Create a Website 101 - How to Guide

So you want to create a website? Great, it is important for almost any type of business today to be online.

Phyllis Sullo, owner of Sullo Salon and Day Spa told us that she gets more business from her website than she does from her Yellow Pages ad at a fraction of the cost. There are two basic kinds of sites. One is an informational site that can let people know about your business, your profession or a topic. An informational site should contain at least 5 pages to give it a professional look and allow you space to organize your information so it is easy for a visitor to understand.

Another type of website is an e-commerce site. An e-commerce site might be a shopping cart site to sell products, an adult site or a site with information or entertainment that you wish to charge a visitor to use.

No matter which type of site you are thinking of creating, there are some basic steps that you will need to take to accomplish your goal.

First you need to find a domain name. We have some suggestions that can help you choose a good domain name (URL).

Then you need to find a company to host your site. It needs a place to reside so that people can get to it and download it to their computers.

Then you need to organize your information, products or entertainment so that it is easy for your visitors to use the site. It needs to have a design that will be pleasing and make your visitors want to explore the whole site. If it is an e-commerce site then it will need scripting, programming and functionality built into it so that it can process credit cards, take orders or perform any other function necessary to accomplish what you want your site to deliver.

Once your site is developed and uploaded to your new domain on a reliable hosting web server, then you need to promote it to the search engines. No matter how wonderful your new web site is, it will not accomplish what you want if no one can find it.

Now that you have done all of the above, you're not completely finished yet. You need to have a plan to maintain your web site. From time to time you will have new information, new products or new services that you will want to include on your site. You should be prepared to do regular maintenance to keep it fresh and up to date.

This might sound like a lot to do. But the rewards are worth it. A good website should bring your business more new clients than a yellow pages ad for a fraction of the cost. Opening an e-commerce site is like having a new place of business for a tiny fraction of what it would cost to open a store. And your new online branch of your business will be accessible to people all over the world instead of just in one city or town.

To get started just start clicking down the menu on the left of this page. Each page has information how to get started on each phase of creating your new web site.

A good resource is to call ABC Web Service toll free at: 800-672-3320. They never charge to discuss your website needs with you. They can help you with any one phase of your project development, or with the whole project from start to finish.