Step-by-step Guide To Building A Successful Website (Part 1)

by Steve Nash

Does your website make you money?

My website does.

I've built several successful websites, actually, and this 2-part article shows the steps I take when creating a profitable website.

I can't guarantee *your* success, obviously, but the article's based on the checklist I use to create my own websites. (I've built sites using it for over a year now, to make sure it works!) So, hopefully, you can use this step- by-step guide to create YOUR very own successful site.

Anyway, let's begin.

== Aside == The article assumes that you can design websites - you know about HTML, JavaScript, Perl/CGI, page design and usability etc. - or you know someone who can design websites.

If you can't design websites, then I suggest you visit The Newbie Club to learn about HTML etc. (or buy a web design book from Amazon). Or you could visit Site Build It! and let this all-in-one tool do (almost) everything for you (i.e. there's no need for you to have any techie skills whatsoever). Or you can simply pass this information onto a web designer of your choice! :-) - http://www.newbieclub.com - http://www.site-buildit.com == Aside ==

==> 1. Do keyword research

Lets begin at the beginning. What will your site be about?

Ideally, the site should contain information about something you're interested in, or passionate about. (Then building and maintaining your site won't feel like work, it will feel like fun.) Even better, there should be a strong demand for your site content (or product/service), with little or no competition.

Wordtracker - *the* keyword research tool - lets you determine exactly this.

Basically, Wordtracker tells you the keywords people type into search engines like Google, that have few (if any) competing websites.

You can use the free trial at Wordtracker, but if you're serious I recommend you use the full version of the online tool for (costs less than $10 for a days usage).

- http://www.wordtracker.com

==> 2. Register your domain name

Register your domain name, preferably containing your keywords (as determined above).

You can register domain names in many places online. The best places to do so, depend on the type of domain name you want to register (e.g. .com or .co.uk or .de etc.).

I've used the following registration resources and can recommend them all: - http://www.nameboy.com - http://www.godaddy.com - http://www.orderyourdomains.com - http://www.freeparking.co.uk - http://www.supanames.co.uk

==> 3. Build useful content

Useful content? This could mean informative articles, tips, or product reviews that inform and educate the people who visit your site.

And that's where your passion comes in.

Because of your passion for the subject matter of your website, you can provide detailed tips and advice, not found anywhere else. Add humour, or reflect your unique personality in the content, and you have a site that people may want to visit.

Do make sure that you check content for spelling mistakes and poor grammar. Sloppy spilling (!) etc. always spoils a website.

Four examples of sites that offer useful content: - http://www.selfpromotion.com (Site promotion; quirky) - http://www.willmaster.com (About Perl/CGI) - http://www.clickbankguide.com (About Clickbank) - http://www.jessett.com (* - see below)

* I recommend you take a look at the last example. Why? Because it's a step-by-step guide to creating a web site!

==> 4. Try and capture your visitors' e-mail address

It's important to stay in touch with your site visitors; they may never return to your site, if you don't.

The most obvious way to capture e-mail addresses - and hence stay in touch - is to offer a newsletter (e-zine) related to your site. But you can capture email addresses in many other ways - e.g. competitions, e-mail courses, site membership - just be creative.

This article explains how to write a newsletter - http://www.HowIPromoteMyWebsite.com/publish-news

This ebook (not free!) explains how to think creatively when it comes to email capture - http://www.list-machine.com

And this software lets you send newsletters, e-mail courses, auto responders - you name it - for one single payment. (There's now a free trial, too!) - http://www.autoresponseplus.com

==> 5. Monitor your site stats

You must know how many visitors your website gets, where they come from, and what pages they view.

And this means that you must have access to your website stats. (Otherwise, how will you know what your visitors really like, and what they don't like, about your site, other than by asking them, of course - see part 2 of this article!)

To learn more, just read these two articles about website stats and tracking your visitors:

- Analyse Your Website Traffic: http://www.HowIPromoteMyWebsite.com/web-traffic

- Learn From Your Visitors Using Cookies: http://www.HowIPromoteMyWebsite.com/cookies.html

~~~

In part 2, you'll learn about hosting, promoting and automating the site creation process. And you'll read about some extra considerations that help make a website successful.

Part 2 continues here... http://www.anyonecansellonline.com/build-a-website-2.html

C Copyright 2002-2004 Steve Nash. All Rights Reserved.

BUILD A SUCCESSFUL WEBSITE ON AUTOMATIC, use Site Build It! This unique, all-in-one tool does your keyword research, registers your domain, hosts your website, helps you build site content, includes e-zine and autoresponder, offers site stats, AND even promotes your website... Visit this FREE guide to learn more http://www.site-buildit.com

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