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How
To Set Up Your Online Business for Less
Are
you starting an online business with a small budget?
That's OK. Online businesses are one of the lowest cost
businesses to run - if you know what you need to pay
for and where to go.
Follow
these suggestions for getting your website set up inexpensively
while not sacrificing quality. There are some things
you need to pay for (and this will tell you how much)
and other things you can do just as well for free.
STEP
ONE: GETTING A DOMAIN NAME
There's
no reason to pay more than $10 for a domain name, so
feel free to shop around. Domains are important because
they give you credibility as a business.
Free
websites do not enable you to have your own domain name
so instead you end up with mybusiness.freespace.com
instead of mybusiness.com. See the difference? Your
customers expect you to put some money into your business
and this is a clear tip off that you are not doing that
- and for $10, why shouldn't you?
STEP
TWO: FIND A HOST
Hosting
plans vary considerably. Much of what you pay for will
be determined by the features your hosting account provides
with its service.
Are
you setting up a simple, one page site? You could probably
use a low cost host for $5 per month. Do you need some
extra help with templates and layout or expect a high
amount of traffic or downloads? You may have to pay
more but it can be well worth the extra expense to have
integrated webpages already set up or to ensure your
host is providing you with enough bandwidth to handle
the traffic on your site.
Never
use a free host, unless perhaps you want to start with
a blog or similar format while you get your own website
up and running. Free hosting usually means you pay in
other ways - lack of a domain name or a lack of quality.
Many free hosting accounts are for personal use only
and do not allow commercial accounts. Try to get recommendations
from others when looking for a good host.
STEP
THREE: DESIGN
As
previously mentioned you can find professional templates
on some hosting services. These can give your website
a professional polish without the expense of hiring
a designer. You are limited, however, on the look you
choose depending on the variety of designs available.
Templates
are also available to others so your site may have the
same appearance as someone else. If you need custom
work done consider hiring a freelance web designer from
a site like elance.com or ask a local student studying
web design. Freelance sites often put you in touch with
new designers who will charge less while building on
their experience and adding to their portfolio.
Spending
money wisely is important when starting any business,
but some free services will cost you in reliability
or image. On the other hand there are some cheap deals
you may not hear about so don't give your hard earned
money (or worse - your credit) for a service you can
pay less for and get the same results.
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