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Are you thinking about hiring someone to create a web site for you? Read on. Find out what to expect and what skills you may need. First: Because these articles are syndicated at many web sites, it is possible that you, the reader, are newer to the internet than most WillMaster Possibilities ezine subscribers. If this applies to you and you are uncertain about what a web site consists of or what hosting is, and yet you want a business web site, read ".COMstruction: The Basics" by Eldon Sarte. It does not push any particular methods of making money; but it covers some of the basics you need to know to create a business web site. The ebook can be purchased at http://willmaster.com/a/6/pl.pl?pie Let's suppose you will be hiring somebody to create a site for you. You have this vision. And your contractor creates your site. It's done and it's live. Now what? Unless you contract for search engine submission/optimization, site promotion, and site maintenance, the rest is up to you. Business web sites are similar to physical store locations in the sense that it takes time to build up trade. Unless you can put a lot of money into promotion, it will take much time and energy to create a substantial visitor count and begin to turn a profit. One of the major myths about the internet is that all you have to do is create a site and it will quickly make you rich. Wrong. If it were true, why do you suppose anyone would be willing to create a site for you in the first place? Why wouldn't they just create their own site and sit back and let the gold pour out of buckets by their feet? So, now what? Anyone who can follow written directions and knows how to fill in web page forms can do search engine submissions. But search engine optimization (getting your site listed nearer the top for specific searches) is a learned skill. To be an effective specialist is a full-time job. Of course, it isn't necessary to rate high in search engines. But for many sites it can help business a lot. You can hire someone to do it, learn how to do it yourself, or let it slide. To hire someone, be aware that there are a lot of scams out there. There are also some good, honest, hard working people. If it smells like a scam or feels like it might be too good to be true, go somewhere else. Don't let greed be your guide. Ask fellow site owners for recommendations. To do it yourself, frequent sites dedicated to search engine positioning and subscribe to some search engine positioning lists. Ask http://aj.com for search engine positioning sites. And http://list-resources.com/ is a place to start finding the lists you want. Or you can let it slide and concentrate on other ways to promote your site. Site promotion can take many forms, including:
If you decide to hire someone to do some of your promotion for you, ask fellow site owners for recommendations. The internet lends itself to some different marketing methods than land-based businesses, but that doesn't mean common sense can go out the door. Site maintenance is essential. Once your site is created, it will need updating. Contact data changes. You may want to add a page or change a paragraph. You may need to change hosts for one reason or another. Technology changes. Visitor expectations change. With frequent fresh content, people have more reason to come back to your site. What to do? Update your site every few weeks or so: Add a page. Delete a page. Change a paragraph to convey your message better. Add a link or two to relevant sites. Add a testimonial. Whatever you do, don't let your site go stale. Like search engine optimization and marketing, site maintenance is something you can hire out or do yourself. If you hire it out, you may want to have the person who created your site do the work, or hire someone who specializes in site maintenance. To do maintenance by yourself, the first basic skill you will need (and this may seem too obvious to even mention, but you might be surprised) is competence with your own computer. You will need to have a good FTP program and know how to use it. There are many tutorial sites on the net -- ask at http://aj.com/ -- and http://www.tucows.com/ lists some great FTP programs ready to download. You will also want to learn some HTML. There are a lot of good tutorials on the net. Again, ask at http://aj.com/ A good HTML reference site is http://vzone.virgin.net/sizzling.jalfrezi/iniframe.htm As you gain in skills, you may also want to learn how to Telnet into your site (if your hosting company allows such access) and how to install your own CGI programs. The more you learn about maintaining your own web pages, the more independence you will experience. What to expect? A lot of work. And a lot of learning. If you enjoy your work, expect the rewards to be worth it. The internet is still a frontier. Some of what you learn now might be automated later. But you'll have the advantage, then, because you will know what the automation does and won't be dependent on it. Above all, have fun! Copyright 2000 William Bontrager
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