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Tips & Advice

Step-by-step Guide To Building A Successful Website (Part 1)

Does your website make you money?

My websites does.

I've built several successful websites, actually, and this 2-part article shows the steps I take when creating a website.

I can't guarantee *your* success, obviously, but the article is based on the checklist I use to create my own websites. (I've been working from it for over two years now, to make sure it works!) So, hopefully, you'll be able to use this step-by-step guide to create YOUR very own successful site.

Anyway, let's begin.

== Aside ==
The article assumes that you can design websites - you know about HTML, JavaScript, Perl/CGI, page design and usability etc. - or you know someone who can design websites.

If you can't design websites, then I suggest you visit SiteSell's SBI! - an all in-one tool that can do (almost) everything for you (i.e. there's no need for you to have any techie skills whatsoever). Or you could go the Wordpress blog route.
- http://www.site-buildit.com - guide to SiteSell's SBI! (formerly Site Build It!)
== Aside ==

==> 1. Do keyword research

Lets begin at the beginning. What will the site be about?

Ideally, the site should be about something you're interested in, or passionate about. (Then building and maintaining your site won't feel like work, it will feel like fun.) Even better, there should be a strong demand for your site content (or product/service), with little or no competition.

Wordtracker - *the* keyword research tool - lets you determine exactly this.

Basically, Wordtracker tells you the keywords people type into search engines like Google, that have few (if any) competing websites.

You can use the free trial at Wordtracker, but only for 7 days and then you have to pay for a month's usage of this excellent tool. Still, definitely worth a try-out...

Wordtracker (read my review here, on sister site HowIPromoteMyWebsite.com!)

==> 2. Register your domain name

Register your domain name, preferably containing your keywords (as determined above).

You can register domain names in many places online. The best places to do so, depend on the type of domain name you want to register (e.g. .com or .co.uk or .de etc.).

I've used the following registration resources and can recommend them all:
- http://www.nameboy.com       (great for finding out what's available)
- http://www.godaddy.com
- http://www.orderyourdomains.com
- http://www.freeparking.co.uk

==> 3. Build useful content

Useful content? This could mean informative articles, tips, or product reviews that inform and educate the people who visit your site.

And that's where your passion comes in.

Because of your passion for the subject matter of your website, you can provide detailed tips and advice, not found anywhere else. Add humour, or reflect your unique personality in the content, and you have a site that people may want to visit.

Do make sure that you check content for spelling mistakes and poor grammar. Sloppy spilling (!) etc. always spoils a website.

Here are 4 examples of sites that offer useful content.
- http://www.selfpromotion.com  (Site promotion; quirky)
- http://www.willmaster.com         (About Perl/CGI)
- http://www.whoishostingthis.com/resources/perl/ (Another Perl/CGI e.g.)
- http://www.clickbankguide.com/ (About Clickbank)

==> 4. Try and capture your visitor's e-mail address

It's important to stay in touch with your site visitors; they may never return to your site, if you don't.

The most obvious way to capture e-mail addresses - and hence stay in touch - is to offer a newsletter (e-zine) related to your site. But you can capture email addresses in many other ways - e.g. competitions, e-mail courses, site membership - just be creative.

This article explains how to write a newsletter
- http://www.HowIPromoteMyWebsite.com/publish-news

And this software lets you send newsletters, e-mail courses, auto responders for a monthly costs. (There's now a 30-day free trial.)
- http://responders.aweber.com

==> 6. Host your website

I won't say too much about finding a suitable web-host, other than please avoid free hosting (if you can). A site with the name www.freebiesite.com/my-site-here is just not going to look professional, and it will be very hard to promote on the search engines, too.

There are many, many reliable places that you can host your website at little cost. Find one that meets your requirements, but do find one.

I *can* recommend all of the following:
- http://www.clook.us                                         [ Clook ]
- http://www.skymarket.co.uk                            [ Skymarket ]
- http://www.titanhosts.net                                [ TITAN Internet ]
- http://www.site-buildit.com                             [ Site Build It! ]

In part 2, you'll learn about hosting, promoting and automating the site creation process. And you'll read about some extra considerations that help make a website successful.

Part 2 continues here...
http://www.anyonecansellonline.com/how-to-build-a-website-2.shtml

Thank you.

Steve M Nash

MORE TIPS, ARTICLES & RESOURCES:

BEGINNERS Start Reading Here... When Do I Start Making Money And Where Does It Come From? How Do I Start A Home Business How To Build A Website... Step-by-step Guide To Building A Website (Part 1) Step-by-step Guide To Building A Website (Part 2) How To Promote A Website... 7 Simple Ways To Promote Your Website 21 Reasons Why The Next Website I Visit Might Be Yours MAKE MONEY BASICS Make money from AFFILIATE PROGRAMS Choosing the Right Affiliate Programs 5 Simple Strategies To Boost Your Minisite Sales How to Easily Increase Your Affiliate Commissions Why Most Internet Businesses Fail! SELLING ONLINE and other advance tips, anyone? 3 Tips To Build Promote and Profit More From Your Website How To Use Other People's Money For Your Business Interview with Internet Marketing Success Story Most Overlooked Business Opportunity Why Test? GENERAL TIPS to help anyone doing business online? "Essential Tools Every Online Entrepreneur Needs" 3 Tips To Help Webmasters Reduce Spam Protect Yourself Online Keep on LEARNING here... At Least 6 Success Tips For A More Profitable Year, Online I Don't Know Everything and Neither Do You

PS Want to know my top tip for succeeding online?

Answer: Use SBI! (Site Build It!).

SBI! (Site Buildt It!) is an all-in-one internet business-building software service that allows people from all walks of life, and with all kinds of skills and desires, to succeed online. How? Well, SBI provides you with the tools to build your site (whether complete beginner or web expert) and a long-term site-building philosophy (see how SBI! works here!) that enables you to create successful content-based websites that both the search engines and your site visitors like. All you have to do is provide your Brain, Attitude and Motivation (or BAM, for short). Simple really, and do-able...

Check out my free guide to SBI! here...