All this week I’ve been posting about how easy it is for non technical people to register their own domain name and how to setup a website using Blogger, WordPress.com or even BlueHost but what about the next step? How do you publish your own web page without hiring a web designer? More importantly why I telling you how to do all this stuff yourself, after all isn’t this how I make a living? No. Oddly, I make my money consulting people how to make money on the web, not how to setup small websites. Most of my professional time is spent building websites that are called web applications or developing web marketing strategies, not putting together sites for people. When I do build websites for clients, I work with charities or not-for-profits who can benefit from my experience.

So, how do you put together a great website yourself? The first step is to be honest with yourself. Ask yourself:

• Do you have the technical knowledge to edit HTML?
• Are you creative enough to build a website?
• Would it be easier in the long run to simply pay somebody to do it?

That last one’s a doozy isn’t it? If you have absolutely no money the choice is easy … do it yourself but how much should you expect to pay for somebody to help you get up to speed? Most technical people charge either by the project or by the hour, so how much should it cost to get a completely non technical person (somebody who’s terrified of using any of this) from 0 to 60? That depends … let’s take a look at what’s involved:

1. Registration of your domain name – If you already know what domain you want (you’ve searched on GoDaddy and found it) … 15 minutes.
2. Setup of your domain at BlueHost or a similar hosting company – 30 minutes assuming everything goes wrong.
3. Pointing the DNS servers to BlueHost, 15 minutes maximum.

So far, for all the technical set up you’re looking at one hour of time. Most qualified web designers can do all of this for you for $30-$50, depending on their experience level and rates. So for everything so far you have to ask yourself, would it be easier in the long run to simply pay somebody to do it?

Next is the choice between a static HTML website or using something like the WordPress engine to power your website. Both have advantages and disadvantages. Static HTML is just that, it’s code written in a tool like Dreamweaver and uploaded to your hosting company. No fuss, no problem and there’s a ton of free tutorials how to do it yourself. Alternatively, using a tool like WordPress which is far more technical to get installed and running but once setup, it’s easier to use and … it’s free.

Pre Installed WordPress at Bluehost

A lot of hosting companies already have WordPress pre-installed with a service called Fantastico, all you need to do is log into your control panel and click the button. When you start a new installation, it’ll ask you a few technical questions such as:

• The domain you’d like it installed on
• Administration user name and password you’d like to use
• Your website name and a description

Press a button and it’s done. Now you have a fully featured WordPress installation complete with content management system and blogging package … in about twenty minutes. Doing it yourself in HTML is still an alternative but honestly, it’s a little like driving a car with standard transmission … technically it’s better on milage and you’re more in touch with the mechanics of the car but why would you do that to yourself willingly?

Congratulations! If you’ve followed my tips so far this week you’ve registered your own domain name, setup a hosting account, pointed your domain name to your hosting account and installed a content manager on your website. All that’s left is for you to take the time to write your website and publish it to the world!

Tomorrow I’m going to talk about using WordPress as a Content Management Tool for business and non-profits, how to add pages and content as well as reorder your pages. Why not check back tomorrow or sign up for my email notification or RSS feed to be notified as soon as I post it?