I hear two reasons why people procrastinate on building a website: cost and time.
But did you know can build a beautiful website and blog for less than $131.00?
And, if you get to the bottom of this post (it's a long one) I'll show you how to build the second website for less than $40.00.
Creating websites and adding to them is a lot of fun. There is only a bit of tech work at the beginning. Thanks to the brainwork of a lot of smart people, those of us who know very little or no code can create websites for our creative journeys that are functional and attractive.
A lot of businesses that can be bootstrapped for less than $1,000. In fact, there are many businesses that can be started for less than $100 . (check out Chris Guillebou's brilliant book The $100 business" for more help, ideas and a plan.
I'm going to show you how to do it for less than $131.00. Once your website is up the opportunities for growth, marketing and building your own business expand exponentially.
Starting anything new is intimidating. To decrease any anxiety you may have (and help you start!) here are the guidelines to what you need to start your website for less than $131.00.
1. Domain names. There are lot of places to get your domain from. I purchase my domains from Go Daddy. Other websites include NameCheap and 1&1 . You shouldn't have to pay more than $12.99 for a .com name.
Your domain name is like your house. It is the place where people can come and check you out. If you buy a domain name but don't get hosting (see #2) it is like laying the foundation but not doing anything else.
Are you having trouble figuring out a domain name for your business? You could always start with your name. Or, write down all the words that describe your art. Write down what you know, the adjectives that describe what you do, how your work makes you feel, why you do it. Use words like-
painter-creative-illustrations-whimsical-feminine-colorful-pastels-lovely-happy-mysterious-melancholy-hungry-chocolate-caffeinated-fun-liveley-encouraging-lipstick love-curious-baker-writer-traveler-location independent-wanderer-feisty-hunter-autumn
Start playing with word combinations. It can be a bit clunky and awkward at first. Make it a game and don't take yourself too seriously. Something fun will come out. I did this recently for a new project and I was happy with the results.
Total: $12.99
2. Hosting - Getting hosting for your website is like buying the real estate. Only you know what domains you own. But when your website gets hosting, you are now on virtual real estate ground. There may not be anything built on the site yet but the possibilities are endless.
Some people like to buy their hosting and their website domains from different companies. I'm a simple girl when it comes to technology and a I like to have everything under the same umbrella.
I pay a yearly cost for hosting and it runs me $80.00 a year. I made things complicated when I was starting out because I didn't know any better and bought multiple hosting packages. Then, a Go Daddy representative reminded me that I one of the deals I purchased was a plan that I could host multiple sites from (my own little cul-de-sac of virtual real estate). That will save me money as I move all my websites to the one hosting area.
I see a lot of deals advertising hosting for a monthly fee of $5.99. We'll go with that for a total.
NOTE: You don't need a bunch of stuff that the company will try to sell you when you buy your domain and hosting. No extra email plans or business this or marketing that. We are going for the essentials here. No extra spending. Put the credit card down.
Oh...how do you set up the hosting and domain so they all connect? Call Go Daddy. That's what I do. I get nervous when I see all sorts of things to click. My brothers can attest to the damage I wreaked on their highly detailed Lego Citites back in the day (and yes, they were cities). I'm still nervous I will single-handedly take down the internet- or at least my teeny-weensy portion of it.
So I call Go Daddy. In fact, I just got off the phone with them. Led was very helpful and I am very happy.
Total: $5.99 (monthly fee)
3. WordPress - Free
WordPress is one of the most streamlined and easiest blogging and web platforms available. I love it. With a little exploration and minimal trial and error I was not only blogging but running my website and making minor changes without crashing the system. Amazing!
4. Premium Theme
Without a theme, your website looks pretty bare. It's like having the foundation of the house done but there is a whole lot of building left. Also, there is no power because there isn't a generator.
What you need is power...and a pretty walls.
Enter the Premium Theme.
There are "free" themes available but in this case you get what you pay for. I can't recommend buying a generator and a theme.
NOTE 2: There is no support for free themes but with paid "premium" themes there is great support and a rep to help fix issues. For people like me (no background in code or computer programming) I NEED this!
I'm biased so I'm going to tell you what I use. And then I'll give you some other options to research. Or maybe not. Cuz I'm pretty stoked about Studio Press. They have made my online life easier and prettier.
Studio Press in their genius-ness realized that people like you and me needed the ability to not only put together a website but maintain it without having to call on a web designer to make any changes.
{NOTE 3: I love web designers- my web designer that is. In fact, when Tom put Launch Your Life for me, I talked and talked and talked about him. I could write a post on "Third Times the Key: My Journey to finding the Ideal Web Designer (and why I'm never letting him go). But that sounds a little soap opera-ish and scary. It really was a frustrating process to put up a website some 5 years ago. I have the financial scars and gray hair to prove it.}
Random Funny Story: I talked so much about Tom my aunt and grandma that I was really in love with him. Like we were dating. Hysterical. I had to tell my aunt and grandma that no, I was just in love with the stress-free tech life I was experiencing.
Sorry for the tangent. Back to business.
My point: a great web designer can put together everything for you including a logo. But I don't start with my logo when I'm in bootstrapping stage. I consider it an extra that I can add in as I start to make money. And I know who to call. And now so do you.
Genesis Framework: The Genesis framework is the generator of the house. It automatically updates the WordPress changes and updates, gives customer service help, helps Google find your website with search engine optimization and has automatic features to make life on the web a whole lot easier.
The theme is what makes the website look pretty- it is the design element (color, fonts, the white space, the contrast. Without a theme there is a website but it looks like a house with only the framework. Check them out at Studio Press
The good folks over at Studio Press have explained the elements of Genesis and their Themes in better terms than I can. You can check it out at by clicking on the picture.
total: Genesis: $79.95
Theme: $24.95
5. Email Collector
Before you launch your website to the world it is essential to incorporate a email subscriber to your side bar. The people who sign up to receive email newsletters will be the most important part of your creative business. The people who sign up for my email newsletter are very special to me. I appreciate and respect them and strive to give them "extra" of myself whether that is special info in the enewsletters, early peaks into books, art and other special goodies and so forth.
When I send out an enewsletter inevitably someone hits "reply" and send me a note back. I love it! The interaction is fabulous.
There are both paid and free enewsletter services. I recommend MailChimp (what I use). Until there are 12,000 subscribers it is completely free. Other options are Aweber, Constant Contact and Infusion Soft.
Total: Free
6. Social Media Interaction: Part of having a web presence is sharing your content and art and inviting others to do the same.
Adding buttons to make it easy for people to share the posts and art they get excited about is important. Don't make people work too hard to make to share the good stuff you have!
Get a Share This button. This button allows people to share your content to exactly the social media outlet they prefer.
Total: Free
Conclusion
So these are the costs involved:
Domain $12.99 (for a .com)
Privacy Registration: $7.00
Hosting $5.99
Genesis Framework: $79.95
Theme: $24.95
Mail Chimp: Free
Share This: Free
Total: $130.88
We are ready to go! We can blog, add content and pictures. Time to launch!
Don't Forget About These Bonuses
Bonus to using Studio Press. The Genesis framework is a onetime purchase. It can be applied to multiple websites (cool, right?) So with my new website I can put in the code and it automatically "sets."
O.k. get ready for this- double bonus. I now don't pay full price for the Studio Press Themes. I get a discount on all of them. So my new website is costing me:
Domain $12.99
Business Domain/Privacy Registration: $7.00
Hosting: directly- nothing; it's included in my umbrella covering hosting account
Theme: $18.74
Total: $38.73
Will there be things I add on? Yes. I have an eye on a logo design in the future as well as some widgets that have a cost involved (less than a $100) that will help bring more people to the website and newsletter. But these things come later.
In the keep your eye on the goal: taking specific action to get things moving to reach your goals. A good website and blog will help you do that.
Everyone has a different way to do things. After having websites that caused severe frustration, I'm happy to have a system that works.
How about you? Do you use a designer? Do you feel comfortable taking care of your website and blog?
Questions? Let me know. I'm here with my cup of coffee.
The post How to Create a Beautiful Website for Under $131.00 appeared first on Launch Your Creative Life.