Everywhere you turn, someone is telling you you need your own website. EVERYONE is doing it. Well, its true. It is the future, whether you are a business or not. Computers have become a way of life. Getting a domain name is less expensive than ever before, no reason not to jump on the band wagon.
I firmly believe though, that if you have a business, you HAVE to have a website in order to succeed. Maybe you are doing alright without one-now; but believe me – times, they are a changing and if you want your business to grow, you seriously need to get your own website.
So you have a Domain Name. Now, what do you do with it? Yes, having a domain name is the first step, but having a domain name is not the same as having a website. It’s time to roll up your sleeves and get down to business.
Face it, most ceramists are ceramists. Most are not computer savvy and most don’t know the first thing about how to navigate on the computer. Other than visiting other sites and playing around with emails, the common ceramist has minimal or no knowledge of how to conduct business on the wide wide world of the web/internet.
To help the lesser techno-literate amongst the ceramists, let me break down some of the basics to starting your online presence on your own domain.
1. Secure a domain name 2. Select a host/server to support your site 3. Determine a budget 4. Determine what you want your site to do (sell, provide information, have a shopping-cart/check out system, etc) 5. Decide if you want to do this yourself or hire help 6. Decide on a program to set-it up like front Page, Publisher, WordPress or others if you are to do it yourself. Most host sites will provide this. 7. Locate templates and design a logo. Make your own or use those that come with your program or host site 8. Prepare photos, set policies, shipping procedures, payment methods. 9. Organize your templates as to how you want to present data 10. Input your data 11. Upload to the internet 12. Know how to maintain your website
13. Advertise
The above steps are simplified and their inclusion is to give some idea of what you are getting yourself into. It is not as intimidating as it seems.
To read more on how to set up your own website, click here.