5 Things to know when starting a website
In this age of technological advancement having a money making website is the new craze. However many people get into web development and internet marketing not understanding the real facts behind the way the wide world of web actually works. I for one can admit that when I first started this website and my others I was pretty much clueless and skateass.com was originally a flash based poorly designed skateboarding website. Finally after months of research and ebook reading I began to understand the way search engines, websites and internet marketing works. So basically I am here to give you a little bit of advice that may prevent you from getting sucked into the pitfalls of developing a new website.
1. Pick a relevant domain name
Although many people pick brandable domain names, it’s good to have a keyword in that name. For example, I picked the domain called skateass.com for this site which is pretty irrelevant to what is discussed on this blog. Originally I thought it was going to be a ’skateboarding association’ website and thought that the name was alright. I was wrong. Another thing to note is that whenever possible try to pick a .com domain over any other. Simply because .com is still the most popular and memorable domain extension.
Before picking a domain name make sure you know what that website is going to be about. If it is about cooking for example have a domain name relevant to cooking. I realize that many good domains are taken now but it is still possible to find something relevant, relatively short and keyword friendly. Also before you decide on a domain name, do some keyword and niche research. Find out how many times that your topic is searched for on a daily basis and how many results there are for your topic and your main keyword, for example ‘cooking’.
2. Find a reliable host not a cheap one
A major problem that most newcomers experience (including myself) is settling for a cheap hosting provider instead of a reliable one. Don’t get sucked into those $1 a month hosting deals they are usually of low quality and will experience a lot of server downtime. When I first started I would get frustrated at the amount of times the server that my domain was located on would be down and hence causing my domain to be down. Very very annoying. A host I found to be very good and experience almost no downtime is hostgator.
Their hosting package starts at $8.95 a month with 3,000gb of bandwith, 350gb of diskspace, unlimited databases and subdomains. Which is all very ideal for the beginner website. They also have a bunch of cpanel scripts and automated website building software.
3. Don’t expect to get rich overnight
Many people that start websites have the idea that after they register a domain and make a website they will automatically start racking in the cash. Many of the people I know that are just getting into the web design and development keep asking me “oh eric, I made a site that is getting 20 visitors a day, how do I make money off it?” Well, the truth is with that amount of traffic and a brand new website it is practically impossible to make even a semi-decent income. Websites are really, a long term investment and will only start to see profits after 6-12 months. However, there are some exceptions. It really all depends on how you go about promoting your website whether it is of quality or not.
4. Don’t have any expectations
I have found that if you have high hopes or expectations in the web industry they will tend to never become a reality without a miracle. Make a website because you want to, not because you think it will bring you millions of dollars. Otherwise you would have wasted countless hours for nothing. Basically go in with as neutral of an attitude as possible that way when things go wrong (which they will) you won’t be overly disappointed and it will be easier for you to get started again.
However, don’t get me wrong, have a goal that you want to achieve and keep it as clear and as realistic as possible. By this I mean, set a realistic time frame of when you want to achieve that specific goal. Whether it be getting your first 1000 visitors or making your first $1. Tell yourself, I want to be able to do this by this time.
5. Have fun with it
At the end of the day if you are getting overly upset over something, whether it be that your website isn’t generating enough traffic or enough money or enough popularity. Don’t beat yourself up for it and spend hours upon hours trying to fix it. Have a break, come back when you feel better and then starting working again. I remember a while ago when I started my first forum and got my 50th member, I was really excited and everything but then one day there was some sort of discrepancy with the database and the forum and I thought I was going to lose it all. I worked for probably 2 days straight from 9am to 3am trying to fix it, and eventually I did. That forum has been dead for about a year now. I look back and realize that that piece of php code, javascript or template file was not worth all the stress that I had put into it. What I am trying to say is if you don’t like something just don’t do it, but always have a clear vision of what you want to get out of your website or whatever other endeavors you want to sail on. When it comes down to it, it’s just a computer and a screen and bunch of wires connecting it all together.
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