How To Build a Website

If someone would have told me several years ago that I would...in the near future....build 3 websites. I would have asked them if they needed their head examined.

I thought website building was only for those colorful and talented people who graduated from college with a degree that said “You Are Now Free to Build an Extremely Hard-To-Master Website”!

As it turned out...I was the one who needed my head examined...or broadened. I found out anyone can build a website with the proper tools…even someone like me with NO PRIOR skills or knowledge. The secret lies in building a successful one.

First Step in Building a Successful Website:

Find a good reputable web host. I choose Site Build It (SBI)

However, the real value isn’t even in these features. The real value is in the accompanying training, community forums and support. Once you’re part of the SBI community, you have everything you need in one location.

It is extremely helpful for a novice such as me because I didn’t know an html code from Morris code and they have a wonderful tool called Blockbuilder that builds all the html code into your page for you.

However, SBI isn’t just for beginners; it is also designed for those very smart people who can upload their own beautifully designed pages themselves.

There are other web hosts that are cheaper; however, I have not personally used any of them and I will not recommend anything I have not used myself. But...I have heard there are some good ones out there...just research your options carefully and review what each web host provides.

Second Step:

Find Your Niche!

Sit down and brainstorm!

Think about what your passion is, what you are good at, what you really enjoy, what you know a lot about, or what you would really enjoy writing about.

Then start researching your idea.

SBI has a special Brainstorm tool that really helps, but you can also put your site concept in Google and see how many sites come back and what the top ones are.

When I bought my Site Build It (SBI)

Hind sight being 2020, I now know I should have narrowed down that niche a little bit and built my site on just arthritis, allergies, high blood pressure, etc..

That site: www.naturalremediesforbetterhealth.com is starting to grow and gain attention but it was a lot of work to get it there because of the super broad category I built it in. (Do not make that mistake...take your time...research...research...research!) I have since sold this site to Van Crawford. If you visit his site, tell him Vickey says Hi!

My second site: www.freechurchaccounting.com is bringing in triple the income of my natural remedies site.

Okay here is where sometimes you just have to follow your heart instead of statistics. The research I did through the free wordtracker tool showed that my chosen niche was probably too narrow and I wouldn’t get much traffic.

However, this was something I really wanted to do even if it didn’t make a dime. It has done quite well even though it will never attract masses amount of traffic, it does make my mortgage payment on my house most months and still has potential for growth.

My third site is www.basicaccountinghelp.com It is an accounting site for small business owners.

Third Step:

Name your site. It should not be over 25 characters long (including the .com, .net, or .org) if possible.(no one told me this when I named my natural remedies site :-)

Fourth Step:

Choose the theme colors or template for your site. SBI has many to choose from or you can upload your own. Just keep your reader in mind when you choose.

If your site is about children or parties you would want something bright and cheerful. If your site is about business or health you might want something more quiet and serene.

I recommend sticking with a white background because sometimes colorful or dark backgrounds are hard to read.

Fifth Step:

Most important step! Start building your pages!

Build your home page first. This is the hardest page in my opinion. It should tell what your whole site is about and capture your reader’s interest. Do not try to make it perfect! There will be time for tweaking it later.

Start building your 2 tier pages.

• Do make them interesting and easy to read.
• Do not have long paragraphs. (3 to 4 sentences a paragraph)
• Do not make them 4 to 5 pages long (2 to 3 max) If you have more to write about the subject…make it a tier 3 page.
• Do not build your page as soon as you write something! After you write a page, put it up until the next day, reread it or better yet have a friend or spouse read it to find mistakes, then build it.
• Do put graphics on your page (makes the reader want to stay and read)
• Do use different color font very sparingly if at all.
• Spell-check often!!!

Download this free e-book and read it often! Make Your Words Sell!

Sixth Step:

Stat building traffic!

SBI automatically submits your built pages to the major search engines. Check with your web host to see if they do this or if you have to submit your own pages.

Submit your site to major directories such as DMOZ.

Write some good articles on your subject and submit them to an article directory such as: Ezinearticles.com

Use Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace to get the word out about your site.

I wouldn’t buy traffic yet. You may end up having to...but try these free ones first. I have never bought any traffic for my Freechurchaccounting site and as I said before it does quite well.

Seventh Step:

Write more pages!

Eighth Step:

Monetize!

You can put Google Adsense on your site. Google AdSense is a free program that enables website publishers of all sizes to display relevant Google ads and earn revenue.

You can also research affiliates and find one that fits well with your site and apply to be a partner with them.

They will then give you links and banners to put on your site and if your reader clicks on to their site through yours and purchases something...you get a percentage of that sale.

Tip: Do not recommend or put up products or services that you or someone you know has personally tried and is satisfied. Your readers trust is priceless...don’t blow it for a few cents.

You can also sell your own products.

Ninth Step:

Write more pages! Seriously! If you keep writing fresh pages, the search engines will notice you more and visit you more. You will also have more keywords for more people to search and find your site.

Tenth Step:

Start thinking about building your next site. Just think about it…if your site is making about $500 to $1000 a month...a second site could possible double that. What about a third and fourth site? The possibilities are endless!

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