how to make money on the web-Part 2

Continued from the last inSITES issue. Read the intro plus steps 1 & 2 here.

For this series we are going to create a site for a fictitious small business called Cakes by Jane based in Atlanta, Georgia.

Step 3: Find a Web Designer

web designer help Back when I started designing websites (1997) I was more concerned with the aesthetic value of websites than anything else. Sure, I wanted the site to make money, and I did what I could, but I truly believed that a beautiful design was the key to success. Boy, was I wrong. Many an ugly site is popular (think of Craig's List) while some beautiful sites get no traffic at all.

Most people can create a basic website using a simple template provided by their web host. The problem is that design is just the beginning. You need to add search engine optimization techniques and a killer content and marketing strategy to bring traffic to your site.

Web designers usually fit into one of these 4 categories:

the artist-who is concerned about design, color and layout, but doesn’t care about much else;
the developer-who is great at providing a quick loading site with lots of technical features like integrated databases and secure pages, but is seriously lacking when it comes to making the site visually appealing;
the online marketer-who concentrates on making the sale, sometimes to the point of annoying or alienating site visitors;
the rare designer that integrates these 3 skill sets into one integrated approach. If you can find someone like this in your price range and they come with great references, hire them.

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Step 4: Find a Web Host

Think of a web host as a parking garage where you pay to park your car (your website). You can pay per month, per quarter, bi-annually or annually. If you have never worked with this host before or haven't had a friend or website designer recommend them, try to make the commitment as short as possible so you can easily switch hosts if these people do not meet your needs. Hosting costs run from $4-$100 a month depending on the features they offer and the type of hosting you choose.

There are 3 different types of hosting:

Shared Hosting-You website is uploaded (saved) to a web server (large computer) with other websites. This is the least expensive hosting type and the most popular. Shared hosting costs about $4-20/month unless you add e-commerce features to your site which can bring the price up to $30/month. Shared hosting is like living in an apartment building. If one of the other tenants has a fire, you are also at risk. So if another one of the websites on your shared server has a virus, then you'll get it too. The good news is that web hosts are usually good at keeping these problems at bay. I recommend shared hosting to most clients.
Virtual Server Hosting (VPS or VDS)-is the same as shared hosting except websites on the server are in separate "partitions." VPS hosts partition one server into multiple servers so that each has the appearance and capabilities of running on its own dedicated machine. Each "virtual" server can run its own operating system and can be rebooted independently. Think of this as a townhouse instead of an apartment building. You share some things, but have more independence than living in an apartment. VPS hosts are good for people who need extra security and peace of mind or techies who want to install their own software to the system root. Most VPS also allow you to add more websites (or even an unlimited amount of sites) under just one account which is very economical. If you have several different domain names or need extra security, this may be the best choice for you. Costs are usually $30-$100/month and service is usually backed up with a guarantee.
Dedicated Server Hosting-this is a physical computer just for your website. Security is usually the biggest advantage of dedicated server hosting, but the price takes it out of most consumer's reach. The costs start from $150-$500/month and usually include a setup charge at about the same rate as the monthly rate.

My Hosting Recommendations:

If you are new the world of website hosting and don't know what you need, chances are you will do just fine with Shared Hosting from reputable companies like FatCow, GoDaddy or Apollo Hosting. The only reason I've chosen VPS over Shared Hosts in the past is e-mail. Reputable hosts always offer free email, but because your site is partitioned with VPS hosting, your e-mails will not be scrutinized as much as they are with Shared Hosting. One shared host I use won't let me send any e-mails with the word "proposal" in it because it is flagged as SPAM. If I upgrade to VPS host, I wouldn't have that problem.

More to come in the last installment of this three part series...