The economics of web sites

If you don’t own a website to promote your freelance writing business, you should.  If you want to know why you should have a website, check out Beth Erickson’s newsletter (Writing, Etc.) for her latest issue. 

To set up your website, you will need:

1.  A web name (domain name, URL).  That is the text that comes after "http://www." and before ".com."  You come up with a name and check to see if it’s being used, then you register it.  I use Godaddy (www.godaddy.com) but there are many others out there.  It will cost you under $20 to register your domain for two years.

2.  You will need a host server (a computer that stores your site information and is connected to the Internet continuously).  You will pay a monthly rate that depends on the size of the storage, number of emails and web sites you want stored, and other features like blogging and photos.  Check out GoDaddy to see what’s available and then check out other hosting companies, including possibly a local host.  Do NOT use a free hosting service; they use "pop up" ads which will not be appreciated by your readers.

3.  You will need a design for  your website.  Consider getting a designer or using a template.  If you use a template, you will still need a web program like FrontPage or Dreamweaver.  And why would you want to fool around doing this when you could be making money writing or marketing?  Look on Elance.com or Rent-A-Coder.com for designers.

4.  Finally, you will need someone to maintain the site.  Even though you can put information on the site, all kinds of things can happen, and you need someone with technical knowlege to get things back in working order.  (Those darn spammers!). 

For a great one-stop package service for a web site, I’d suggest you contact Kathy Hendershot-Hurd.  Her service Acumen Web Services, has everything you need to get started with a web site, and at a reasonable price.

Next post:  The economics of blogging