My Guide on How to Build a Website.
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There are many reasons why you might want to build a website. It could be to show off your work or give you a place to sell your artwork, or it could be about something not related to art at all. For example, maybe you just want some extra money coming in.
Having a website lets you work from home. So, if you already have a job, you can supplement your income with a website that sells your art or product, earns money through ads, or earns money as an affiliate (there are art affiliate programs too).
Here are some examples of what you could do with a website:
- Sell your art
- Show off your art (build your reputation)
- Teach art (this is what I do)
- Write about art
Or you could do a site on something other than art:
- Do a site on any hobby or subject (fitness, guitar, crafts, cars, etc.)
- Teach any subject you want
- Write about whatever subject interests you
- Create a site to sell your product (book, craft, etc.)
Of course, there are limitations on what you could create a site about. It has to be something that you can write about or hire a writer to write your articles. I prefer to write everything myself, but you don't have to. You'll want to keep creating content. You could have 10 pages or 1,000. It can be done for your full income or a part-time income.
Let's keep it real...
Now, the problem is that it's not as easy as just throwing up a website and suddenly getting heavy traffic. I used to use a regular web host, but found myself getting lost. What was worse was that I was spending hundreds of dollars trying to figure out how to get traffic to my site. I was buying various programs and the techniques only worked for a short time.
So, my recommendation for anyone who wants their own site is Site Build It! I have been using it for a while now, and it has helped me get on track. It is not a "standard" web host since it includes all the training that you could want on getting traffic, selling, and anything else you need to know. It will host your site and your domain name.
But there's one thing that I really like...
Site Build it! comes with some very handy tools. You can analyze your web pages to see if they are search engine optimized right after you build them. You can view your traffic and visitor stats as you can with any web host. You can check to see if the search engines have picked up your site yet. There is a lot more you can do in there as well. I won't take the time to list everything. Their service also includes a private forum where you can get all your questions answered. In fact, I probably spend too much time there...
But do you really need expensive programs to build your site?
I build my sites with Dreamweaver 8 and Photoshop CS3, but those come with a steep learning curve. If you do not have experience with these then don't worry. Site Build It! has all the tools you need to build a good looking site. They even have videos that show you how to use them. I've taken a look at the tools myself, and they are fully capable of making a great site, and everything is included with the hosting at no extra charge. You'll have a bit more freedom with Dreamweaver in terms of site design, but then again, you really have to know how to use the program well to be able to do it.
If you do want to use Dreamweaver and Photoshop, be sure to buy some training videos online. Videos are more helpful than books in my opinion. Of course, you can always use Site Build It! builder to make your pages now and then move up to Dreamweaver later. They even have videos there to show you how to do that.
I'm going to write some articles on both Photoshop and Dreamweaver here in the future, but I won't be able to cover everything. For now, you can watch the video tours at Site Build It! and read more about what they offer. And of course, you can always contact me if you have a question. They have a support team standing by to answer questions as well if you'd rather do that instead.
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