Guide to Internet Business - Website Setup

After planning the design and content of your website, it's time to actually physically set up your website. This is the step where you put all your designs and plans into action, creating a website that will attract visitors and earn income.

a) WEBHOSTING

A webhost is a company that stores the pages and pictures and other files of your website. When a person visits your website, they will request these files from your webhost's server so they can view the website. When choosing a webhost, be careful to choose one that is reliable. After all, if your webhost has problems for any reason, people won't be able to visit your website, and you won't be earning any money.

In addition, different webhosts have varying services and tools that they offer. Some of the more important points to consider when choosing a webhost are as follows:

* SPACE AND BANDWIDTH - Space refers to how much file storage space is available for your website. For a standard website with about 20 pages with graphics, 30MB is plenty. Online stores might require more space depending on how many products and pictures you have. Bandwidth refers to how many files can be downloaded and viewed by visitors per month. A normal website with reasonable traffic (200 visitors a day) will need about 2GB bandwidth. Again, if you own a business with lots of products and webpages, you might need more bandwidth.

* DOMAINS AND SUBDOMAINS - Usually, webhosting accounts are charged per domain, with $10 per domain being a reasonable price. However, you can buy larger hosting packages that allow you to host multiple domains and websites on the same account. Subdomains are just different sections of your website's domain, with 5 subdomains the rough standard. You will need to make sure how many domains your account entitles you for, in order to calculate which is the better webhosting package.

* EMAILS AND AUTORESPONDERS - Emails are the various email addresses that visitors can write to you. Most websites will use about 2 or 3 emails (maybe a webmaster email and a support email). Autoresponders are email addresses that will reply someone with an automatic email. You will only need autoresponders if you are on vacation and wish to leave an automated reply in case anybody emails you.

* SCRIPTS - If you want to add extra functionality (such as forums or polls), you will need to be able to run scripts. Make sure your webhost allows you to run scripts for your website. The more common scripts are Java, PHP, Perl and CGI.

There are a number of companies out there that offer free webhosting, but they usually have severe limitations, and might place their own ads on your website. If you are serious in building your internet business, it is recommended to sign up for a proper webhosting service. We recommend HostGator, which provides different levels of webhosting depending on your requirements and budget, with various useful tools as well. In any case, you shouldn't be paying more than $10 a month per domain for basic webhosting services.

b) PROGRAMMING

Some people with sufficient HTML knowledge use word processing programs to directly code the HTML for their websites. For the rest of us who don't have such skill, we recommend one of the popular graphical programs like Macromedia Dreamweaver or Microsoft Frontpage. These programs allow you to create your webpages with mouse clicks with little need for knowledge in HTML.

If you want to make your website look like another website, you can "copy" their HTML and modify it to fit your website. In Internet Explorer, click the "View" menu, then click the "Source" option. This will show you the HTML code for the website. You will need some HTML knowledge to make sense of this and use it on your website.

If you need more information and examples on the many things that HTML can do, you can visit the online tutorial at W3Schools.

c) FILE ORGANIZATION AND TRANSFER

Once you have your webhosting set up and your webpages completed, you need to transfer the completed pages to your webhosting server. If you are using a graphical program like Dreamweaver to work on your webpages, you can configure Dreamweaver to transfer the files for you.

If you are doing it manually, you need to transfer the files via FTP. Your webhost will provide you with an FTP server, with a user id and password for you to access your account on the webhost. Once you connect to the account via FTP, you will be able to upload (transfer files from your computer to the server) or download (transfer files from the server to your computer) or modify files as required.

You can FTP to the server using your computer's Windows Explorer, by entering the FTP server's address in your explorer's Address Toolbar. Or you can use specialized FTP programs such as AceFTP.

d) ADDITIONAL SCRIPTS

If you want to add extra functionality to your website, such as polls, newsletter subscription forms and other interactive programs, you will need to install scripts onto your website.

If you are looking for scripts to create a newsletter mailing list, do note that some webhosting services also provide mailing list scripts. If your webhost doesn't provide it, BigNoseBird has a good email list management software.

For other scripts and functionality, you can check out the popular scripts at websites such as BigNoseBird and HotScripts.

Steven is the webmaster of http://www.onlinebiz-help.com. His website contains various resources on affiliate programs and internet marketing advice to help you succeed in your internet business, including a Step-By-Step Guide to get you started.

---

Building a Web Store on Shoestring Budget in less than Four Hours

Starting a business online is no longer as difficult as... Read More

Trinkets, Lockets And Empty Pockets

It never ceases to amaze me how many people set-up... Read More

Creating a Sticky Web Site

When used to describe a web site, the term "sticky"... Read More

Earning From Your Website

Before you start building your site, ask yourself "WHY?". Why... Read More

7 Golden Rules For Building Mini Sites

First, an eye opener. Making your fortune through affiliate programs... Read More

Do This One Thing to Create a Powerful Product-Selling Web Site

Spend time planning your Web site. Before you design a... Read More

How Disabled Users Access The Internet

In 1995 a new era of accessibility for disabled people... Read More

Website Development: Become Your Own Expert

Starting and maintaining a business is challenging enough without the... Read More

Ecommerce for Beginners

Like most average persons, I wanted some extra money to... Read More

12 Tips To Great Websites

Why do some sites succeed while the vast majority of... Read More

Tips to Protect Your Downloads or Products

1. Upload robots.txt file in to your root directory and... Read More

Building a Web Site Requires the Right Software to Eliminate Headaches and Keep Money in Your Pocket

When most people build a web site, they think one... Read More

Making The Business Case For Web Standards

Through the explosive growth of the Web, companies have realized... Read More

Selling Your Site: Outsource or Homemade?

To the starting internet entrepreneur, there is nothing more discouraging... Read More

How to Promote Your Law Firm Website On the Internet for Maximum Profit

Making maximum profit from your law firm website is important,... Read More

The Most Important Aspect of Writing Web Copy

There is an ongoing debate about web copy. Some say... Read More

Now You Have a Web Site - Have You Ever Heard of Accessibility?

An accessible Web site is easily approached, easily understood, and... Read More

CSS - Maximum Benefits

What is CSS?CSS is a simple file which controls the... Read More

Web Success Secret - Keep Your Visitors Interested

Visitors to your site come looking for information or solutions... Read More

Get to Know People through Websites

Web sites are not just places to sell things; they... Read More

Website Content & Usability

Writing for the web is totally different to writing for... Read More

The Number One Reason Most Websites Fail

Failure, just like success, is measured differently by each and... Read More

Earn On Offshore Web Design and Development

If you have some experience in web site design and... Read More

The Internet Road Map

1) Data CaptureOne easy way to collect e-mail addresses and... Read More

Web Development Processes and Technical Environments

The process of Web application development is critical to the... Read More

Web Design for the Professional Magician Part I - Selecting the Perfect Domain Name

Selecting the Perfect Domain NameThe first issue I have with... Read More

But My Business Doesnt Need A Website!

Revenues are often lost because many business owners don't see... Read More

7 Ways to Gain a Professional Online Reputation

A professional online reputation is essential to the flourishing of... Read More

Web Measurement: What You Don?t Know Would Make A Great Book

"What's in it for me?" you ask. "Why should I... Read More

The 2 Most Common Web Site Mistakes

When we review the sites of potential clients, there are... Read More

My Yahoo Search - Beyond Bookmarks

Yahoo has long offered email, an online calendar, notes, bookmarks,... Read More

Guidelines for Web Page Optimization

Below, I have listed 8 simple steps that you can... Read More

Let Your Customers Redesign Your Website!

When you purchase a new item from a Yahoo! Store,... Read More