Hello,

I'm trying to find the least expensive, yet professional way to start my website. I do still need to come up with a company name, but as far as hosting, web design (which, I MAY be able to do on my own), listing with search engines, getting a domain name, etc, I'm at a loss as to where to start.

Can anyone provide some direction?


Thank you.
Donna

Fatcow has a great hosting program for $66 a year, but if you talk fast you can get it for under $36 for the whole year. And you can use a wordpress plugin to make it a wordpress site, which is great for SEO. You can also choose from many different free themes. I have tried other hosting companies and really like this one for the price.

__________________
Serita Diana, the List 2 Close Assistant
REVA Academy

Hello,

Here's a link here with web host suggestions from VAF members

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/te...CT101043281033


Good luck! You have come to the right place for great information.

Janine

__________________
New VAs: I personally recommend Become A Virtual Assistant to Get Started!

Donna,

There are many great hosting companies out there and i would suggest you check out threads from others about who they are using. Wordpress.org is one of the best applications to create a dynamic site and once you get going there are many talented VA's here who can customize for you. The best part is it is great from an SEO standpoint and easy to change and update from anywhere.

My only suggestion is to stay away from free sites and web builders as they will only become cumbersome and not easy to grow with you when the time comes.

__________________
Lee Drozak
My Office Assistant

I also just posted a question somewhat related to this. With wordpress.com (which sounds like a winner to me , it is recommended that I buy my domain through them? Or better to buy the domain from something like bluehost.com or godaddy.com? It's all new to me!

Originally Posted by Rosie18

I also just posted a question somewhat related to this. With wordpress.com (which sounds like a winner to me , it is recommended that I buy my domain through them? Or better to buy the domain from something like bluehost.com or godaddy.com? It's all new to me!

I bought my domain(s) through GoDaddy 'cuz they seemed to be the cheapest at the time. I have never had any issues with their customer service and they helped me set up my initial website through their "website tonight" service but I hear that setting up your site using wordpress is really a great way to do it, as well. Check out the YOUR VIRTUAL ASSISTANT BUSINESS WEBSITE section here on the forum for some excellent advice!

__________________
Lily Chambers, The Virtual Office Goddess, LLC
Author "How to Do Your Own Small Business Bookkeeping"

Hi

Even though I am located in Australia, I was faced with the same problem when I first started my business.
After a lot of research I discovered a few important things to consider:

1 - If you can do any of the creation or maintenance on your website, do it - this will save you alot of money in the long run. Many websites can now be maintained by the user themselves. I typed everything that is on my website, and add or change pages at my own discretion - all from using a basic word processing program.
2 - Many businesses I contacted had fees that were alot more expensive than the fees of a VA.
3 - Be careful that businesses don't try to sign you up for the whole package, make sure you only get what you need. If they can't give it to you, don't use them
4 - Don't be afraid to have a list of questions ready for any potential business or VA you are contacting. Many of them can take care of everything you need or refer you to other sources, and also manipulate the "package" to suit your needs exactly, so you are not paying for something you don't need.
5 - Remember at the end of the day, that the website and all other aspects that will be created, are there to represent you and your business. If you are not happy with the process one business provides, there are always other businesses and VA's out there that will give you exactly what you need and want.
It took me along time to research everything, many emails back and forth with questions and elaboration requests, but in the end, I am 100% sure I picked the correct service for my business requirements.
Good luck and I hope this has helped you a bit.
Regards
Brigette

Wordpress, Joomla, Mambo, Drupal... All are open source and great options. Each have their ups and down. One of the downsides of them all are the learning curve.

Wordpress is good for blogging but harder to learn how to customize an entire site around. (I cannot say much for wordpress as I only use wordpress in association with Joomla and Corephp)

Joomla I personally swear by for building sites with as from an optimization point of view every page can be given meta tags and keywords without coding or database experience. It has tons of free tutorials, free templates and free modules to make it do anything you want. Some have complained of security issues with the login page (although you won't likely need front-end login options). In 4 years I have never had a security breach and you can always encrypt the login (which is something I have done now for all clients) and then you have zero risks even with front end login.

Drupal is said to have more security then Joomla but has less flexibility and modules.

Mambo is simular to Joomla but a bit behind in technology and outdated in many ways.

Again I do prefer Joomla so my post may be a bit biased but without programming experience an open source, free, content management system is, in my personal opinion, your best option so that you are not paying out a fortune for webdesign, SEO, and updates.