Step 5 - Plan the Site

There are many prebuilt website functionality available which can enhance your website. You will most likely need to install some scripts on the server, the most common being a form script. Scripts are also available for functionality like guestbook, blogs, forums chat, poll, etc.

This is a good time to install any required scripts as you will need to link them from your web pages. Customize the interface of the scripts as much as possible to blend well with the look and feel of the rest of the website. In the case of a form you will probably need to create a form html page with the required fields and integrate it with the form script. Test it thoroughly to ensure it works fine and that you are getting the emails sent from the site.

In case you are not comfortable installing scripts there are free service providers that offer all these and more hosted on their server, but which you can easily customize and include into your website by adding the some code that they provide into your website's html pages. Some essential functionality you will need include forms and site search.

In some cases your entire site can be built on an installed script like Joomla CMS or Wordpress blog. Drupal and Mambo are are other content management systems. All these can be easily installed via Fantastico which comes with some hosting servers e.g. Hostgator Fantastico also allows you to easily install certain forum, photo gallery, shopping cart, CMS, LMS and customer relationship management software etc. If you have a WordPress blog site you might want to install plugins to enhance your blog. Joomla templates, Drupal themes,Mambo templates and Wordpress themes are also available.

If you require ecommerce functionality you could build your site on Yahoo! Small Business or install an open source ecommerce engine via Fantastico. Various ecommerce templates/ themes are available to help you customize the look of the ecommerce engine of your choice.

If you need a discussion board or forum you can install PhpBB via Fantastico. PhpBB skins are available so that the look of the forum can be customized.

If you need a portal site you could install php-Nuke via Fantastico. php-Nuke Themes are also available.

Here's a list of the web applications that Fantastico can install with the click of a mouse:

WebCalendar

I highly recommend Hostgator as I use it to host this website. They provide Fantastico with their Linux hosting, a great free Site Builder and various other features. They also have a plan that allows you to host multiple domains.

There are also some all-in-one website building solutions which may have all you need already installed and ready to use.

Step 2 - Choose Website Building Tools

It is a good idea to decide on the tools you will use to build your website early on. This will help you make other technical decisions along the way.

To decide which tools/ software are the best to use for your website ask yourself some of these questions:

• Is it a blog?
• Will it have a lot of articles? Would a content management system (CMS) be a good option?
• Do I need to have complete control on every aspect of my site?
• Do I need any functionality built into the site?

If you want to build a blog you can do so using WordPress which is a free blog software. Check out my blog for an example of a Wordpress blog. Also my recipes section .

Joomla is a free content management system which you can also use to build your website. Check out the Joomla version of my recipes site for an example of a Joomla website. Joomla also has many extensions that you can easily install to exapand its functionalities.

Both Wordpress and Joomla can be easily installed via Fantastico (literally with the click of a button!) which is available when you sign up with a web host like Hostgator (which is what I use). Then it is simply a matter of putting in your content. For more details on installing them, refer to the links in the related resources section below.

If you need to have complete control over your site, using an HTML editor coupled with a graphic editor would be the best option.

Step 3: Hosting Server - decide on where you are going to host the site

Some decisions you will need to make while selecting hosting are:

1. Free or paid?
2. Windows or UNIX?
3. Fantastico or other automatic installation tools
4. Server space and bandwidth considerations
5. Does it support the Site Builder used to build the site?
6. How many sites do you plan to build?

1. Free or paid?

There are free hosting servers available, however most of them show their ads on your website or are unreliable.

2. Windows or UNIX?

In case you wish to install some scripts e.g. form, forum , guestbooks etc. you will need to ensure that the server is compatible with the script you wish to use. For example, php with MYSQL is usually on UNIX servers, so if you want to install the Open source CMS Joomla or Wordpress blog you would probably choose a UNIX server with the required version of php and MYSQL. However if you plan to use an ASP script you would probably choose Windows hosting.Hostgator offers Linux hosting and I use it to host all my websites.

3. Fantastico or Automatic Installation Tools

Some hosting servers offer Fantastico which allows you to easily install various open source products like Joomla, Moodle, WordPress blog etc. If you intend to install Joomla for example it might be a good idea to go for a hosting server that provides this service e.g. Hostgator

4. Server Space and Bandwidth Considerations

Depending on the file size of your website and expected traffic to your website you would need to select a hosting plan that offers you what you need. For example, if you have many video files you would probably require a larger amount of space. If you are expecting a large number of visitors you would probably prefer a hosting service that provide larger bandwidth usage.

5. Does it support the Site Builder used to build the site?

How do you plan to build the site? Which site building tools/ software will you use?

In some cases you might choose to use a free and easy site builder like Blue Voda in which case you would have to sign up with the specified hosting service provider - in this case VodaHost.

Site Build It has its own site builder and includes hosting too. It also includes all the tools, know how and basically all you need to build a successful online business in one complete package.

Some hosting providers provide inbuilt site builders as well eg. HostGater.

If you plan to have an online store it would be wise to go in for something like Yahoo! Small Business which provides everything you need for an ecommerce business.

6. How many sites do you plan to build?

Most likely you will want to build another site once you finish the first one. If so, it may be wise to sign up with a host that allows you to host multiple domains on the same server. E.g Hostgator's most popular plan allows you to host multiple domains so you save in the long run if you sign up for this plan.

Step 5 - Plan the Site

Now you'd ready to start working on your website. To begin with you will need to design what you want on your website. Sketch it out on paper in a flowchart. Usually there will be a 'home' page, a 'contact' page, an 'about us' page and other content pages. Do you want to incorporate any additional features like forums, guestbooks, blogs etc?



Another way of designing your flowchart is by using post-it notes. Every time you think of something you want to incorporate into your site, note it down on a post-it. Once you're done, find a wall or large surface and arrange each item in a logical and intuitive flow. Keep rearranging till you're satisfied.

Determine a site plan that will be easy to navigate and will allow visitors to find what they need quickly and easily.

Step 4: Buy domain name

Some decisions you will need to make while buying a domain name are:

1. Does it communicate the main focus of your website?
2. Is it attractive to the target audience?
3. Is it easy to remember and type correctly?
4. Should it be .com, .net, .org etc?
5. If your website represents an organization , does the domain name well represent the organization name?
6. Is the domain name available for purchase?
7. Does it contain the main keywords of your site?

You can buy a domain name from various sites like Dotster.com and GoDaddy.com. Some hosting providers give you a free domain name when you sign up for hosting their web hosting services e.g. Bluehost and Site Build It.

Step 1: Determine the Website's Niche

Before beginning to build your website you should be clear about which niche you are in. This is the most important step. Find a need that your website will provide a solution for. Determine how you will provide a solution for this need through your website.

Conduct a thorough market research to determine:

1. If there is indeed a market for it?
2. Is there enough demand?
3. Is it a profitable niche?
4. Is it something you can generate quality content for on an ongoing basis?

You can begin by brainstorming and shortlisting 3 niches and evaluating each against the 4 points above. Pick the best niche and you're ready to get started.

There are various tools available to help you with your research. These include keyword research tools and tools to help you determine the monetization potential of your niche.