Want to start an Internet business? Great! Let’s get started quickly by looking at five simple and necessary steps to getting your Internet business off
ground.1. Select Your Domain Name - It is very important to select proper domain name for your business. Why? It’s how customers will find you online. A couple of simple pointers: shorter is usually better, I’d stick with a .com name - not one of other top level domains. It can also help search engines to list you higher if your domain name contains some of keywords you want to be found for.
Believe it or not, there are still a huge number of domain names that have never been registered. Sure, so-called ‘dictionary’ and common single word domains have all be registered long ago, but there are strategies to circumvent this issue.
Why not simply add a modifier to a word in order to create a compelling domain name? For example: let’s say that you sell bicycles and bicycle parts online - here are some domain names that come to mind that are almost certainly taken:
bike.com bikes.com bicycle.com bicycles.com bikeparts.com bicycleparts.com
So how can we modify these common names to create names that are available? Let’s try adding some simple descriptive terms either before, or after main word. For example:
Deluxe Premium Best Superior Cheap Discount Online Universal
I’m sure you can think of many others that apply to your products and business. If you simply add this short list of modifiers in front of original short names, you can create multiple new names that are available right now!
You can search to see if your domain name is available here: www.dotster.com.
2. Hire a Web Designer - Ask around to locate a great designer that someone else has used. The design of your site can make you look professional, or like an amateur - it’s clear which way you will want to look.
An alternative that can be very cost effective when compared to a custom designed web site is to use pre-formatted templates - either put together by another company, or filled in with data yourself. For example, Affinity Internet, Inc. offers a professional web design product through it’s ValueWeb brand that is billed out at a low flat monthly fee. According to ValueWeb website ReadyWeb product offers following advantages: “A professional web designer will set up a consultation with you to better understand your business and online goals to ensure your web site is not only impressive but successful.Our web site professionals will make updates to your website on a monthly basis as needed. ReadyWeb includes two hours of maintenance and updates each month at no additional charge.” You can learn more about ReadyWeb product at: www.valueweb.com/readyweb/readyweb_learn_more.htm.
Alternatively there are do-it-yourself templates available at sites such as www.templatemonster.com.
3. Choose Your Web Hosting - Every small business that sets up a web site online will need to host it somewhere. According to industry expert Tamara Field, President of Apollo Hosting (www.apollohosting.com) these are top three things to consider when selecting your web hosting company.
* REAL Live Support - Call their tech support number NOT their sales number, and see if you can talk directly to a technician. Or go on their live chat and see if you are able to talk to a technician. How long did it take for you to get someone on phone or live chat? That's very important. Just because they say they offer live support, doesn't mean they really have people there when you need them.
* Guarantees - Money back guarantee, price freeze, uptime, and a guarantee of a refund on unused portions. There are so many hosting companies that don't offer money back on unused months if you cancel early! If you sign up for 1 year, believe it or not, many hosting companies won't give you ANY money back if you cancel 3 months later. A money back guarantee is important as is a prize freeze guarantee. But these days, look for refund on unused hosting. Many companies don't mention it because they don't offer it.
