| ign="center"> | | | | == 3. Build useful content |
| Step by step Guide To Building A Website | | | | Useful content? This could mean informative articles, |
| I've built several successful websites, actually, and | | | | tips, or product reviews that inform and educate the |
| this 2-part article shows the steps I take when | | | | people who visit your site. |
| creating a profitable website. | | | | And that's where your passion comes in. |
| I can't guarantee *your* success, obviously, but the | | | | Because of your passion for the subject matter of |
| article's based on the checklist I use to create my | | | | your website, you can provide detailed tips and |
| own websites. (I've built sites using it for over a year | | | | advice, not found anywhere else. Add humour, or |
| now, to make sure it works!) So, hopefully, you can | | | | reflect your unique personality in the content, and |
| use this step- by-step guide to create YOUR very | | | | you have a site that people may want to visit. |
| own successful site. | | | | Do make sure that you check content for spelling |
| Anyway, let's begin. | | | | mistakes and poor grammar. Sloppy spilling (!) etc. |
| == Aside == The article assumes that you can | | | | always spoils a website. |
| design websites - you know about HTML, JavaScript, | | | | Four examples of sites that offer useful content: - |
| Perl/CGI, page design and usability etc. - or you know | | | | (Site promotion; quirky) - (About Perl/CGI) - (About |
| someone who can design websites. | | | | Clickbank) - (* - see below) |
| If you can't design websites, then I suggest you visit | | | | * I recommend you take a look at the last example. |
| The Newbie Club to learn about HTML etc. (or buy a | | | | Why? Because it's a step-by-step guide to creating a |
| web design book from Amazon). Or you could visit | | | | web site! |
| Site Build It! and let this all-in-one tool do (almost) | | | | == 4. Try and capture your visitors' e-mail address |
| everything for you (i.e. there's no need for you to | | | | It's important to stay in touch with your site visitors; |
| have any techie skills whatsoever). Or you can simply | | | | they may never return to your site, if you don't. |
| pass this information onto a web designer of your | | | | The most obvious way to capture e-mail addresses - |
| choice! :-) - - == Aside == | | | | and hence stay in touch - is to offer a newsletter |
| == 1. Do keyword research | | | | (e-zine) related to your site. But you can capture |
| Lets begin at the beginning. What will your site be | | | | email addresses in many other ways - e.g. |
| about? | | | | competitions, e-mail courses, site membership - just |
| Ideally, the site should contain information about | | | | be creative. |
| something you're interested in, or passionate about. | | | | This article explains how to write a newsletter - |
| (Then building and maintaining your site won't feel like | | | | This ebook (not free!) explains how to think |
| work, it will feel like fun.) Even better, there should | | | | creatively when it comes to email capture - |
| be a strong demand for your site content (or | | | | And this software lets you send newsletters, e-mail |
| product/service), with little or no competition. | | | | courses, auto responders - you name it - for one |
| Wordtracker - *the* keyword research tool - lets | | | | single payment. (There's now a free trial, too!) - |
| you determine exactly this. | | | | == 5. Monitor your site stats |
| Basically, Wordtracker tells you the keywords people | | | | You must know how many visitors your website |
| type into search engines like Google, that have few | | | | gets, where they come from, and what pages they |
| (if any) competing websites. | | | | view. |
| You can use the free trial at Wordtracker, but if | | | | And this means that you must have access to your |
| you're serious I recommend you use the full version | | | | website stats. (Otherwise, how will you know what |
| of the online tool for (costs less than $10 for a days | | | | your visitors really like, and what they don't like, |
| usage). | | | | about your site, other than by asking them, of |
| - | | | | course - see part 2 of this article!) |
| == 2. Register your domain name | | | | To learn more, just read these two articles about |
| Register your domain name, preferably containing | | | | website stats and tracking your visitors: |
| your keywords (as determined above). | | | | - Analyse Your Website Traffic: |
| You can register domain names in many places online. | | | | - Learn From Your Visitors Using Cookies: |
| The best places to do so, depend on the type of | | | | ~~~ |
| domain name you want to register (e.g. .com or | | | | In part 2, you'll learn about hosting, promoting and |
| .co.uk or .de etc.). | | | | automating the site creation process. And you'll read |
| I've used the following registration resources and can | | | | about some extra considerations that help make a |
| recommend them all: - - - - - | | | | website successful. |