Today, almost anyone can have a website. It is no wonder with all the great, simple, and cost-effective options out there. Today I will share with you a few insider tips on obtaining, setting up, and maintaining your own website.
First, you will need a domain. This can be a .com, .net, .org, .tv, .info, .nu or many other extensions. It is a good idea to make this name short, eye catching, and to the point. It should have a name that reflects well on the kind of content your site will have or a name that showcases your business name. If you need suggestions, you can type in keywords at Instant Domain Search and it will give you names and tell if they are available or not. I you are looking for a free domain, you can earn one at Domain Lagoon by completing a few simple surveys. If you don’t have the time for surveys, you can get a domain for only $1.99 from Yahoo Domains. There are many places you can buy a domain, but those are the cheapest and easiest ways I have found.
Next, you will need hosting for your new domain name. If you don’t mind having to redirect your site, you can apply for free hosting through another domain and you will receive a sub-domain. This means they will assign you a space on their pre-existing website, such as you.theirsite.com. Or you can get totally free professional hosting services from Hosting Lagoon which is partnered with the Domain Lagoon mentioned above, where you also fill out simple surveys to earn free hosting in one year increments. Another reliable and quite popular hosting service is Go Daddy where they have hosting plans ranging from $3 to $15 a month.
Now that you have your website and hosting, you will need an FTP client to upload, manage and edit your sites content. FTP stands for file transfer protocol, which enables you to transfer files from your personal computer to your public server. An excellent free FTP program is Smart FTP and it can be downloaded at Cnet. I personally use Cute FTP by Globalscape. You can purchase a licensed version of this product for $39.99 for the personal or $59.99 for the professional. There are others of course, just Google free ftp or ftp programs.
Of course, for all of this to be worth your while, you will need to have content for your site. A popular option in personal sites is a web blog. My favorite blogging software is Cute News, which allows you to integrate a blog right into your site and layout seamlessly. It is fully customizable, easy to use, and takes just seconds to edit or add new news to your site. Another good blogging program is Word Press. It is also highly customizable and easy to install and manage. If you already have a Live Journal or Greatest Journal account, you can embed your journals there directly into your website.
Other great content ideas include graphics, tutorials, resources, downloads, scripts, games, and news. There are thousands of great scripts for site add-ons at the Resource Index. Other great sites for free content are The Free Dictionary, Free Sticky and Small Business Software. You can add free RSS feeds from Fresh Content, RSS Feed Reader and Free Feed Directory.
Once you have your site up and running, you might wonder, how do I get visitors for my site? There are several easy ways to drive traffic to your site. Of course, promotion is key. An excellent promotion tool is a Plugboard. These sites generally attract tons of visitors which means high visibility for your site. All you need is a catchy little 88 by 31 pixels button to plug into the boards along with a link to your site. Another great tool is joining site rotations, which is a button exchange where you submit your button and put a tiny code anywhere on your site to trade links with others. A couple of excellent site rotations are Despair and D-M Exchange. You can get your site listed for search engines at sites like List-Me, I Need Hits and Bravenet.
To keep your visitors coming back, make sure you update often, constantly add content, and always promote. If you are serious about your site a little investment of time will be worth it. To see proof of the things we have talked about today visit my site Lemonbirdy Designs and some of my friends sites, including Ashley@Spin Me Around, Kari@Tearsmist and Angie@I Adore. I hope you have found this article both inspiring and informative. No matter what kid of site you create, the possibilities are endless!
