So you’re starting a business and need a web site.  Great!  What next?  Here’s a step by step guide.

1. Pick a domain name.  Don’t worry if your exact domain name isn’t available.  Come up with something close and then let the search engines handle the details.  For example, if widgets.com is taken, try widgetshq.com or ewidgets.com.  Most domain registrars will help you with this process. DomainsOnIce.com can help you register your domain and this article will help you understand the current state of .com domain names.

2.  Pick a web host.  You shouldn’t need to spend more than $200 on hosting a year when you first start out.  If you think you will because of future volume, start with the cheap host and upgrade when you’re ready.  Your host should support PHP and MySQL.  Most will automatically.  FastWebUpdates.com hosts client web sites starting at just $149 per year.

3.  Install a free content management system.  Why do you need a system?  You’ll want to keep your site fresh and interesting so visitors come back on a regular basis.  A content management system makes this easy.  We recommend WordPress.  WordPress started life as blogging software, and it does that well, but it has some pretty sophisticated features that make it useful outside of the blogging world as well.  A decent content management system lets you add content without knowing a lot of code.  By the way, this site is powered by WordPress and so are our other sites.

4. Customize your look and feel to match your offline image.  You’ll want to coordinate the colors and logos on your site with any business cards or stationary you have.  Most content management systems provide you with a templating system that make this process relatively easy.  This part requires code, so you’ll probably want to contact a web site design company to help you out.  Try FastWebUpdates.com at 888-627-8888.

5. Trick out your new site with features that help you interact with visitors and other sites.  For example, you can use Flckr to manage your images and FeedBurner to track your subscribers.  WordPress plugins make this process quick and easy.  There are plugs designed to help with most previously custom issues like event calendars and contact forms.

That’s it.  Now all you need to do is add your content and you’re good to go.

FastWebUpdates.com has recently helped Clay Cafe of Lubbock and Clay Cafe of Visalia create WordPress driven web sites that integrate seamlessly with Flckr and other services.

Ever wanted to get listed in an online Yellow Pages but didn’t know how? Well, go hit YelloWikis.com.

YelloWikis is the same software as Wikipedia but designed for commercial use. You can add your own profile, create your own category, and add links to yourself from your competitors’ entries. What fun!

The original request to an expert aggregation site went something like this: I need to change the database query in an existing PHP program from one field to two fields. How much will it cost.?

Short answer: this is a super simple change–20 minutes or less, less than $20.

Long answer: I was originally going to title this post, “How to make website maintenance more expensive and difficult than it has to be.” The answer? Post an RFP for this simple, simple update and then wade through all of the responses.

Doing this update might take an hour, but it will probably take a lot less. But you’ve just added all of this overhead to the process. The expert aggregation site has to take their cut, you have to go through a couple of dozen responses and the developer you end up with will have to pitch themselves to you as the ideal candidate–all of which takes time and adds costs.

If you’re going through the process of switching developers, this may not be a bad thing.

However, you have to consider the overhead cost of all this work when deciding to shop the job around.

Your best bet is to find someone you trust and stick with them. You’ll both come out ahead in the long run.

I receive of a “quote of the day” message from a charitable organization. Today’s got me thinking about simplifying websites. First, the quote:

You know you’ve achieved perfection in design, not when you have nothing more to add, but when you have nothing more to take away.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

First, a couple of quick notes about the quote:

• Antoine de Saint-Exupéry is often misspelled “Antoine de St-Expurey”. It was in the quote this am, and I found the misspelling propagated to several other blogs. Yuck.
• Saint-Exupéry wrote “The Little Prince”. Link to it on Amazon below.
• He died young–44–but has both an international airport and an asteroid named after him. Pretty cool.

OK–on to my point:

Is your website simple enough? Is it simple to navigate? Does it have a simple message? Is it simple to understand?

If you answered no — or you’re not sure — then you need to simplify your website. Why? Because you have about 10 seconds to grab your visitors’ attention and convince them they’re in the right place.

Yep: 10 seconds.

If you can’t get their attention in 10 seconds, the people you’ve worked so hard to attract will leave.

So here’s what you have to ask yourself:

Is your message simple enough to understand within 10 seconds?

Is your website simple enough to navigate within 10 seconds?

Is your theme simple enough for them to remember within 10 seconds?

If not, DON’T PANIC. Just tweak your website. Chances are, you won’t need a complete redesign–just an adjustment here or there.

Here’s an interesting article on this.

“Capturing Your Site Visitors’ Attention” from the good folks over at Entrepreneur.com.

Why do so many small business websites fail to deliver the results their owners want? No — make that the results their owners need. Given the rule of thumb that 80 percent of small businesses fail* within five years, it’s not surprising that so many websites deliver lackluster results. The biggest failure point is pretty simple, so I’ll just throw it out on the table:

Most small business websites fail because they aren’t focused on their role in the business they represent.

Websites commonly try to do too much or too little. Very few manage to strike the just right balance required cost effectively accomplish their goal.

What should your website’s goal be?

Only you can answer this, but I can describe some general paradigms. (After these, I give some general, tried and true suggestions useful for all three.)

Start the conversation websites.

This is what FastWebUpdates.com is for — to start the conversation with people who need their website maintained and improved. Start the conversation websites introduce a product or a service to a new audience. It doesn’t matter how the audience finds the website. But once they get there, start the conversation websites need to present enough information to convince the visitor that this expert is worth talking to and then provide a way–a call to action–to start the conversation.

Checklist:

• Does your website, quickly and easily, state what differentiates you from your competitors? You have 10 seconds to convince people that your website is worth their time. Does it?
• Does your content demonstrate your mastery of the topic? Is it easy to see that you’re in the running as someone capable of handling whatever your visitor might need in a very workman like way–maybe even better than average?
• Does your website provide value beyond the basics–something that visitors aren’t going to find at every other website?
• Do you have a clear call to action that gives your visitors a reason to initiate the conversation with you right now?

Due diligence assistant websites.

If you want a website that simply confirms who you are to people who already know you, this is your type of website. Your visitors are likely specifically looking for your site and will make judgments about you once they get there. The content needs to confirm your earlier conversation with them–reinforce the main points–and then extend the conversation to new areas. Your visitors want detailed information, and this is your chance to continue the sales call in a very deep and meaningful way.

Checklist:

• Does your website cover, in the same detailed way you would cover it in person, the standard information you present when talking to a new client about how you can help them?
• Do you go deeper into these topics on your site–expanding the conversation from where you started in person to where you would like to go if they gave you the time?
• Is your content up to date with all of the latest developments in your field of expertise. For example, if they decided not to do business with you this time (it happens to the best of us ), does your website give them a reason to keep coming back to it?

Complete the sale websites.

These are the standard e-commerce websites. Visitors stop by, find something they like and buy it. Complete the sale websites have to have very detailed information about each of the products. And pictures — the more pictures the better. Check out Zappos (click on “multi view;” no, I’m not a fan of Pirate shoes. ) for an example. See how you can find multiple images of every shoe? Would you buy a shoe without being able to see all of those images? Do you have any items on your

• Do the product descriptions on your site sell them as well as you could if you were talking to your prospect? If you sell the same thing as Amazon, is there a clear reason–other than price–that they should buy that item from you and not from Amazon? Check out Woot.com for an example of how to use truly unique descriptions.
• Are your site pictures clear and detailed? Can they see the items from multiple angles? Can they zoom in?
• What about your various policies and FAQs? Is it easy for people to find them? If you’ve failed to anticipate their needs, is there an easy way for them contact you?

All Websites Need To….

No matter what your goal, all websites need to handle some basics in order to succeed.

• Communicate your unique value quickly and clearly right up front.
• Make sure people can find what they want. Don’t hide information or make people click around all over the place to get the basics.
• Make sure people know that they should come back. One time visitors are largely useless so you need to motivate visitors to comeback time and time again. Here’s a hint: be useful, provide value. It works!
• Email is good. RSS is the future. Make sure people can sign up for an email list and that they can subscribe to your RSS feed.

Whew!

Success takes time and dedication. If your website isn’t doing what you want it to, DON’T PANIC! Tweak it and see what happens. If that doesn’t work, repeat until you find something that works. You will hit it and you’ll be glad that you did.

Enjoy your weekend!

* This article questions that number. But note the language it uses. “still in business”. Take it from someone who’s been there: still in business is vastly different from succeeding. But that’s a subject for another post!