But who has time to write all that information to attract the visitors and prospects?  How do we ever compete with awesome sites like Dooce or Pioneer Woman?

I propose a new paradigm that will let you do what you do best: your business.

1.  Set up the BEST possible brochure site for your business.

This site should include:

• strong keywords, well researched to place high in search engines
• magnetic headlines
• pages that are perfectly optimized with keywords in natural places,
• demonstrative imagery that supports the text,
• compelling call to action buttons/forms
• back-end software that is top of the line to keep the site working smoothly for as long as possible,
• software that also keeps search engines happy with fast-loading sites and valid code
• as many pages as necessary to:
• demonstrate your products,
• overcome objections,
• create community,
• display authority,
• compell action

2.  Set up listening stations to catch and respond quickly to conversations

Listening stations should be set up in the form of alerts, instant messages or texts to your phone when certain events occur.  Events are:

• tweets
• Facebook shares
• Facebook comments
• posts on blogs
• comments on blogs
• website reviews
• media articles/posts
• Youtube shares, comments, posts

 3.  Community Management

This is simply another word for social media management.  The idea is to create a schedule of when and where to be daily, weekly, and monthly to manage the community and add value to your community.  If you can’t afford to hire a community manager, it can take as little as 10 minutes a day to visit, set up content to auto-post that day or week.  And respond to a few visitors.

4.  Quarterly Review

However – a little warning here – this is not a set-it and forget-it scheme.  Things change so quickly on the internet that a review every couple months is absolutely necessary so your online marketing doesn’t become stale and out-dated.

Review these things, at a minimum each quarter:

• site function
• site security audit
• keyword relevance
• listening station relevance, effectiveness
• test call to action buttons for better conversion
• test headlines for better conversion
• freshen up the offer for every new season

Optional:

• separate out an audience segment and create a targeted landing page
• review offline marketing plans and create landing pages for those visitors
• renew testimonials
• update images and videos
• review & update the “About” page (most often visited)
• add information scattered throughout to extend authority and authenticity

Work a little less: Do a little more

Because you have a business to run, the website has to be only part of your overall marketing plan.

That is why we recommend setting up the website and listening stations to run on auto-pilot with minimal input from you.

Community management will pay off in spades, if you are authentic and consistent – providing value for your readers, not just asking for money.

Review these guidelines quarterly.  Keep the online stuff do-able and under control, then you can have more time to do your thing!

What do you think?  If you put this into play, will it free you?

Start a Website On Your Own

1. Are you going to be selling website design and/or development services?  

If the answer is yes – then build away!

2. Would your time be better spent doing something to profitably affect your bottom line? 

If the answer is yes – then its time to hire!

The goal of the website is usually two fold.  One – we start a website to gain more visitors and sales.  Two, we start a website to further our brand and educate.  Before you think of hiring someone, you’ll need to be able to answer these questions:

• What is the purpose of starting a website?
• Who is my target audience?
• What content do I need to provide?
• What is my competition doing?

Start a Website with a Pro!

There are different kinds of website creators: graphic artists, website developers and internet marketers.  They all bring unique strengths to the table.  A small business will want to find a website creator that has some skill in all areas to produce a site that:

• creates a positive and easy user experience
• magnifies your brand
• converts visitors to customers

During the Interview:

After the Interview:

How much does a website cost?

The website is an investment that should pay off rather quickly.  Look for someone who can handle the project management and is a good communicator.  Expect to pay from $65 – $125/hour.  A 10 page website will usually cost $2,500 – $3,500.  If you add email, shops, logo design and SEO services, expect a higher price.

This article is the third in the Start a Website series.  Next we’ll cover selecting the software: Blogger, WordPress, Website Builder and more.  Want to see something else? Let me know!

Start a Website with the Right Web Host

1. Look for a host that supports WordPress hosting.
2. Ask if PHP and MySQL are the most recent stable versions.  You’re looking for a simple “yes” here.
3. Ask if you’ll have your own SSH access?  Again – look for a ‘yes’.  This is not a requirement, but is nice to have.
4. Do they look after backups and how often?
5. Do they provide round the clock support – by phone? or chat? or email?

The Old Way

For a simple website that is brand new and doesn’t expect a huge amount of visitors, you can expect to pay $4-$8/month for a ‘shared hosting’ account. As soon as your site gets too full of content, or you get too many visitors you’ll notice the site getting sluggish.  At that point, you’ll need to upgrade to a “Virtual Private Server” or VPS.  These usually start around $20/mo and go up.  When its time to get your own dedicated server, you’re looking at $175/mo and up.

New & Improved Web Hosting

The new way to host a website is to do so in the ‘cloud’.  That is to not be restricted by a physical server/machine.  These types of accounts can handle website growth easily without hassle of physically moving your website.  There is one company that I recommend unequivocally- www.websynthesis.com.  They are so specialized, so secure, and so good at what they do, you have to qualify to open an account.  Of course this isn’t for everyone, but for those who do qualify – it is the top of the line, worth every penny and has saved many of my busier clients 30% or more on hosting costs.

Start a Website with a Domain Name

Anyone can start selling domain names!  Anyone can open an account and purchase domain names wholesale and sell them retail.  In fact, that is exactly what we do!  However, behind the scenes there is a lot going on to make sure that there is only one owner to each domain and that all the computers all over the world know where to look for the accompanying website.  The regulating body of all of this is known as ICANN – Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.  You need to know this for this very important legal tidbit:

There are three contacts on each registration:  Registrant, (Aux Billing) Administrative and Technical.  You have to have YOUR name in the Registrant contact or the domain is not legally yours.  It is a good idea to be sure that you have the ability to check and edit the contact information and “Name Servers”.

Last Item to Start a Website: Software

Lastly, you need some easily-edited software so you can add valuable content to your site and gain that ever-important audience!  Next time, we’ll review your options and give you a few thoughts on the best one for you.

I give you – the Start a Website series.

1. The Intro
2. How to Select a Web Host and Domain Name
3. Can you Do It Yourself or Hire a Designer? - plus how to hire the right contractors
4. Selecting Software the Big Bang Way
5. A Nerd Glossary- that you can use as a reference when the jargon starts to make you cross-eyed.
6. Top 10 tips for Attracting an Audience
7. Recommended Tools to Measure Your Website Success

Lets Start a Website!

A website is not like a program that is on your computer.  It is not like Microsoft Word or MacMail.  It is a program that lives on a different computer that you still access.  This computer is referred to as a server.  All the servers networked together form the internet.  Yes, I realize that’s basic.  But you have to understand the basics to get your very own piece of the action.

1.  You’ll need to rent a piece of that server for your website.  This is known as web hosting.

Have you noticed that my company name, although DSWP Website Services, is not in the address bar atop of your browser right now?  If you look above you’ll see the address is http://desperatelyseekingwp.com.  That is the Domain Name.

2.  You’ll need a domain name of your own so readers can find your new website.

Here is one thing that is like Microsoft Word or MacMail – the various programs that help you start a website.  Each web host usually provides some free programs for this purpose.  Big companies provide programs for this – like Microsoft Front Page and Adobe Dreamweaver.  And there is another class of software – called Open Source which I highly recommend.

This overview won’t go into the complexities of licensing or open source, but I do highly recommend an Open Source software: WordPress.  We love it so much its in our name, Desperately Seeking WordPress – more to come on that later on.

3.  You’ll need website software, such as WordPress.

DSWP Website Services was started because there was a lack of reputable and affordable services in our niche – at the time, mommy blogging.  Five years later, anyone and their teenager can sell domain names, web hosting and software.  But they also aren’t aware of, or don’t inform you how to start your website correctly, how to maintain it, and how to do well in search results.

So next up we’ll show you how to find reputable sources for these basics, how much they should cost and the next steps in Starting a Website.

What would you like to see covered in this Start a Website series?