If you’re just starting out following your dreams of having your own online business, you probably don’t have much money to invest. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have a professional-looking website. You need to get creative and find ways to stretch your budget.
Follow these steps, and you’re sure to build a website that looks fantastic and is profitable
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You need a domain name
If there was one thing that you can’t by no means skimp out on, it’s your domain name. Your domain name is what customers will use to find you online, so it needs to be easy to remember and catchy. You can get a domain name for around $10 per year, so there’s no excuse not to have one.
You’ll want to choose a .com domain unless you buy a country-specific domain, which is only necessary if most of your customers are located in that country.
Choose a web hosting service
Your web hosting service is what’s going to make your website accessible to the world. Therefore, choosing a reliable web hosting service is essential, especially if you plan on doing any e-commerce on your website.
Various web hosting services are available, and they differ wildly in price. The good news is, if you’re starting, you don’t need the most expensive option. A shared web hosting plan will be more than enough to get you started.
With that said, if you plan on starting a resource-intensive website such as an e-commerce site with a lot of traffic, you might need to consider a more expensive web hosting option such as a VPS or dedicated server.
Choose your CMS (content management system)
The good news is that your CMS is free if you choose the right one. A content management system is what you’ll use to build your website. The most popular CMS by far is WordPress, which powers many websites on the internet.
WordPress is free to use and has many themes and plugins to make your website look great. Plus, it’s relatively easy to use, even if you’re not a tech-savvy person. Plus, did we say it’s free? It doesn’t get much better than free when you’re on a shoestring budget.
Choose a theme or design
If you’re going the WordPress route, you’ll want to use a theme. We here at Tomorrow Web Design can build you a theme from scratch if you have specific requirements that can’t be met with an existing theme. However, if you’re on a budget, you can find some beautiful themes for as little as $30.
If you want to save even more money, some great free WordPress themes are available. Just remember that free themes sometimes don’t have as many features as premium themes and might not be as well-supported.
We can also design your website if you’re not using WordPress. If you have any questions about our design services, reach out to us, and we’ll provide you with a free no-obligation quote.
Create content that Google will love
Even if you have a website that offers products or services, it’s still a great idea to have a blog. The benefit of having a blog is, that Google will rank your website higher in search results if you have fresh, relevant content.
Creating great content isn’t as hard as it sounds. Just think about what topics your potential customers might be interested in and write about those topics. You can even hire a freelance writer to help you with this if you’re not a great writer yourself.
Every piece of content you create should link back to a product or service page. That way, if someone is interested in what they’re reading, they can easily find a way to buy what you’re selling. Plus, Google will see the internal links to your other pages and rank them higher.
Drive backlinks to your site
Backlinks are links from other websites back to your website. Google uses backlinks as a ranking factor, so the more backlinks you have, the higher your website will rank in search results.
There are a few ways to get backlinks. The first way is to create great content that others will link to, as we mentioned above. People will link to your blog posts if they find them helpful or interesting.
Another way to get backlinks is to reach out to other website owners and ask them for a link. This is called link building, and it can be a great way to get high-quality backlinks from other websites.
We also offer link-building and SEO services. We go out there to find the best links and get them pointing to your site. We’re entirely white hat, which means we don’t do any shady stuff that could result in harmful links.
Outsource simple tasks to overseas virtual assistants
People who live in other countries can survive on much less money than those of us in the West. You can take advantage of this by hiring a virtual assistant (VA) from another country to do some of the simple tasks associated with running a website.
Here are some examples of tasks you can outsource to a VA:
- Writing blog posts
- Creating graphics
- Responding to customer service inquiries
- Adding products to your website
- Managing your social media accounts
You can find VAs on sites like Fiverr, Upwork, and onlinejobs.ph. Once you find a VA you like, give them a few small tasks to start with to make sure they’re a good fit. Then, if they do a good job, you can give them more work.
If you find someone you like, you can even offer them a full-time or part-time position. Also, give them a bonus every now and then if they do a good job and deliver everything on time. Even if you paid them an extra ten bucks, that might be quite a bit of money, depending on where they live. A small gesture like that can really help you build a good relationship with your VA.
Don’t let a lack of money destroy your chances of success
Just because you don’t have tens of thousands of dollars to invest in your website doesn’t mean you have to give up on your dreams of becoming successful online. On the contrary, sometimes it’s best to start with a small budget because it means you get your hands dirty and understand the process better.
Even if you have stacks of cash, you’ll still face problems as your business grows. No business is perfect, and there’s always going to be something that needs to be improved.
The key is never to give up. Don’t be afraid to put in the hard work; always look for ways to improve your business.
Feel free to contact us if you’re looking for help with your website or online business. We offer a wide range of services to help you take your business to the next level. We also offer a free consultation to discuss your needs and how we can help. We’ve helped countless businesses with everything from crafting the perfect design to getting the top spots in Google for competitive search queries.
If you’re just starting out following your dreams of having your own online business, you probably don’t have much money to invest. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have a professional-looking website. You need to get creative and find ways to stretch your budget.
Follow these steps, and you’re sure to build a website that looks fantastic and is profitable
[ez-toc]
You need a domain name
If there was one thing that you can’t by no means skimp out on, it’s your domain name. Your domain name is what customers will use to find you online, so it needs to be easy to remember and catchy. You can get a domain name for around $10 per year, so there’s no excuse not to have one.
You’ll want to choose a .com domain unless you buy a country-specific domain, which is only necessary if most of your customers are located in that country.
Choose a web hosting service
Your web hosting service is what’s going to make your website accessible to the world. Therefore, choosing a reliable web hosting service is essential, especially if you plan on doing any e-commerce on your website.
Various web hosting services are available, and they differ wildly in price. The good news is, if you’re starting, you don’t need the most expensive option. A shared web hosting plan will be more than enough to get you started.
With that said, if you plan on starting a resource-intensive website such as an e-commerce site with a lot of traffic, you might need to consider a more expensive web hosting option such as a VPS or dedicated server.
Choose your CMS (content management system)
The good news is that your CMS is free if you choose the right one. A content management system is what you’ll use to build your website. The most popular CMS by far is WordPress, which powers many websites on the internet.
WordPress is free to use and has many themes and plugins to make your website look great. Plus, it’s relatively easy to use, even if you’re not a tech-savvy person. Plus, did we say it’s free? It doesn’t get much better than free when you’re on a shoestring budget.
Choose a theme or design
If you’re going the WordPress route, you’ll want to use a theme. We here at Tomorrow Web Design can build you a theme from scratch if you have specific requirements that can’t be met with an existing theme. However, if you’re on a budget, you can find some beautiful themes for as little as $30.
If you want to save even more money, some great free WordPress themes are available. Just remember that free themes sometimes don’t have as many features as premium themes and might not be as well-supported.
We can also design your website if you’re not using WordPress. If you have any questions about our design services, reach out to us, and we’ll provide you with a free no-obligation quote.
Create content that Google will love
Even if you have a website that offers products or services, it’s still a great idea to have a blog. The benefit of having a blog is, that Google will rank your website higher in search results if you have fresh, relevant content.
Creating great content isn’t as hard as it sounds. Just think about what topics your potential customers might be interested in and write about those topics. You can even hire a freelance writer to help you with this if you’re not a great writer yourself.
Every piece of content you create should link back to a product or service page. That way, if someone is interested in what they’re reading, they can easily find a way to buy what you’re selling. Plus, Google will see the internal links to your other pages and rank them higher.
Drive backlinks to your site
Backlinks are links from other websites back to your website. Google uses backlinks as a ranking factor, so the more backlinks you have, the higher your website will rank in search results.
There are a few ways to get backlinks. The first way is to create great content that others will link to, as we mentioned above. People will link to your blog posts if they find them helpful or interesting.
Another way to get backlinks is to reach out to other website owners and ask them for a link. This is called link building, and it can be a great way to get high-quality backlinks from other websites.
We also offer link-building and SEO services. We go out there to find the best links and get them pointing to your site. We’re entirely white hat, which means we don’t do any shady stuff that could result in harmful links.
Outsource simple tasks to overseas virtual assistants
People who live in other countries can survive on much less money than those of us in the West. You can take advantage of this by hiring a virtual assistant (VA) from another country to do some of the simple tasks associated with running a website.
Here are some examples of tasks you can outsource to a VA:
- Writing blog posts
- Creating graphics
- Responding to customer service inquiries
- Adding products to your website
- Managing your social media accounts
You can find VAs on sites like Fiverr, Upwork, and onlinejobs.ph. Once you find a VA you like, give them a few small tasks to start with to make sure they’re a good fit. Then, if they do a good job, you can give them more work.
If you find someone you like, you can even offer them a full-time or part-time position. Also, give them a bonus every now and then if they do a good job and deliver everything on time. Even if you paid them an extra ten bucks, that might be quite a bit of money, depending on where they live. A small gesture like that can really help you build a good relationship with your VA.
Don’t let a lack of money destroy your chances of success
Just because you don’t have tens of thousands of dollars to invest in your website doesn’t mean you have to give up on your dreams of becoming successful online. On the contrary, sometimes it’s best to start with a small budget because it means you get your hands dirty and understand the process better.
Even if you have stacks of cash, you’ll still face problems as your business grows. No business is perfect, and there’s always going to be something that needs to be improved.
The key is never to give up. Don’t be afraid to put in the hard work; always look for ways to improve your business.
Feel free to contact us if you’re looking for help with your website or online business. We offer a wide range of services to help you take your business to the next level. We also offer a free consultation to discuss your needs and how we can help. We’ve helped countless businesses with everything from crafting the perfect design to getting the top spots in Google for competitive search queries.
