One of most important things you need to do is find is a website designer that you get along with and who listens to you. They should also offer a contract so that both of you have a clear understanding of what will be done and what everything will cost.

Talk with designer. If they are in your area, meet them face-to-face. However, it's not necessary that designer be in your city. I have clients all over world. Even though I live in Arizona, in past month I've had clients from New Jersey, Chino Valley (a hour and a half drive from me), and I have some potential clients in Arkansas and New Zealand. You need to feel at ease with designer since you will be dealing with them for weeks or months while your site is created, and maybe longer if they are going to maintain site for you.

Ask what program they use to create their websites. The most popular are GoLive and Dreamweaver. I would suggest avoiding anyone using FrontPage. A lot of people use it and like it, especially since it costs less than $100. However, it writes HTML a little differently than other programs, which may lead to problems. These problems include HTML errors as well as adding extra code, which causes pages to load slower. Some web hosts can't even put up sites made with FrontPage. Website designers who use FrontPage often use templates that come with it, thus limiting creativity that could be used on your site. It's not uncommon for me to look at a website and instantly know that it's been created with FrontPage. If you're wondering, I use Adobe GoLive.

You want to be sure that website designer asks a lot of questions about what you want and need, instead of trying to talk you into using what they offer. Your website should meet your needs and expectations, not only in function but also in design. I've seen websites designed using flash animation, ASP databases and all kinds of bells and whistles when this wasn't appropriate for that particular site. These also kept many people with older browsers and slow Internet connections from being able to see website. These bells and whistles also cost more than a simpler HTML site. The designer used these things because that's what they liked to use, not because it's what should have been used. Simple is always better when it comes to website design. Content is king, not animation, graphics or anything else.

There are two main ways to make money, selling your own stuff or selling someone else's stuff.

Selling Other People's Stuff

Many people offer Affiliate Programs. They set up an affiliate program, which lets you sell their products or services on your site, and in turn you get a percentage of sale. Putting a banner, buttons or links on your site usually does this, and when someone clicks on them and buys something, you get credit for sale.

People and companies of all sizes offer this kind of program. Amazon.com introduced its program in 1996. As of today, there are over 500,000 people who are affiliates for Amazon. This gives them advantage of having a huge sales force.

I participate in two affiliate programs on my site. I have a page of books that I suggest people read. Each book has a special link to Barnes and Noble, and if someone buys one of these books, I get a commission. I also have a banner to a web hosting company, and as above, I get a commission for each sale. One advantage of web-hosting link is that I can use it too. So whenever I set up web hosting for a website design client, I get a commission.

My girlfriend has Google ads affiliate program on her site, and when anyone clicks on one of ads, she gets paid up to a dollar. This can really add up over a year.