How To Choose The Right Website For You
Author: Theresa Evans

Choosing what you want your website to be isn't always as
obvious as it might seem. There are so many options available
to you that it really pays to take time out to think about this
question before jumping in. Ask yourself what you are actually
aiming for in having an online presence? Do you want a personal
website, an online shop, a blog or diary style presence? Or do
you want to run a forum related to your product or interest,
perhaps an ezine with a back-issue website or if you are an
artist, photographer or craftworker, maybe an online gallery
would best promote you? To help you decide, try asking yourself
these questions.

Do you want to sell physical goods? Items that have to be
delivered by post, such as books, toys, clothes, electrical
goods etc are ideal for an ecommerce website. There are many
options open to you whereby you can catalogue your items by
entering them into a database. This sounds more complicated
than it actually is. Most shop building software has a simple
interface whereby you can enter items in obvious categories,
add prices, sizes etc and postage costs. The add to basket
buttons are generated for you for each item.

There's a huge number of companies offering you shop solutions
for your website but they don't all have the same facilities.
As ever, it pays to research and find one that does everything
you want it to. Most companies will offer you a free trial and
I recommend that you select a company that does.

You can choose to buy shopbuilding software to install on your
computer, the benefit being that this is a one-off purchase and
no recurring monthly payments, apart from your web hosting.
Alternatively you can go for the hosted shop option. There are
an enormous number of companies offering this. Advantages are
that your hosting and website are integral. Everything is done
online so you can even update your shop from any computer
wherever you may be. These options are usually very simple to
use and have good help menus.

Do You want to sell downloadable goods, eg. software, music,
ebooks? Downloadable products are very hot selling items on the
internet. The reason is obvious and it benefits everyone
involved. The buyer receives his/ her purchase immediately
payment has cleared and the seller has no stock to buy, keep or
deliver. Some product examples are music, images, software,
templates and ebooks.

Ebooks are one of the most popular downloadable products. They
are very easy to produce and most people have the ability to
read them from their computer screen or even print them out.
"How to" books are the most popular by far as they provide
answers, solutions and ideas. The internet is used by many as a
research tool and people are actively looking for information
and solutions to problems. If you can provide these on a
popular enough niche topic, your ebook is likely to be in
demand.

There are several websites which offer you the facility to sell
downloadable products, such as Clickbank and Payloadz. A quick
google search will give you more options to explore to find the
most suitable for your particular needs.

Are you an artist or photographer or craftworker? Firstly, ask
yourself what your purpose of having an online presence will
be. For example, are you looking to have a classy online
portfolio or do you want to set up an ecommerce shop where you
promote the sale of your original work and prints? Can you
design websites or do you have the financial means to ask
someone to build one for you? Do you have sufficient I.T.
skills to join one of the many online galleries that allow you
to upload your work to your own gallery area on their website?
Do you like the idea of being part of a larger online gallery
but need someone to do all the techy things for you?There are
an enormous number of online galleries now but knowing what you
want to achieve will help you narrow your search significantly.


Do you have a bricks and mortar shop? If your business is in
the real world, think about what it is you require your website
to do in order to promote or give added value to your business.
Do you wish it to be simply an online information post so that
people can find more about what you offer or find their way to
your premises? If so, you may if that your local government
will offer you a free web page or mini website on their main
council site. If you want something more individual, then a
simple site built with Frontpage or a webuilder is probably
your best option. If money is no object, then you can hire a
webdesigner and achieve something more sophisticated.

Or perhaps you wish to add something extra to your business
such as an online, out of hours, ordering system with home
delivery. Again, unless you can pay for your site to be custom
built, one of the easy web-shop builders is probably your best
option. Here are some excellent ones for you to review.

Do you want to sell or promote a service? For example, are you
a webdesigner, childminder, photographer, plumber, tutor,
dogwalker, typist, financial adviser, mobile hairdresser,
decorator, gardener, acupuncturist or beautician? The list is
endless. If you offer a service whether online or off you will
want to reflect your professionalism in a well designed and
easy to navigate website. If you are able to afford to have
your website designed for you to your own specifications, then
this can be a good choice as it frees up your time to get on
with actually providing the service you are involved in.

This is in option which many cannot afford. An alternative
would be to build the website yourself. The advantages to this
can really repay the time you put in. To start with, you can
update your site whenever you wish, so keeping the content
fresh and relevant. Software to help you do this is easily
obtained. Dreamweaver and Frontpage are amongst the most
popular. I find that the latter is an excellent choice for
someone new to web design as it is so intuitive and easy to
learn.

Having built your site yourself, the only ongoing costs are the
time you decide to spend on it plus your webhosting and there
are some excellent deals to be had these days. If you feel
uncomfortable with building sites, don't despair. There are
some fabulous online website builders on offer these days. with
this option, your website and hosting are all inclusive.
Typically, you will be given a login area where you can select
the template, ie. look and feel of your website and add images
and information in a very simple step by step way. There is
considerable competition amongst web hosts offering this option
and for you, the consumer, this means that more added value is
being tagged onto these packages all the time.

Do you want to build a community website? Websites reflecting
the interests of a community or group membership don't need to
be sophisticated but it is an excellent idea to have one that
is interactive. Being able to post questions and opinions, vote
on a member poll or even post photographs will encourage members
to participate more fully and can lead to new ideas and renewed
enthusiasm within the group. An ideal solution might be a one
page website linked to a forum. Some web hosts will offer free
websites and hosting for not-for-profit groups and this is well
worth looking into. Another idea is to have a community Blog.
Again, these are something that permit group participation in
posting plus are easy to set up and manage and many are free.

Good luck with your endeavours whatever your aims! The internet
is a great place to have your own voice.


About The Author: Theresa Evans is an artist and webdesigner.
Her personal website is http://www.flowerportfolio.com and her
online gallery for other artists can be found at
http://www.paintimpressions.com