Building Your Website

Lets talk about building Your Website

• If you’re interested in getting a great site, I’d suggest you hire a pro. Technology is moving as such a rapid pace it’s tough to keep up. Just knowing how to build a site is not enough. These days, you’ve got to know how to market it effectively. If you’re convinced you can build your site by yourself, start by contacting a web hosting site, where you can purchase your domain name and select a hosting plan. There are a variety of options available and most are quite reasonable.  Some hosting sites even offer built-in templates for building your own site. Many people these days are using a blog format, so don’t discount that route. Remember the age-old motto: Less is more. Don’t overwhelm visitors on your home page. 

Now let’s talk about things to add to your website:

• On your opening (or index) page, include your photo, your tagline (a few words to describe who you are/what you do)
• Make your main page easy on the eyes. Choose colors and texts that are easy to read in nice-sized fonts.
• Include a brief blurb about yourself.  
• List your most current project, along with a photo of the book’s cover
• Place a “links” bar on the page leading to sub-pages.  Here are some things you could include on your page:
  • A great opening hook on the home page
  • Services and prices
  • Tips from the Pro
  • Writing links
  • An “About the Author” page
  • Links to your blogsite, facebook page, etc. 
  • Twitter feed
  • A shopping cart feature, so that readers can purchase your materials directly from your website.
  • Newsletter sign-up link
  • Your speaking topics
  • Fresh material or articles, updated regularly

Now we’re going to talk about some things you should not add to your website:

• Personal Information (do not give your address, phone number, names of your children, etc.  You’d be surprised how many folks there are out there who might try to contact you).
• This goes without saying, but never put any financial information on your site such as credit card numbers, bank account numbers, etc.
• Never list you social security number on your site (or any other private/personal government numbers).

Questions to ponder:

• What do you plan to accomplish with your website?
• How will you get people to your site?
• Will you need to hire someone to build your site?

Download the .pdf of this lesson below.