Creating a web site for your new business may be the most fun part of the entire process. It is something you can do yourself even if your expertise is limited.

First you need to decide what you want your web site to accomplish. Is it to be a selling site with a full shopping cart to sell your products online, or do you simply want to encourage customers to come in and see you or give you a call? This will determine the complexity. Assuming you just want a simple site, the first step is to create a domain name and register it.

If your business name is available as a .com, then that is your best choice. If not, check .net, .biz, .us, .info, .tv, .ws and .org. Chances are good that at least one of the names you want will be available.

If you have the funds and want to reserve some domain names for possible later use, do so. You can always park them with a redirect to your site.

Then find a web hosting service. There are many good ones available both locally and on the net. Some will have templates and wizards that will help you create your web site. Others require you to use a program like FrontPage or Dream Weaver, or write code in HTML. If that is the case, HTML isn’t difficult to learn and there are many tutorials available for free and many books on the subject, as well as classes at community colleges and computer training centers.

If you have experience making web sites, great. If not, now is a good time to get some help from someone who does, either in person or by reading a good book on web page design. Most will tell you to keep the site simple. Graphics look nice, but sometimes they slow down older computers and dial up connection modems, and could turn off the casual web surfer.

Making the web site simple but attractive is your best bet. Be sure to include a “contact us” section where a surfer can mail you, and it is also a good idea to offer a free ezine newsletter, a great promotional tool. Have fun with your new web site, because if it is fun for you then it will be fun and appealing to your customers and they will come back again and again, and eventually come in to see you.

If you need a Web Site for your business visit Artitude.com, or Strategic Web Success

My company owns both Sites.  I have been creating successful Web businesses sinc 1994.

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Inexpensive ways to promote your new business are abundant. Here are a few examples:

1.Print fliers and distribute them on car windshields in the parking lot, post them on public bulletin boards, and put them anywhere else you can find.

2.Write and distribute press releases to local media. Include the daily newspaper, the weekly business journal, your city magazine, any alternative monthlies or weeklies, and the papers in the surrounding suburbs and small towns. Write the press release like a short news story, not an ad. Be objective and you’ll get printed. No hype.

3.Place cheap classified ads in the local shopper and the daily newspaper.

4.Call in and chat with your morning radio talk show host, and find a way to mention your business during the conversation. Then show up the next day at the studio with a dozen donuts. He’ll probably mention you on the air.

5.Take a journalist to lunch, and tell him or her why your business is news worthy.

6.Submit your web site to the search engines, is free.

7.Buy Pay Per Click advertising in the local section of the major search engines. You can limit it to as little as one dollar a day in spending.

8.Take a news reporter from your favorite local TV station to lunch. Tell her why your business is newsworthy.

9.Make a low bid on unsold inventory at a local radio station. You might pick up some twenty dollar radio commercials for a dollar each.

10.Use chalk talk. Use colored sidewalk chalk to put your message on a downtown sidewalk. Include your phone number.

11.Give your business card to everyone you meet.

12.Post a banner in front of your building for traffic to see.

13.Offer your services as a public speaker. You are an expert in your subject area if you say you are. When you make your speech, plug your business and pass out a business card.

14.Offer to trade web site links with other local businesses, and display their fliers and cards if they will display yours.

15.Write an ebook, and give it away free online. Include links to your web site.

16.Keep a mailing list, or email list of your customers. Send them a monthly newsletter, even if it is just one page typed. Offer them discounts for repeat business and bigger discounts for referrals.

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