Starting A Website Business For Under $200

Starting a business can be very expensive. Creating a website business can also be very expensive. If you have the cash to invest in a business, you can probably get a business going faster than if you are strapped for cash. Not everyone is fortunate enough to have the cash to invest in a business. It is possible to start a website business with very little cash and still be successful. It just takes a little longer.

The two basic things you need for a website business is a website and a product. You can hire a website designer and pay out thousands of dollars or you can do it yourself and save a wad of cash. To design a website yourself, you need to have a software program to guide you and give you an attractive website. This alternative is the way to go if you can’t afford a designer.

Doing this yourself really scares a lot of people. If you have average computer skills, you can master the easiest of all the computer software’s that are available. There are several good software programs available, but the best one for the novice is XSitePro. This software is an award winning software that you can master in a matter of days.

There are four basic things you need to operate a website. First, you need a domain name for your website. Second, you need the before mentioned software. Third, you need a shopping cart to handle your sales. Forth, you need to have a host account for your website to reside.

Let’s look first at the domain name. The cost of the domain name usually runs about $10 to $12 per year on the average. There are many places to select and reside your domain. I personally use Go Daddy for my domains, but that is up to you. Many host accounts also provide domain names. Shop around for a good deal. When you select a domain name, give it a lot of thought. You need to be aware of the keywords that you want to use and also a name that is not too long and easy to remember. Do some research on the internet before you decide on a name.

We have discussed the software and that will cost you about $160, if you use XSitePro . Most of the others will cost you more. So, you have invested $10 to $12 on the domain name and $160 for the software for a total of $170 to $172.

The nest step is getting a host account. The costs of host account are all over the board. There are many good ones and many bad ones. I am happy with my host and it costs less that $9 a month.. I use Start Logic, so if you want to choose this host account, just click on Start Logic and it will take you to their website.

The next step can be very expensive. Shopping carts come in all shapes and sizes. Besides the cost of a shopping cart, you will be required to pay a monthly fee for a credit card processor. Many of the shopping carts are very good, but beside being expensive, you have to learn how to use them, which can be very time consuming. I pay nothing, zero dollars every month for my shopping cart. It is free or you can upgrade for a small monthly fee, but there is no credit card processing fee involved. But why not start out free and move up if necessary at a later date.

As you can see, the total initial investment is around $172 for the domain name and software. The monthly cost for the host and shipping cost is less than $10. This is a very inexpensive way to start a business. As you progress in your business, you then will have the luxury of upgrading your shopping cart and host accounts if necessary. Once you are rolling you can spend some of your profits on upgrading and other business expenses to improve and build your business to a higher level.

If you don't have a product to sell, you can always dropship products. There are hundreds of wholesalers that are looking for vendors to sell their products. You can research them yourself or you can get an organized listing of wholesalers. Click here to learn more about selling your own products

Things You Should Learn

You will quickly learn that keywords are what drives the internet. You can have a fantastic website, but it does no good unless your customers can find your site. Search engines such as Google and Bing will drive customers to your site if you are successful in getting your site on their top ranking pages for different keyword search terms. There is a white paper that is available that will help you once you get your site up and running. This report shows you The Six Steps to The Top of Goolge Ranking.

Another way to get customers to your site is “Pay Per Click”. This is a good method, but it will cost you to use this method. This is a good way to get customers when you first start a new website, but you need to do some research to learn how to use this tool to your advantage.