Building And Marketing A Web Site As A Home Business ( Part 1 Of 2 )

Many resources exist online at minimal or no cost to the would be "webmaster" for the building and marketing of a web site as a home business. Benefits include low startup and operational costs, the ability to edit ( add, change, delete, update ) content and display characteristics with minimal effort, a chance to earn a steady income from home, and a sense of accomplishment.

Building and marketing a web site as a home business doesn't have to be difficult, expensive, or tremendously time consuming. Anyone that is able to read this article already has the basic tools to get started. These tools are a computer, word processing program, internet connection, and a desire to learn, gain knowledge, and apply certain techniques to achieving success on the internet.

Having an idea for the general content, design, and layout of the web site is definitely helpful but not necessary at this point. Ideas for content such as an existing business, hobby, or personal interest can be the foundation of a new and successful web site. Make a list of ideas that can be incorporated into the actual design of the web site such as color scheme, graphics, and photos. For layout ideas take note of other web site designs when browsing the internet. Eventually, all of the ideas will converge and become the building blocks of a new web site.

Purchase a "teach yourself" book about Hypertext Markup Language ( HTML ) and Extended Hypertext Markup Language ( XHTML ) ( code necessary for creating a web site ) online or from any popular bookstore. HTML and XHTML books are available at the public library but it is best to own one that can be referred to time and again as needed. SAMS is the popular publisher of the "teach yourself in 24 hours" books that are relatively inexpensive ( retailing for about $25.00 in the US ). Whichever book is purchased will need to cover text alignment and formatting, graphics, tables and frames, style sheets, forms, linking, multimedia, and publishing.

Set aside a certain amount of time every night ( approximately 60 minutes ) to study and apply new techniques as they are learned. Be consistent with studying and don't try to learn too much too soon. Give each topic its due diligence and don't get frustrated or give up. If a topic is not discussed or confusing, try doing a search online using appropriate keywords, there may be an example or explanation posted that is easier to understand.

Discussion boards exist where questions can be asked and then answered by other participants. Questions can be very basic or complex since no question is trivial except the one that is not asked. There are others with vast knowledge and experience about/with any topic who are willing to give accurate, complete, and useful answers. Some sites answer questions via email although a response may take several days. No matter what, continue to study and learn, gain knowledge, apply new techniques, and ask questions.

Refer to the World Wide Web Consortium ( W3C ) at http://www.w3.org/ for specifications, guidelines, software, and tools relating to other important topics including Document Type Declaration's ( DTD's ) and HTML, XHTML, and cascading style sheet ( CSS ) validation.

Once a page is completed use a "code cleaner" such as the one provided for free by http://www.1-hit.com/ to correct minor errors and make the page search engine friendly. Search engines are often referred to as a robot or spider that will crawl a site searching the content for information to index for future reference. Other useful tools available for free include a broken link checker, keyword analyzer and suggestion tool, load time analyzer, and Meta tag and Robot.txt file generators.

Register a domain name and publish the web site using a reputable hosting company such as http://www.tripod.lycos.com/ that offers various plans, lots of storage space, and useful tools and resources at a reasonable rate ( expect to pay a minimal $15.00 setup fee and a monthly fee of $8.00 - $10.00 ). Preferably, register a domain name using keywords ( words relating to the content of the site ). Publish the web site once the basic layout and organization is complete, Meta Tags are added, and a code cleaner has been used.

Once the web site is published it is time to advertise and market. Part 2 of this article discusses advertising ideas, marketing techniques, and includes addresses to other useful sites.Topics include affiliate programs, search engine optimization ( SEO ), different types of links, directories, and article submission.