I am starting to look at building my website. I don't know a lot about websites so I have already gotten a little confused. Can anyone out there tell me what I need to make sure is included. I don't want to get blinded by the price and then realize I have to pay for so many different things on top of my cheap "monthly fee".

Mandy,

You need to include the answers to these questions: What solutions I am offering you, why should I trust you and finally what are my next steps.

The first is simple, your home page which will tell PC what you have to offer them. Many new VAs put a description of what is a VA but that does not tell anyone how you can help them. You should also put contact information on every page.

You also should have an ABOUT page (with a professional picture) describing why they should trust you and a CONTACT page with how to get in touch with you or what their next steps should be.

I also say put a SERVICES page, detailing what tasks you do and if you have testimonies a page for that too.

That should get you a great start.

You also may want to look at having a WP website so that you can make the changes and additions to the site yourself. If you are not comfortable designing it yourself then outsource it. There are some great VA's here (including myself) who can do the design and setup and get you on your way.

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Lee Drozak
My Office Assistant

Mandy,
Are you asking about your actual website or are you asking what you need in terms of purchasing a domain & hosting?

If it domain/hosting- let us know which company you are thinking of going with so someone can give you more specified details.

~C

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~Christina|BD Mag|VOSTeam

I am sorry I should have been more clear. I am talking about domain/hosting. I have a Mac and recently I have read some things that say not all hosting/domain company's will work with a mac.

The type of computer you have has no bearing on the hosting & domain services you need.
That only comes in to play when you are hosting on your own server- not likely :-)

You are using your computer to access the internet NOT to run the actual software that runs a website. Hope that makes sense.

~C

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~Christina|BD Mag|VOSTeam

A good thing to look out for when choosing your host is technical support in case the email server goes down or you have issues designing your website etc. Many hosts include this services within the price but double check just in case. Also look out for unlimited email and hosting space on their server.

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Sabrina L. Williams
For a bird's eye view of your business

There are some companies you can use that are sort of an all in one deal, like Vistaprint or GoDaddy where you can purchase the domain and hosting and build your website using their templates. Or you could do what I do and have my domain purchased through godaddy, my hosting through webhostinghub and Wordpress as my platform to build my website. Wordpress is pretty user friendly, but you have to find a theme you can work with and customize yourself. If you don't that's too much for you, maybe you should look at all in one options for now, like Vistaprint sites, but my suggestion would be to take a good look at Wordpress.

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Paulette R.
Rhythm Virtual Solutions | Alpha & Beta Translations

Thank you so much everyone. This has helped me so much. I really appreciate the input.

Mandy -

I want to second Paulette in the fact that, if you can, your best bet is to just start with Wordpress from the beginning. Make sure it is the non-hosted version (i.e. Wordpress.org - not Wordpress.com). It's free and easy to use, and many of the themes you can get are customizable, if you are tech savvy at all.

I personally use HostGator. It is highly critical that you have a hosting company that has the highest reliability "up-time" factor possible + has superior customer service. The reason I love HostGator is because they are really good about supporting you with things that aren't necessarily HostGator related. They are available (BY PHONE)...longest hold time EVER has been 10 minutes...and they are 24/7. I can't tell you how many times they have helped me with Wordpress issues, which has been invaluable. I really need to get their link on my website and make some money off of these recommendations. LOL!

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Pam Blackman - The Process Coach
Get more done in less time by streamlining!

I have also found a good hosting provide with great support and tutorials if you decide to manage your non WP site yourself - 1and1.com.

Janet

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Janet Falkenberg
ExecuStrive, Details Get Done