Plan it out


First and foremost it is important to make sure your business actually makes sense. Having a business plan written out describing every aspect of how you can create revenue will help you as you travel through the many vissisitudes of creating your niche.

Once you have your idea solid, create a storyboard so that you have an exact mapping of how your site will flow. Most of the difficulty individuals and companies have in starting a website is figuring out what they actually want, and how to get their visitors to perform a task which will eventually lead to a sale. By mapping out the website, it will help considerably with usability, so that visitors can navigate without getting lost. Keep in mind that visitors will leave, if they can't find what they came for. Make sure the path is straightforward and simple. Write down every page that will be on the site and what action or purpose is desired (if any) for each page.

Select 3-5 keyword phrases that best represent your product or service. Give this to your web designer so that he/she can name the pages, images, and other files (this helps with search engine optimization). There are many keyword research tools. I would recommend some from SEO Book. You can find keywords that are being used and see how competetive they are. Try to pick something at first that you can eventually reach. If your business is geographic specific to your city, add that in there (hot tamales San Antonio). Once you do well with some easier terms, you can eventually work your way up to more challenging terms (as your site grows).


Pick a Design


Once you have figured out what you want, you can select the visual representation of your vision. Make sure the design is consistent with your storyboard. Any of the website templates here can be modified to fit your needs.



Select a Domain Name


A name indicates everything. Picking a domain name that represents your business helps to establish a theme for the website. Try to select a domain name that matches the name of your business AND a domain that is available that closely resembles it. You can be creative and brand a domain, but usually requires a little more effort to establish the brand. There is software that can help you narrow down some possibilities. Be prepared to spend a decent amount of time finding the right one. You can also purchase a domain name that has been on the internet for awhile and purchase it from the owner. The advantage of this is one of the four important parts of search engine optimization, especially if the website has a good pagerank (2+). You can get a head start and save yourself a considerable amount of time.

Note: Do not have your design company purchase your domain for you! This is the best way they can keep your account hostage if things don't go well. It can be a very stressful process trying to get it back. Make sure you purchase your domain yourself. The most well-know is godaddy.com.


Write the Content


This is the #1 reason why websites projects don't ever get finished. A good designer and programmer can finish a complete static website (1-5 pages) in a week, IF the client has the content completed and can agree to a design. When writing content, include keywords mentioned above in the paragraphs, trying to keep the keyword to total word ratio to around 5%. Each page should have 1-4 reasonably sized paragraphs that explains 1) what exactly the page is saying and 2) be consistent (or a subtopic) within the overall theme of the website.



Legally Establish the Business


This option is for those who are brand new to their particular business. This step is after writing the content, because most projects that fail never get past step 4. If you have the content completed, the most difficult hurdle (and test) is over. Depending on what your product or service is, there are different ways of setting this up: as a DBA (doing business as), LLC (Limited Liability Corporation), sole proprieter, or a partnership. There are advantages and disadvantages to each, so research them well before pulling the trigger.



Complete the website


Depending on the project, there will be many mockups, changes, and revisions. The first rough draft will change drastically will every revision. Most clients have an idea of what they want the site to look like, how it should flow, and what it should accomplish. Don't be frustrated if it doesn't look quite right through the revisions. It is a developing and growing process. This is just the beginning.

Inevitably you will need stock photography and icons to accurately convey your message. There are several sources:
  • iStock - one of the most used and popular places to get quality stock photography
  • Stock Exchange - it's a free site where you can pick up some photos, but the quality and searchability is not so great.
  • Icon Archive - XP and Vista looking icons in 3D brilliant color
  • Free Icons Download - Limited inventory, but great art
  • Vista Icons - Vista-looking graphics - excellent quality

    • As the business and your customers evolve, so will your approach to deliver the information for them in a concise manner. Be prepared to spend about 15% each year (of what you paid for the initial site) for up maintenance and changes that will come. It is generally recommended to do a complete makeover every 3-5 years so that your design and technology is up to par with the new trends.



    For Shopping Sites


    Accepting payment online can be a tricky process. For a startup site, it is best to begin with PayPal. It is easy to setup an account and start accepting payments that go right into your banking account. PayPal asks for a 2% upcharge to process these transactions. It is a little steep, but very cheap comapred to other alternatives.

    For a legal merchant account for your business, you have to go through many hurdles. It is necessary to register the business with a local government agency, setup a business bank account with those credentials, apply for a merchant account, and find a competant processor with reasonable fees. I would recommend toptenreviews to see comparisons on what fees will be charged, how long is the commitment, capabilities, etc. Once the merchant account has been setup, a programmer will have to install keys into your website so it can be processed through a internet payment gateway (like authorize.net, etc). This is another fee you will need to pay for this service. Since all this impementation is complex, it usually takes some time to make everything work perfectly. Once the payment method has been established, it doesn't break down or rust like a physical machine would.



    Marketing!


    Even though this is the last step, it is actually the most important. If no one knows about your site, how can people use it? Depending on your business model from step 1, your marketing plan will differ greatly. For internet traffic solely, there are four options:

  • Search Engines - by creating a website that appeals to search engines, you can attract visitors by having good content and an optimized site which people will find using searches on Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc.
  • Connecting with Others - By contacting other similarly, non-competetive website business owners, you can ask for a link to your site. If it complements their traffic, the owner will be glad to make the addition. It is best to make these contacts personally, not using a spam approach of sending out massive emails to everyone you can find.
  • Purchasing Ads - By buying banner or pay-per-click, you can pay people to come visit. This is a science in itself, as keywords from these sources can have varying results. It is a very finely-tuned process.
  • Social Networking - statistics usually indicate traffic from social sources (i.e. Digg.com, FARK.com, myspace, etc) do not convert into sales. Users are there just to check out the latest 'fad' but are gone just as quickly.

    • Once the site is completed, you will be spending the rest of your time trying to figure out the best way to bring people in and have them complete a task and eventually purchase from you.

    These steps are very basic and can be expounded on significantly. For professional results, contact 8TEM for answers to these and other questions.