Learn the exact steps involved for getting
a professional web site, with a shopping cart
plus all the bells and whistles.

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A professional looking web site is absolutely essential if you are selling products on the Internet.

Studies have shown, the majority of Internet buyers will click out of a site, if they have to jump through hoops to make a purchase. Your customers want a simple, clear-cut method of locating the items they want to buy, and then a fast way to fill their cart for check out.

Most business owners are experts about their product, and prefer to delegate the task of establishing a web presence to the professional web site designers. With this in mind, we layout for you here, the exact steps you should follow - to get your business on the Internet.

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Define The Purpose

What do you want to accomplish, who will be your target audience, and will you be selling goods, services, or both?

Learn Design Software

Whether you decide to code your own site, or hire a site designer, it is a good idea to become familiar with a web design software. The most popular are FrontPage, and DreamWeaver. Both can be purchased by » clicking here.

If you are planning on selling goods and/or services over the web, look for a versatile, and easy to use shopping cart system. They range from entering a few lines of code per item per page (which could be time consuming) to database driven & managed via a web browser. Most hosting companies with an ecommerce plan will supply you with a basic shopping cart, such as AlaCart. If you plan to sell over ten items, go with the Dansie shopping cart.

Pick Your Domain Name

Perform a search at BetterWhoIs, and confirm if your first choice for a domain name is available. If your first choice is 'reserved', then try different variations. Stay away from names such as: Blue-Shoes.com, or Blue_Shoes.com. Hyphens and underscores are not committed to memory. Choose a name which is short, catchy, and will be remembered when a person wants to type it in their browser.

Register Your Domain Name

You can register your domain name just about anywhere, and prices vary greatly. It's best to pay $20 or less per year.

We recommend you register your Domain Name by » clicking here. You will pay $14.95 per year, with a discount for multiple years.

Planning Your Web Site

As you would design a floor plan for a new house, you should make a drawing on paper of how you envision your site pages to appear on the web. Consider what text you want on the main page, and what content will fill the inside pages. Write down all of the text which will go into your site, including company information, product descriptions, etc.

We offer a Web Site Planner in our Forms & Tips Bundle download. » click to review

Register With a Web Hosting Company

Start your hosting service, set up your email, learn about their control panel, etc.

Look for value, service, and longevity. Many new companies are offering very low prices for hosting, but they soon go out of business, and then you find yourself in a 'pickle'. They omit the customer support in order to give you the low price. Don't get drawn into an agreement where your online business will suffer.

We recommend you set up hosting by » clicking here. Review the plans available. The 'Commerce I' plan offers the Dansie shopping cart and is a good starter ecommerce plan. Pay by the month, or receive a discount for annual payment plans.

Hire a Designer

If you decide to hire a professional web site designer, we recommend you review our services. Our design site can be reviewed by » clicking here. We are on the design staff of Hosting Connecticut, LLC, and you may review their site, by » clicking here. While you are there, if you have questions about ordering your site design, call them for a free consultation.