By Kathleen Orlik, Workable Solutions
BREAKING NEWS ALERT: YOU ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY MUST HAVE YOUR OWN WEBSITE IF YOU WANT TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY!
This is not optional. This is not a suggestion. This is mandatory if you want to do business in 2011.
Why? A website is your homebase. It's how people find you on the internet. If people can't find you, they can't do business with you. Think of your website as your virtual office and business card all in one.
Here are the necessary functions of a website:
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Provides your basic contact information; full name, phone number (cell), and email address
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Provides a place for potential clients to get a feel for who you are and how professional you are
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Allows you to provide background information and other relevant information
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Can display your blog, social media accounts, helpful links
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Can function as a repository of downloadable forms for your clients
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Can have an automated form for potential clients to request information/quotes
You don't have to know anything about web design or coding or programming to create and maintain a high quality website. You will want to have your own "domain" which is the dot com that everyone always talks about. Say your name is Michael J Smith. You're probably going to want to register MichaelJSmith.com. Try to stay away from other extensions like .net or .biz if possible.
A few good places to register your domain are GoDaddy.com, NetworkSolutions.com or Register.com. Don't choose a domain registry website that looks like a fly-by-night operation. Pick your domain name and register it.
Great! Now you own your own domain! The next step is to find a host where you can keep your website and all of the files that go with it. You are also going to want a host with a "what you see is what you get" (WYSIWYG) content editor.
This means that creating and maintaining your website will be as simple as using Microsoft Word. One extremely simple and professional host/WYSIWYG editor is SquareSpace.com. SquareSpace will cost you about $20-$25 a month and has everything you need to design, publish and maintain your website.
Here's a screen shot of how you edit your pages' content in SquareSpace.
Take home from today's lesson: A website is cheap, easy and absolutely mandatory in order to portray an image that says you're professional and understand the basics of business in 2011. If you don't want to put in the effort or $25 a month to maintain a decent site, you're in bigger trouble than this blog can help you with.
