How to Start a Website - Dont Let Anyone Tell You Its Easy

Many people have the ambition of starting their own website. There are many things to watch out for. Take your time to evaluate what you are being offered. After one near-disaster, I asked a lot of questions before I committed. However, it still takes work and tenacity.

My first attempt at starting a website was about 14 months ago. I payed $5,000.00 to a website design company for the package. This included software and phone instruction for three months. This is it, I thought, I'm all set now and on my way. And I was really excited.

It was only when I received the lengthy software downloads that I started to have my doubts. There were over 15 programs and I had difficulty in classifying them on my computer, and I hadn't even started yet.

After my second phone consultation with the website consultant, who was not really interested in my ambitions, I knew that I had made a big mistake. "There must be an easier way to do this?" I thought. It was obvious I didn't know how to evaluate a website company.

Fortunately, I was able to get a refund for most of the fee. However, it was an expensive lesson both in time and money.

The act of creating a website by private individuals is like climbing a mountain. To increase you chances of success, you will need:

• The best climbing equipment (state-of-the-art software)
• A guide to take you to the top (a well laid-out plan)

If you only have the best equipment, and no guide, you might get stranded or lost half-way up the mountain. At all times you should have a clear vision of the top of the mountain.

The ever-present guide will show you the way. And this will keep you motivated.

There is a catch though: only you can do the climbing to get to the top.

And that's what it's like setting up a website on your own. It takes lots of time, effort and tenacity to move through the stages. But what I have found is that if the software is intuitive and all in one place, the frustration level is reduced. And, of course, you must also have confidence in your guide.

Many companies will sell you a template-like website where you only have to fill in your own information. The result is that you will end up with a fancy-looking site that will be totally ignored by the search engines. The result: no traffic because It's a replicated template and will be classified as spam by the engines.

It will be like having a beautiful sign at the side of the road - in the middle of the Sahara desert. No one will see it and it provides no value.

If you can get a company with proven results and that really knows how to create websites, you will make better progress. Also, and this is very important, you need to know how to market a website.

It's not only building a site, it's building a worthwhile site in the end that really matters.