Do You Have a Burning Urge to Begin an Online Business but You Don’t Know Where to Begin?
Starting a business online is a good way to earn money and also to stand up to The Man. The current environment marked by improving technology, lower costs and excellent online tools makes it a good period to commence your business online.
Before you get started, it is wise to consider the following:
1. Who your competitors are.
2. Internet culture.
3. Internet tools such as RSS feeds.
Once you have considered those things, you can now begin the process of setting up your online business. The following steps show how it’s done in an easy and hassle-free way:
Domain registration.
Domains are unique internet addresses. They are how your prospective clients and customers can find you and are part of your property that is intellectual similar to a patent, copyright or trademark. Picking a domain that is short and concise is a good way to go. There are many online registrars (the companies which register domains) where you can go to purchase your domain.
“Free” domains are offered by some registrars. Even though many of them are legitimate, being in assurance that things are okay, such as the name of the domain being in your name instead of the registrar’s is vital. If you do not do this, certain problems may arise, for example, it may make it hard and even impossible to change hosting companies without your domain name getting lost.
Some domain registrars are: Go Daddy, Network Solutions and Bluehost.
Get a web host.
The company that will “rent” you server-space for you to perform web-hosting is called a web host. Domain registration is also offered by these companies and it’s perceived as being convenient to have both of them at one company. When choosing your web host, it’s good to consider storage capacity, domain based email, server security and uptime percentage. The ability to make response forms available and host a blog should also be evaluated before you choose a web host.
Some providers include: BlueHost and Go Daddy.
Website design.
This is not hard at all. You could either:
- Design the site yourself.
- Hire someone to build it.
Should you choose to make it yourself, you’ll be glad to know that most companies that let you host your website on their servers have tools that help you in building the site. Using software like Dreamweaver to make a site is also a viable option, although it might be difficult if you’re new to it, the manual is 1000 in thickness! Hiring a designer is a simpler way to go, they don’t have to be expensive, finding one on places like Craig’s List for 50-70$ isn’t difficult. Apart from the general look of your website, you’ll also have to give thought to its content, what it’s going to be about and so on.
Payments online.
An order form to be faxed is a thing of the past thanks to online payment systems like PayPal and Google Checkout. The two enable you to accept online payments. Making your website compatible with shopping carts like “Ejunkie” also appeals to clients and customers to it. Your website should accept online payment methods, to make attractive to your prospective clients and customers.
Marketing.
Thank God for SEOs (that is Search Engine Optimizations). If you haven’t put up any online Ads, hiring a company to do SEO for you to ensure that when users search for your type of product on places like Yahoo or Google, your business pops up is a good way to market your business. If this does not appeal to you, marketing using things like Google AdWords is a cost-effective way to go for advertising.
Product delivery.
Electronic goods are easier to deliver than physical goods as they are downloadable after payment is made. For shipping physical goods, a fulfillment company like Motivational Fulfillment and others like it would help you in accomplishing your goal.
And that is it! With that, you should be able to comfortably start your own online business and begin to experience the great joys of entrepreneurship.
