Build a website on a budget

That’s the way I did it!

Can you build a cheap but quality website? Yes you can! Some sites offer free space, but they might restrict creativity/upload capacity or offer templates that are too basic. If you can, rent hosting space from one company and buy the domain name from another so you can maintain control of your brand. I pay £32 for hosting a year and about £8 for my domain name every two years. It’s not the cheapest combo, but it works for me.

Can

Design & upload No budget and no html? Go for a package with an easy-to-customise template. If you hire a designer, ensure you can update the site afterwards - if each tiny change needs to go through the designer, costs will pile up. Eager to learn? Free templates are available online if you don’t mind editing the html code. I modify and update my website using Notepad. If I make a mistake, I undo! Page files, pdfs and images need to be uploaded using FTP software. I use Core, which is free.

SEOtasticOnce your website is up and

running, submit it to search engines - Google and Bing are

the top two. Improve your ranking with SEO - do not stuff

your website with keywords but create informative pages

and start a blog. It’s a good idea to caption photos so they

can turn up in image searches. I recommend the

SEO bible, http://www.great-seo.co.uk/ and

the free newsletters from searchenginewatch.com.

Also check out my blog at http://howtoseouk.blogspot.co.uk/.

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SM exposureSocial and professional networks are crucial in promoting a website. Whether it’s on LinkedIn, Facebook, Digg, or Twitter, your website can get plenty of exposure. If the website has a blog, there are sites where you can promote it in all sort of ways, such as blog carnivals, through guest blogging, and perhaps setting up a competition. If you have a budget for advertising, consider Google ads.

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Monetize to capitaliseYour website can carry ads – if you are after some advertising revenue, affiliate marketing agencies is an easy way to go. Bear in mind you will need to promote those links, so work out a good balance between editorial and advertising content.

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