Back in lesson 23 I talked about why you need to have your own website.
Since then, we’ve covered several of the prerequisites for having a website (getting a domain, hosting, etc). Today we’re going to talk about your options for building a website, and then we’re going to make it a reality.
(Watch this video…)
Main points:
IMPORTANT: I did not mention this in the video, because it sort of goes without saying. But I think I may need to offer this reminder:
A website does not constitute a business. It is an essential component of your business, but it is not a business by itself.
So please keep that in mind throughout the next several lessons as we focus on building your website.
– Getting your website online is a milestone
– You can start marketing it before the product is done
1) Build it from scratch (using a web language like HTML)
Do you need to know HTML to be an internet marketer? No, but it can be very helpful.
2) Use a web authoring program (ex. An HTML editor such as FrontPage)
WYSIWYG = What You See is What You Get (ex. NVU)
3) Use a template or site builder (ex. HostGator’s site builder)
Template = shortcut
My favorite site builder for non-techies: XSitePro
4) Use a script or CMS (ex. WordPress)
Great website script for internet marketers: Butterfly Marketing
Forums: phpBB, Vbulletin, etc.
WordPress: my favorite free publishing application
5) Outsource it (pay someone else to do it for you)
Action step:
1) Choose a method that you will use to build your website
Think about all these options, do some research if you need to, and choose ONE to start with. We’ll start building your website in the next lesson.
By the way, if you DO have a website already… be sure comment and let us know what worked or didn’t work well for you!
As always, you are welcome to post your questions and comments below 🙂
Have a great day!
WYSIWYG = What You See is What You Get (ex. NVU)is the best tool for newbies to create their first website to start business online. They can create their website by using WYSIWYG as long as they know how to use Ms.Word.
To Your Success
Bryan Hee
Pingback: LESSON #30: Using Web Authoring Software | Eric’s Tips
this question isnt so much about a web site but i was wondering about finding a tool to do keywords serches for demand ,does anyone know if there is a free site that might have a good one to try thanks
Yup… watch this lesson:
Google has a free keyword tool. Also this one
Hi Chris
I am very new on comments and I have been watching your videos on tips. I have been trying to play video lesson 27 several times and it just stop at 11:38. I think it needs to be checked. One other thing, you said these lessons go up to 120, I have been ahead of myself trying to listen to watch other videos, from 31, cannot be found.
One last thing,when I was watching lesson 30 yesterday, I heard myself saying loudly, “I just love this guy”.
Keep up the good job. I with you the best of everything, I mean everything in your life.
Cheers
Phyllis in South Africa
Hey Eric, Phyllis here. I don’t know why I called you Chris. This guy must be driving me crazy. Sorry man.
Phyllis
I have a website built and hosted by tafiti builder on which i can only make certain changes. So I am going to set up any future websites on my own. I planned on starting with NVU. Do you recommend this? I didn’t know anything about websites, internet marketing, etc. etc. and have learned a lot in less than a year, but I have so much more to learn. The best way to do that is by doing in my humble opinion (for what that’s worth!). Thanks for all your tips.
I do think NVU/KompoZer is a good tool, so yes I would recommend it. I cover it in lesson #30, so you might want to watch it first. And it’s nice to know a bit of basic HTML too (lesson #28), so you may actually want to just keep watching the lessons in order 😉
Hi Eric and all,
Newbie here. Eric, great posts, it’s valuable. By the way, maybe you know what is the recommended business models for WordPress? I found out that some bloggers are using BANS mix with Adsense and affiliate business.
Any advice?
Cheers,
there are various ways of monetizing a wordpress blog, and it really depends on where the blog fits into your overall business strategy. If you’re building many blogs and getting SEO traffic, then Adsense and affiliate stuff is a good way to monetize it. But if it’s part of the core of your business (like this Eric’s Tips site), then I recommend keeping the monetization more on the back end. Keep the ads off your blog, so the readers can focus on the content and come back for more 😉
I know there are a lot of high profile bloggers like John Chow who plaster their sites with ads, but I don’t think that’s a good business model for most people, because unless you have the clout of those guys, your readers won’t tolerate the ads so well. And I think those high profile bloggers would actually make more money if they took most of the ads off their blogs and monetized their business in other ways.
Eric;
Many, many thanks for the lessons you make available. You have a knack for making the difficulties of Internet creation simple and straight forward.
Prior to finding your lessons I floundered around for months not knowing how or in what order to do things…now I have a positive direction to getting things done.
I find that I have unknowingly done some of the things you are recommending, I have an account at HostGator, (not an active site yet) and a WordPress blog, (under construction) that I did not know how to edit, and I have more how-to Ebooks than I should have. But I am determined to get all of this stuff down and become a member of the Internet Web Developer Commercial Community real soon.
I have a background in MainFrame software management and WordPress is a problem for me. The copy of WordPress I have installed is 2.5, the latest and greatest is 2.7. It seems every version has a different look and feel. How can you manage anything developed under WordPress when the next version is incompatible with the last.
I was seriously considering WordPress MU as an option, for multiple sites, rather than separate copies but now I am not so sure. How do you manage your multiple WordPress sites.
Looking forward to completing your current lessons and anything in the future.
Regards;
Allen
I’ve found that it’s easy to update wordpress. However, there is no need to install each new version unless there’s a major security update.
I manage all my wordpress sites seperately, because they are not related. But a multi-WP manager is not a bad idea. There are also other multi-blog platforms out there such as B2E.
simplemente gracias por tus lecciones eric..
thanks for your lessons eric very , very helpfull
thanks a lot
Hi Eric,
Somewhere in AFFILIATE CLOAK MAGIC advises us to hide our precious affiliate ID & link and prevent affiliate commission theft. Is it true in reality our sale is made through our affiliate link and our website, on our domain? When will you guide us about its 100% cloaking after focusing lesson #27? I personally believe it is equally important to us because if it is not cleverly cloaked, it is likened to a money-changer shop without an armed security-guard at all. Having a beautiful business website without protecting our butts against such theft is an absolute jerk and definitely, lame!
Please advise.
Hay Eric, I wish that I would have known about this lesson before i had my site built. I probably would have done things a little differently. But known the less, now that I’ve been under your teaching, I feel a lot more in control of my business which puts me at rest in many ways. I’m changing my design to open the door for Christians to write down their history with Christ and how God’s love changed their lives. It will be an extension of the bible stories of old. To exhalt His glory. Peace, and I will continue to be a student of yours, each one teach one! my site is “AllofMyHistory.com
Thank for the lesson and advise you gave to your members which I have read with interest . I am a newbie and still in the dark .I just have my WordPress blog setup last four days with the aim to promote affiliate product and adsense but I don’t know how to put the link and the ads on it .Don’t forget to comment on my new blog .
I do not think that commission theft is a big problem. People who actually know how to hijack an affiliate link will figure out how to do so, regardless of whether it’s cloaked or not.
The bigger reason to cloak them is just to make them look nicer so the average person is not afraid to click on it.
I generally use PHP redirects to cloak links. I wrote about it a few years ago at:
cloaking affiliate links
Yes Eric,
Keep on .It is so great to have you as a Coach.You make it so easy for us to be a part of this global Market.
As a newbie, if I want to register a domain name with hostgator which web hosting plan should I take to start an online business and can I upgrade my web hosting plan if my business improves and when and how can I do it? The hostgator has so many hosting plans with offers and do we need cPanel to build our website according to our wish? Please give me a good advice only to newbie like me.
I cover this in lesson #24: http://www.ericstips.com/tips/lesson24/
If you plan on building multiple sites, I recommend one of the reseller plans. If you’re starting with just one site, any plan is fine, even the smallest one. You can upgrade at any time.
I definitely do recommend Cpanel, which is one of the reasons I like Hostgator.
Sorry! How do you cloak an affiliate link to protect our commissions?
I normally use a PHP redirect.
I wrote about cloaking here:
Okay Eric,
I have domain, hostgator, working email on squirrel mail and just started writing html. I want my website to mirror my wordpress blog because every post on my blog will generate Amazon product ads, and other affiliate ads. I’d also like to add videos from Harvesteating.com. How can I use the wordpress function in fantastico to accomplish this? My blog is not connected to my website yet.
Rather than your website mirroring your WP blog, your WP blog should physically be on your website.
The wordpress function in fantasico is an installer, which installs WP onto your domain. You can then move your existing WP blog onto it.
Some people asked questions about this in the comments after the upcoming WP lessons, and I provided some resource links in my replies.
You can post syndicated videos within WP posts… like a video blog.
We need to improve!
I found the best thing to my sister’s birthday… It’s really hard to find cool and still unique.
So today I saw this thing from ZTARLET on facebook where you can name a real star in heaven and have the certificate and a teddy bear sent to you and pay it by a single SMS. So awesome 🙂
Hello,
What are the cheapest web hosting company?
I’m need to build a web site for my new business.
thank you in advance,
-Francis
My recommended web host is this one
I talked about it in lesson #24:
i had a question about to web disk program.when i open it and it says “select a certificate” what should i put in that box or should i wait for a future lesson on that subject?
I’m not sure which program you’re referring to. Can you be more specific? thanks
Hellow Eric, how can i build my own web server on my PC. so that i will become my own host?
Can I shorten a hoplink from clickbank with a tiny url and still get credit?
Yes you can.
You *could* set up a server on your own computer if you have a dedicated connection to the internet. HOWEVER, I would not recommend it for business purposes. Every bit of data would be pulled through your internet connection, and it could get maxed out from just a few visitors. Big web hosts like Hostgator have their servers in major datacenters, which are connected directly to the big Internet backbone pipes.
I have a ton of ebooks with resell rights. Can i use these to make money with and will you be talking about this in future lessons?
Yes you can, and yes I will 🙂
I have side-stepped or bypassed the whole webpage creation thing altogether.
I have hosted and created websites for over 20 years (Before there was a “World Wide Web”, and I scrapped all that for what I use now.
http://www.NING.com
They offer not only website creation but, Social Network creation. Imagine building your own Facebook network or Myspace network (I said NETWORK, not Page), for people to come hang out and do nothing but talk about your products.
Oh it takes about 15 min to start a network and another hour to do branding and whatever copy you want on the site. I luv it!
If ning is working for you and you’re making money that’s great.
But for most people, I would not recommend it as an alternative to having their own website on their own domain. Rather it is a good ancillary source of leads/traffic.
COMPLIMENTS ERIC’S…
AM HAPPY FOR RESPONDING TO MY EMAIL AS REGARDS HAVING A WEBSITE, IT REVEALS INDEED THAT YOU ARE MAKING A FOLLOWUP.
TO RESPOND TO WHAT YOU ASKED, I DON’T HAVE A WEBSITE YET, BUT THEN I’LL BE HAPPY JUST AS YOU PROMISED IF IN THE NEXT LESSON IF IT WILL BE A REALITY IN HAVING IT.
YOU MAY ASKED, WHY DON’T PAY OTHERS TO HELP ME OUT, THE TRUTH THERE IS JUST I HAVE GONE THROUGH SOME SITUATION THAT KEPT ME BANKRUPTY… BE PASSIONATE IN LETTING MY WEBSITE A REALITY. MANY THANK,
GODWIN.
Eric, appreciate your efforts on these lessons. It is surprising that there are so few putting something like this together.
Currently I do have a couple of sites that are not through hostgator. One is a Hubsite that provides a blog, putting together singular pages, one-time-offer pages, video, etc. What is your opinion of these types vs. the hostgator you are recommending? As a newbie, I am liking versatility, and as income grows, I will look to branch out for specific sites for niche products.
I appreciate your input.
Tim
Hello Tim,
Typically we stay away from webhosting, if it looks like we will be locked into using templates for what may be included in our sites. We enjoy the freedom of being able to manage our websites in any way we wish with Hostgator.
Eric you seem to be making this training interesting each night, and there are alot of things which you stated do make alot of sense
still hanging in here. went to hostgator thought i was setting up an acount and became an affiliate without an account.ifound out when i couldn’t find my sites i called them they had no record of me setting up an account.well that wasted an afternoon!now i’m going back and try again maybe i’ll get it right this time.however i am an affiliate.will you be showing ow to be an affiliate for click bank and hostgator any time soon?i do like taking your lessons and telling my fasmily what a great person you are.i want to set my daughter up in im before i move out of state i’m going to insist she take these lessons i’m also trying to get my son-in-law involed with taking these lessons beside being a good business model this is also a good lifestyle model thank you very much for all i’ve learned i’m sure i’ll start making money on this in time.
Hello Robert,
You can learn how to become an affiliate for ClickBank in Eric’s free Writing Cash Program available here:
http://www.writingcash.com/
Eric,
thanks again for the great info.
h i have a website and i have been building it for 5 weeks now, i need hlp with framing fm afiliates, and also transfering my free website from web.com to the host and omaincompany i boughtmine from, BIG problem though no matter how hard i try and follow seteps i ont know what im ding, i got very frustrated as i have lots of affilate things to do and ad on , and im left in tears, its the coding and computer lange i dont understand, and i feel stuck, aso my replies are fom o mny people in customer service and some say different to others ??????im in a mess
My advice would be to either…
a) take a step back and slow down, and don’t stress yourself out. It can really take awhile to become good at these skills.
b) hire someone to help you. It would be nice if you could hire someone who could sit down with you and walk you through it, but if money is tight, your next best option would probably be to hire a cheap freelancer on a site like Rentacoder
Hi Eric,
Although I’ve been using Dreamweaver a little bit and Thrive’s Site Builder a bit…while doing their course(heavy sigh another story for another time)…decided to purchase XSitePro tool. When I’m creating an infoproduct and worrying about writing and keywords and SEO and driving traffic …I think the templates are really handy to take some of the stress away. I enjoy being artistic but can’t afford Photoshop and Illustrator and don’t have time to spend mastering the complicated tools…I like the idea of getting a leg up with a template.
Thanks for suugesting Xsitepro…I want to put up several sites and I think it will save me lots of time…although I do want to try WordPress and Butterfly Marketing Scripts.
Thanks for the great class…let’s keep going!
Hello Eric
Yes it is good to have knowledge of HTML, you can do your work with more ease and perfectly. On the other hand some people prefer to use WYSISYG (What you see is what you get) like Dreamweaver or use site builders, but using these tool you do not have much control in your hand for website design. When you view site in browser, created using WYSISYG, there may be little difference in it and what you made.
If you know properly these tools and comfortable with these, you can carry on. So it is individual choice.
But I use HTML editor Notepad, It gives more control over layout. I create my own site using HTML and full CSS. Developer Site and FreeFotoFul.com
I am a freelancer developer and going to star my work on net. So I want know some legal issues, Eric’s Tips are very valuable for me.
I thank you Very much, Dear Eric
Hi Eric, I learned html just by studying source codes and experimenting with paypal buttons and popups etc. I got a hold of a free website builder watched some demo’s and put up my own built website. Not fancy however all the links work and videos load and links to other plr and mrr sites i have uploaded. I now have a ton of templates both html and wordpress so I had to learn wordpress then. There is no way around it everything has to be tested and paypal tested. However not always that Explorer sees what firefox browser gives you. I guess that is one of the advantages of WordPress. I have used scripts as well. I have invested in pre-made review sites I receive on a monthly basis as well as beta tester for a digital products store. I also teaching myself graphics with GIMP. Pretty cool free program , not as big as Photoshop however still practicable.If any of your subscribers want GIMP Tutorial videos I have them via a sales page ( I am uploading), I wont give my address until you authorize it. I actually made my own logo and prepared a screen shot into a reflective image, so I am having fun. I like learning new software. Thanks for your help.