Building your online business
Register a Domain Name and build a website - Registering a domain name is quick and simple. GoDaddy or Network Solutions are good starting points, but most any hosting company on the internet can register your domain and set up website hosting in minutes.
Designing your website - the quickest way to get your website online is to use do-it-yourself (DIY) templates that are available from most webhosting companies. Within minutes you can set up a website. There are drawbacks to template based website. They may not offer the selections you like, or need, and they may appear to be too packaged, but for first time web builders, they are the only way to go. As your business grows, you may want to hire a web designer.
Maintaining your website - this will be the most time consuming and expensive part of your virtual business. Consider your time and expertise when you are planning your online business.
You may also want to consider having a blog as your website. No programming or development cost and no one to pay for updates to your pages.
Accept payment online - PayPal is still the easiest way to get paid for those new to online commerce. This should not be the only method you look at, as every business, even very small, needs to to have a refined payment method to make their customers comfortable with the buying process.
Market your website - Web marketing has come a long way since the early day of the World Wide Web. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a must if you are going to get the word out about your business. Take some time to find out what it is and how you can do it well. This doesn't have to cost much (or anything), but does require that you understand how the top search engines work. Google, Yahoo and others have extensive tutorials and information to help.
