How to Build Your Own Web Site with Little Or No Money

Book excerpt: Web sites are an essential tool that every business must have in today s economy. Only 15 years ago, you could count the number of Web sites in the world with five or six digits; today there are between 15 and 30 billion active Web sites and millions more being added every day. Creating a Web site can be a great way to market a new product, promote your business plan, promote yourself, or simply share a few details about your life with the world. The cost of creating a Web site has risen right alongside the number of Web sites created though and many people are nervous about being able to utilise this revolutionary medium without breaking the bank. This book has been created for just such people, outlining for you in perfect detail everything you need to know to create a traffic attracting Web site, while spending little or no money at all. There are countless resources available, and when you put them all together, they provide a complete toolkit that can make anyone a top notch Web site in no time flat. You will learn how to buy a domain name and host your Web site for less than $15, with no additional fees charged to your account. You will learn how to use open source software like Wordpress, Joomla, and Mambo to create a platform on which you can build anything you want. You will learn how blogging has made Web site creation easier than ever and how sites like Squidoo, Facebook, and MySpace allow you more freedom to build traffic and draw more attention to what you are advertising at any given time. You will learn how to use common software to edit and tweak your Web sites and how to read the basic code that all Web sites are created in. In addition, an entire chapter is devoted to teaching you how to promote your Web site and draw traffic to it, without spending a dime in the process. You will learn why information is the most valuable asset on the market and how you can become an expert in a niche of your choosing, making money to cover any fees associated with your Web site. With the added resource of hours of interviews with web professionals you will learn which free resources not to use and which ones to outright avoid, as well as how to find and install open source modules and tools to enhance the look and feel of your site. You will learn where you can find copyright-free images to use on your Web sites and how to get free copy that will draw traffic and entertain your visitors. You will learn how to keep a free Web site from falling into the traps the major search engines set to stop spam and ultimately how to leverage new friends, business contacts, and interactions out of your Web site. If you are now, or have ever, considered starting your own Web site before, this book will map the way for you.