully you will have a plan for your business. It may not be printed on 120gsm paper and bound in an impressive cover, it may be a series of spreadsheets, notebooks or just thoughts, but there will be a plan.

You also need a plan for your business marketing campaign and that plan needs to be clear about what you want, need and expect from a web marketing campaign. If you don’t do this, there is no value in simply putting up a website. It will do nothing for your business and you would be better off saving your money.

It is in our interests for your business to succeed and for your website to play a vital role in that success. For that reason we have produced a booklet Online Marketing Plan which is designed to encourage you to think about your web marketing strategy as a piece of the marketing mix you will be applying to your business.

The document is interactive. There are spaces for you to think and write; to turn the booklet into a living document that represents your business marketing plan.

It is a cliché – but it is valid…..

If you fail to plan – you plan to fail

Don’t be one of those business owners who fail simply through lack of planning.

Download your free copy of our Online Marketing Plan