Building my website - My Journey

[NonTechyMom]

HI!

I have decided to build my own business website!

And, I am going to share all the steps I took to get there.
The Good, the bad, and the smokey! 

(Smokey is a reference to the smoking memory card I burned up in January - Broni and Quaxo remembers!  )

Here is why I want to do this. I am about as lost as I can be, so if I can do this, and explain how I did it, maybe it will help others. I am all about sharing experiences.

I work a full time job, a part time job, and I have teens, so this will not be an overnight project. I will post every step I take and the mistakes I make.

I do hope I can help others from my work. :-)

[NonTechyMom]

The back story....
 
Back in January my New Years resolution was NOT to lose weight, spend more time with friends, or volunteer more, etc, etc.

I am going to be honest I chose this year, the first New Years after I turned 40 to do something just for me. I wanted to learn all about the workings of computers.

My goal was to learn enough about computers to help my son get his video games working, and create my own online business.

I do know a lot about using programs, such as power point, all kinds of MS  and banking programs. BUT, I had no idea how the internal workings of a computer worked, or how to build a website.

Lucky for me I found this website and found Broni that very first day!
We spent 11 hours on the computer together!!! And the next day we were together for about another 8 hours. He is a wonderful, sweet, patient person.

Then I received help from Quaxo, and between us all, I felt like we had known each other for a long time. These two people are wonderful!

Since then I have received tons of help from everyone!

Everyone here has been Angels. 

And that is another reason why I want to post what I do, everyone has helped me here, and I am not one just to take. I also want to give something back! This is my opportunity to give back to this website!

I am now able to use my selfish resolution for good. I now create very simple free RESUME websites for the unemployed. And I order them free business cards with their web address on it to give away to possible contacts.

All of this has made me feel good about what I have learned since JAN 08.

BUT, I don’t know how to build myself a NICE business website with all the bells and whistles. 

But that is going to change! It is my turn again!

I want to work for myself, out of my home. The only way I will ever do that is to grab the computer by it’s hard drive and show it who is boss.

Plus if I work for myself, I can really continue to do volunteer work with the unemployed by helping them promote themselves.

So here I am, and here I GO! 

[NonTechyMom]

The very first mistake I did was not shop around for domain prices. I was naive and had no idea what I needed or wanted. SO, I took the jump and purchased my domain name from Register.com.

Now don't get me wrong. THEY are very nice and helpful, and not so high you have to dip into savings, but there are cheaper ones out there.

POW WEB and GO DADDY are good ones. (Please, feel free to post comments about my choices).

So, you purchased your domain name somewhere, BUT you don't want to host there.. NOT even an issue.

This was not a terrible mistake. Not even one that I will ever even think about again. At register.com there is a 60 day rule that says you cannot transfer without penalty, but that seems standard.

BUT, what I found out, YOU CAN point you name to the hosting site you want to use and later transfer. There are a few small fees involved. Trust me, this is just a small blimp on the scale of mistakes.

I would call this more of a learning experience then a mistake.

OH yeah! Let me tell you about my friend.

He was afraid of making this mistake so he has waited years to just make the click! I finally made him take out his credit card, go to GO DADDY, and register his darn name before someone else did. He kept saying over and over - I don't want to screw this up. I made him sit down and pick a few variations of his name, and hit the darn send button. Because of the amount of names he picked, and the service he chose, it cost him a whopping $86 to get his domain names saved. NOW he is finally building his business.

DO not be afraid of making this jump! If you screw it up, trust me it will cost you less than $86!

So go ahead and find a good hosting site that you like.

I like GODADDY.com now because of there incredible website building help! I know they sometimes have a bad rap, but my goodness they have helped me so VERY much with what I consider stupid questions. if you do start with them, use the "website tonight" option and start with the VERY cheapest package. You can upgrade your package ANYTIME.

BUT, that is who I use, you can use whoever you wish.


My total start out mistake cost me about $50.

[NonTechyMom]

Transferring my site to GO DADDY

First step,

I talked with GoDADDY and asked how to transfer a site to them.

They sent me instructions.

I spoke with register.com and I have to wait until Monday to find out the answers and get an authorization code to transfer.

*** Bad for register.com - no 24 hours business help. GoDaddy has 24 hour service for just about anything.

SO, that is one thing I learned; whomever you are dealing with, make sure they have 24 hour service for everything. I am only off on weekends, so it will be hard for me to call Register.com in the middle of the day, at my job, away from MY home computer to discuss my home business. Yes, I am glad I am switching! ****

Mistake for originally registering with register.com - a lot of time and hassle.

[NonTechyMom]

Also here is a link to a thread here in ComputerHope.com

http://www.computerhope.com/forum/index.php/topic,54199.0.html

Lot's of good information, especially of you want to try your hand at free websites.

I did a few of those when I first began, just to see if I could do it. Now I love making the free websites.

www.freewebs.com is my FAVORITE by a long shot!

[NonTechyMom]

Fun stuff...

The very first website information presented by Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Cailliau in 1991 in kept here;


http://www.w3.org/History/19921103-hypertext/hypertext/WWW/TheProject.html

What is really cool to me, is the very first website appeared on the
WWW (W3) in 1991, and I was online in 1996.

I wasn't that far behind the curve ball this time. :-) I would have been on sooner, but I was out of the country.

First website I looked up - Astronomy websites! Oh, it was great!

Very first thing I ordered from the internet, a college scholarship book in 1996. I still have it.

The second big thing I ordered; I ordered flowers for all the females in my family on mother's day 1997. And I have never looked back. I love the Internet.

[soybean]

The very first mistake I did was not shop around for domain prices. I was naive and had no idea what I needed or wanted. SO, I took the jump and purchased my domain name from Register.com.

Hmm, I recommended GoDaddy.com to you back in January, in http://www.computerhope.com/forum/index.php/topic,50255.msg318092.html#msg318092.  Obviously, you did not heed my advice.   

So, you purchased your domain name somewhere, BUT you don't want to host there.. NOT even an issue.

Right, that's a point I also made clear in January.

[soybean]

OH yeah! Let me tell you about my friend.

He was afraid of making this mistake so he has waited years to just make the click! I finally made him take out his credit card, go to GO DADDY, and register his darn name before someone else did. He kept saying over and over - I don't want to screw this up. I made him sit down and pick a few variations of his name, and hit the darn send button. Because of the amount of names he picked, and the service he chose, it cost him a whopping $86 to get his domain names saved. NOW he is finally building his business.

DO not be afraid of making this jump! If you screw it up, trust me it will cost you less than $86!

To be specific, a one-year registration of a .com domain with GoDaddy.com costs about $9.58. 

[NonTechyMom]

The very first mistake I did was not shop around for domain prices. I was naive and had no idea what I needed or wanted. SO, I took the jump and purchased my domain name from Register.com.

Hmm, I recommended GoDaddy.com to you back in January, in http://www.computerhope.com/forum/index.php/topic,50255.msg318092.html#msg318092.  Obviously, you did not heed my advice.   

So, you purchased your domain name somewhere, BUT you don't want to host there.. NOT even an issue.

Right, that's a point I also made clear in January.

Just so you know - When you recommended GO DADDY, I purchased 10 domain names from them, one from Register.com, and one from powweb, just to see how all the services worked. I wanted to learn all about all of the. SO, I did listen to you, it just so happens I am building the website, and writing this journey about the domain name that is located at Register.com. Don't make sad faces, I listened to you. 


LOL BUT, obviously, I am just as my father said I was - Stubborn!  I deserved the frustration I got! You warned me. 

But, it does prove two points, 1) this site really does have some experienced people here, and 2) even if you do make your own path, it really does not cost that much to make a small mistake. It is not like building a house, you can move your website.  And it does not have to be perfect at first.  For paid websites for beginners, I am a hard nosed GODADDY.com fan now.

BTW - I have listened to all the advice I have recieved here and I just so happened to have a little money to make a few small mistakes, so I did just that.

[soybean]

I purchased 10 domain names from them, one from Register.com, and one from powweb, just to see how all the services worked. I wanted to learn all about all of them.

Hmmmmmm....., 12 domains registered, just to see how all the services worked?   

[NonTechyMom]

I purchased 10 domain names from them, one from Register.com, and one from powweb, just to see how all the services worked. I wanted to learn all about all of them.

Hmmmmmm....., 12 domains registered, just to see how all the services worked?   

Well, ten of them were from GoDADDY, some for my daughter and son, and others for me. I am really having fun.

Some people Golf, some people smoke, some people do drugs, ....

I buy domain names. LOL 

[soybean]

Well, I would agree buying domain names is not as bad an addiction as some others.   

[NonTechyMom]

In the quest to build my website - (the first one never got finished) I have posted questions on ComputerHope in the past and I am going to post them all here. I am doing this so that I can go back and read them easily while I am building, but others can also see the questions / answers a novice builder may have.

My first thoughts and questions about website building;

http://www.computerhope.com/forum/index.php/topic,50255.0.html

Shopping carts;

http://www.computerhope.com/forum/index.php/topic,53732.0.html

Forum Information;

http://www.computerhope.com/forum/index.php/topic,54968.0.html

Forum connection;

http://www.computerhope.com/forum/index.php/topic,59621.0.html

Easter eggs;

http://www.computerhope.com/forum/index.php/topic,50744.0.html

Blogs vs forums for Google bots;

http://www.computerhope.com/forum/index.php/topic,55043.0.html

Banner Logos – PP to JPEG?;

http://www.computerhope.com/forum/index.php/topic,59805.0.html


Again, I hope people who are building their websites can learn from my victories and mistakes.


AND OF Course, I welcome any comments about where I am going wrong, or what I should do better.

[NonTechyMom]

Well, I would agree buying domain names is not as bad an addiction as some others.   

I am in "rehab" now! :-) I am no longer buying websites, I am trying to build the ones I have. :-)

[NonTechyMom]

It has been a few days.

I  transferred my domain name from register.com to GODADDY.com
I paid my transfer fee to Go DADDY (and purchased another year)
I requested my transfer authorization code from register.com
For someone who works full time, this all took some careful planning.

I had to make sure I answered all the e-mail from Go DADDY and went back in a approved the transfer. Then I had to make sure I found the e-mail from register.com. It was time sensitive, so I had to make sure I used the code right away to complete my transfer.

You have to read each e-mail and the accepting hosting site instructions very carefully.
But, if your room is quite for about 30 minutes, almost anyone can transfer a domain name.

The transfer was a complete success.

Time spent - about 2 hours total over a few days time.

Worry level - High - I did not want to miss the e-mail or do anything wrong because then it would not go through.

Money spent in transfer - about $10, but I (of course) purchased other items for my website, so it was actually more for me.

[NonTechyMom]

In the past, I have spent many hours developing my own logo.

I am using the logo, plus all the drafts to come up with a banner that is really cool.


Steps to get to my own logo....

I created the logo in a $10 scrapbooking program from Walmart, and used that in conjunction with a VERY old version of Power Point to create the mixed colors and light for the banner. So, now I have a nice logo and banner that I created myself.

Then I put it in another photo $10 program (a generic photo shop) I got from Wal-mart to make it into a JPEG.

BUT, because of the way I made it, it may not work well on my website, so this is where I am going to cheat a little, but I still saved myself some money.

I am paying a professional Logo person to take my logo and put the pro spin on it, PLUS make it web-site ready.

Here is the issue you may run into when putting something on your website that you created. If you don't know what you are doing, it could end up looking "streched" or it may not look the way you want it to.
Plus, it needs to be browser and modem speed friendly. 

To get someone to prepare my logo for my website is $50.

Money and time spent - many hours on my logo - the experience was SO well worth it.

$50 getting the rough logo and getting it turned into something I can use on any website I want to.

*** You do not have to create your own logo. Templates come with great logos that are free. You can use these for as long as you wish, or until you can pay someone to get you a special logo. This is a cost you can incur later. BTW - If you get someone to create your logo from scratch, it will be more expensive. ****

[NonTechyMom]

My head is hurting a little from trying to learn all the website stuff, so I am going to take a break and start applying for my other applications.

I am applying for a forum at simple machines, an account at Google adsense, and paypal for businesses.

[BC_Programmer]

Are you also paying for server space then, as well as registering the domain name? If you plan to keep your site online for more then a few months it would probably be cheaper (in the long run) to set up your own server. (on the other hand, that is a whole new ball game- from web site building to hardware...)

[soybean]

If you plan to keep your site online for more then a few months it would probably be cheaper (in the long run) to set up your own server.

With good, reliable, web hosting plans available for as little as $4/mo., plans which are adequate for many small business sites, I say don't even give this idea a thought?   

[BC_Programmer]

If you plan to keep your site online for more then a few months it would probably be cheaper (in the long run) to set up your own server.

With good, reliable, web hosting plans available for as little as $4/mo., plans which are adequate for many small business sites, I say don't even give this idea a thought?  

sorry I misread her posts- I thought she was paying in the ballpark of 80-90$ a month- almost as if they were renting here a server or something anyway.