Do-it-yourself: Website or blog?

One of the most frequent questions I get is, "What's the quickest and least expensive way to set up my website?"

If you're going to do it yourself, the quickest way to get a web presence is to set up a blog at blogger.com. This blog that you're reading is hosted on blogger.com. It's free. You don't need any programming or web-designing skills. And you can update it very easily.

Blogger blogs are limited - you can't have different sections and pages,as you'd find on a traditional website.


Convenience of a blog, look and feel of a website

If you want the convenience of a blog (easy updating, interactivity, plug-in widgets, etc.) with the look and feel of a website, your solution is to use the free Wordpress blog software.

To do this you need a domain name and web host. If you don't have a domain name (e.g., yourwebsite.com) you can get one at Godaddy. Each name costs about $10/year.

Next, you need a place to host your website. There are hundreds of web hosts. You can use Godaddy for hosting, but I've heard great things about Hostgator. Fees start at $4.95/month.

Whatever hosting service you use, make sure they offer free installation of the Wordpress software. Wordpress will be a built-in option that you click to install from your website's control panel. Learn more at wordpress.org

Once you get your Wordpress blog installed, simply choose a template and start typing to add content. You can add extra functions and widgets as you go along.


Want to stick with a traditional website?

If you won't be doing much updating, or if your website is mainly a brochure for your business, then a traditional html-based website may be all you need.

Many web hosts have simple "site builders" (templates) to get you started. You can also use wysiwyg (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) html editors such as nvu or amaya. With these editors you don't need to use html - simply type in your content and the html code is automatically created.

However, it does help to know a little about html, in case your final result has weird lines or spaces. Here's a link to info and tutorials on html.

Whether you decide on a blog or a website, if you don't have any web presence, get started today. Don't wait till you have everything ready to load onto it. Just get started. Tweaking will be easier when you have it partially completed.

LEARN MORE


Learn more about the difference between a blog and a website, and how they are related to your marketing, in the 9-minute slideshow below. It's a sneak preview of my new home-study course. If you are ready to take a serious step toward marketing your practice or business, visit MarketWithAuthority.com for details.