First and foremost, don’t get caught up in all of the info out there about the best way to create your own website.  The only way to know what’s best for you is to know the basic foundational stuff.  If you don’t know the basics, then you will get caught up in sales hype.

Everyone is pitching their software or service, and there are many affiliate marketers trying to make commissions off of these products, services, and programs.  There’s nothing wrong with that, because I’m an affiliate marketer too; however, I also use the products and services that I recommend (sidenote: I never recommend products and services that I don’t use!).

You may not even like the stuff that I recommend, which is fine.  The important thing is that you know the basics so that you can make an informed decision that’s not based off of sales hype…and that goes for anything, not just creating a website.

Here are the first 2 steps that you should take before even thinking about how you will create your website:

Step 1: Register a Domain Name

A domain name is your website address.  You can register a domain name from any domain registrar for a yearly fee.  Personally I use Godaddy, but there are others out there.  I want to stress that you should register your own domain, do not register through a third party company where they do it all for you.  If you don’t register your domain yourself, then the domain may not be in your name – it may be in someone else’s (this leaves you powerless because you don’t own your own website address)

Keep in mind that your domain name does not last forever. Domain names expire, but you have the option of renewing it. When you purchase a domain name you have to choose how long you will keep that domain.  The minimum time frame is one year, but you can register for several years in advance.  Most domain registrars will give you a discount if you register for more than one year at a time.  If you only register for one year, you can renew your registration before the expiration date.

Step 2: Purchase Website Hosting

Once you have a domain name, you will need to find a company to host the website that will reside on that domain. In order for your site to be seen on the internet, you need to have it hosted on secure servers that will keep your site up 24 hours a day. That is why you need to use the services of a reputable website hosting company.  The company that hosts all of my websites is Hostgator.

Whatever you do, don’t fall for all-in-one website hosting/website building solutions. Yes they are convenient, but the problem is that if you allow another company to host your website (with the exception of a regular website hosting company like Hostgator), you do not have control over your web files.

Most all-in-one website creation solutions have their services set-up where your website is basically “held hostage”. If you cancel your account with them, you no longer have a website.  In other words, if you ever decide to not deal with that company anymore, you will not be able to move your website’s files to a regular web hosting company because those files were created in a way where they only work within the custom software/hosting solution it was created in.

Don’t make the mistake of having to start over from scratch because you used someone’s all-in one website creation solution.  You need to have control and ownership over all of your files which is why you need to set-up website hosting with a website hosting company before you start creating a website.

Don’t be a Victim of “I Wish Someone Would Have Told Me”

These two steps are so easy and so basic that many may wonder why I even created this blog post.  Well, I created this for beginners who may not know these things and I want to prevent future frustration.

All I’m saying is no matter which road you take to create your website, the above two steps are the bare minimum of what you must do first in order to have complete control and ownership over your website…and this also applies if you plan on hiring someone to create a website for you.

2 Foundational Steps You Need to Take Before Creating a Website is a post from: Website Creation & Optimization Tips Blog

One of the biggest changes in web design within the last 3 years is the increasing number of web designers that are using the WordPress platform to build websites.  Many of these designers have stopped creating static html websites altogether.  I saw the trend increasing over the past few years, but I refused to let go of my all time favorite website building software, XsitePro.

I understood why professional designers were making the switch due to the ease of customization, and the fact that more clients wanted an inexpensive and easy way of being able to add content to their websites themselves.  However, for those of us “do it yourself” types who had user friendly web design software like XsitePro, I didn’t understand the WordPress hype.

XsitePro had been my bread and butter for over 6 years – there’s simply no other web design software like it.  I thought that building SEO websites and customizing them was much easier in XsitePro than with any WordPress theme.

I’ve had many blogs, blog sites, and whatever word you want to use to describe a site built using the WordPress platform, but regardless of the various themes I’ve tried, plugins I’ve activated, etc. they were still not as easy to customize as XsitePro, without knowing a little website code.  I refused to learn the various type of programming code used to create WordPress sites, when I spent years using html editors and knowing enough to customize certain elements with confidence.

So why did I make the switch to WordPress?

Simply put, static html sites will not allow you to keep up with the type of websites that people are used to seeing today – i.e. blogs.  We are living in a time where online social activity is rapidly increasing, and blogs are the norm.  Whether your website is a blog or your site has a blog page on it (AKA blogsite), the fact is people are used to seeing blogs and interacting on them.

Static html websites are a dying breed (unless you’re creating a simple squeeze page), and if you want to create a content rich website that reflects the sign of the times, you need to have a blog on your domain.  It’s simply not possible for a non-programmer “do it yourself” entrepreneur to easily create an html website and integrate a blog into the site where the blog looks like the rest of the site.  This was an issue for me a few years ago, especially when it came to recommending web design software to other “do it yourself” entrepreneurs.

WordPress has always been known as one of the easiest platforms for non techie people to utilize to quickly create a professional website and blog for their business.  I made myself learn how to use WordPress so that I could easily create a SEO website with an integrated blog.  At first it was just to test the waters, and over the past few years I have tested numerous themes, plugins, etc. related to WordPress. 

Back in early 2011 the testing phase was over, and I had finally converted to only creating websites built on the WordPress platform.  I had finally understood what all the hype was about, and I fell in love with WordPress.  There is simply no better solution for a beginner who does not know website code, and who wants to create a website that they have complete control over (in other words, a website that is hosted on your own domain that you own).

How to Create a SEO Website Using WordPress…

Now is the time to make the switch and discover the power of WordPress! 

I created a Website Creation & Optimization Course where I teach beginners how to install, use, and optimize WordPress to create a search engine optimized website.  This course will be available in approximately two weeks, so make sure that you keep an eye out for it. 

You will receive a 50% off discount on my course if you are on my VIP email list before the release date.  To join my VIP list, all you have to do is register to receive my Website Creation Blueprints.  The blueprints and registration is free, so what are you waiting for?  Sign up now!

For your convenience, the sign up form is below:

Say Bye Bye to Static Html Editors and Hello to WordPress is a post from: Website Creation & Optimization Tips Blog

Yes I’m back…but this time I am focused on one thing only: Showing you how to create and optimize a website that will increase sales. 

VirtualMarketingMedia.com has been down for almost a year due to me focusing on exactly how I can help entrepreneurs understand the importance of having an optimized website.  I no longer provide web design or website optimization services because I am focusing all of my attention on teaching entrepreneurs how they can create and optimize their own website.

Many entrepreneurs don’t have a high enough budget to hire someone to create a SEO website.  Some don’t even realize that they need an SEO website in the first place, so they spend money on a designer that creates a nice looking website that has barely any SEO elements.  As time passes on, that entrepreneur realizes that the website has not increased their sales and is wondering what the problem is.  They later learn about SEO.

So now they know about SEO, but they’re really isn’t a resource out there for them that shows them how to create a SEO website.  Sure, there are plenty of internet marketers teaching SEO, but most of what they teach is off page SEO which consists of link building, social media, etc. 

What about on page SEO?

Most of the people teaching on page SEO do not focus on teaching beginners; their target audience is internet marketers that already have a basic understanding of SEO.  Also many of the people teaching on page SEO will only teach you what to do, not how to do it.  Of course how you do it really depends on what software you are using.  So then you have to figure out what’s the best software to use.

What I’ve found is that the internet is lacking a place where beginners can go to learn how to create and optimize a website especially if they are on a budget…

…and that’s where I come in.

I don’t want to make this post too long, so I’m just going to simply say, take some time out to check out my free website creation blueprints so that you can learn how to create a sales increasing asset (a website) for your business and still remain within your budget.  These blueprints will teach you WHAT to do, and later, I will introduce you to my training course which will show you HOW to do it.

I’m Back! is a post from: Website Creation & Optimization Tips Blog