Creating an income-generating website is an ideal project for personal development, change, and freedom! It’s also the perfect match for many singles and seniors. An online business allows you to live, work, and travel anywhere!
You can create an income-generating website with your knowledge, product, or service. But to be successful, you must educate yourself about e-commerce, have the tenacity to stick with it, and select a niche you’re passionate about.
There is no such thing as overnight success in any business, online or offline. So don’t get caught up in those services that purposely give the impression that setting up an online business and drawing traffic is as easy as 1,2,3. It’s not. But the rewards for your hard work are immense!
The satisfaction you get from creating your own business is much greater than having a high-paying job with a prestigious corporation. I know this is true because I’ve done both.
If you have no e-business experience or have tried and failed, I’ll share a great game-changing tip with you later.
I took my first Internet and website design classes at a university in 1997. Then, in 2000, I registered my first website domain name and started building my first online business. I’ve tried many domain name registrars, hosting companies, e-commerce techniques, and search engine optimization (SEO) methods. And I’ve had many website, product, and service failures, especially during the first few years.
I don’t look at failure as a negative, though. I see it as a positive because it takes courage to go for it with everything you have. I look at not trying and giving up as a negative. Cowards and quitters either don’t start or begin with an “I’ll try” mentality. They also give up on the first major obstacle and don’t give it their all. They keep their escape vehicle close by rather than burning it, removing the option to quit and run. With the escape vehicle gone, they must win!
This is the mindset of successful entrepreneurs. This is particularly true of Internet entrepreneurs because of the complexities of online business. Don’t let that scare you away, though. The intricacies are standardized and uniform throughout the Internet. This means you only have to learn them once and then stay up with the updates, which is pretty easy once you know the lingo. The challenge is identifying the best and most reputable sources to acquire this information. Although they represent a small percentage of all users, many unscrupulous people are on the Internet. It takes quite a bit of e-business knowledge and experience to identify them easily.
Based on my e-business experience, which began in 2000, here’s what I recommend. I’ve divided my recommendations based on the type of service and/or level of experience. I also put them in the same order as you’d approach building an online business and the progression of my knowledge. I am currently using or have used these products and services in the past.
Website Domain Name Registrar
Over the years, I’ve been with several different domain registrars, including one of the most famous. I have learned that there are five essential criteria for selecting a registrar.
- Free Privacy Included – If privacy is not included, registrars charge an extra fee, which can be significant at some companies. Privacy is essential because, without it, your personal domain registration information (name, address, email, phone) will be visible and easily found on the Internet.
- Aggressive Low Pricing – It’s a good idea to find a registrar known for aggressive low pricing. Those who are aggressive with their pricing typically match or beat the market when ICANN raises its fees. This is important because you will likely register many more domain names if you become an Internet entrepreneur.
- Automatic Renewal – On or before your domain(s) expires, the registrar’s computer system will automatically renew it for you and charge the credit card you provided. This is important for two reasons. (a) If a domain expires, you risk losing it, and reinstating it is cumbersome. There is typically a grace period after expiration, but why risk losing a website domain name on which you’ve invested so much time? (b) Since you’ll be registering domains on different dates, automatic renewal eliminates the task of keeping track of all this. This becomes particularly important if you have more than five domains.
- Telephone or Chat Support – Normally, there isn’t much of a need to contact customer support regarding domain registrations. But since this is a legal process that involves taking ownership of a website domain name that’s important to you, it’s nice to know that help is available if you run into a problem.
I found a domain name registrar that fulfills all the above criteria. I’ve been delighted with their service. This company also offers outstanding hosting services.
The company I am talking about is SS.
Note – Many hosting companies offer one free domain registration when you sign up for a new service. I prefer to register my domains elsewhere to maintain indisputable ownership and control.
All-in-One Hosting Service (Game Changer)
There isn’t any other company that offers an all-inclusive hosting package like this one. The training tutorials are so comprehensive that this service is used as a formal e-business course at over 30 colleges and universities. These tutorials can shorten your learning curve to weeks instead of the years it took me to learn about what “works” in e-business.
This training teaches you how to select a business niche, pick a domain name, generate traffic for free, monetize your site, and develop a relationship with your customers. The three golden rules of this company are 1) keep it real, 2) keep it simple, and 3) keep moving forward at a steady pace.
Their support mechanisms are unparalleled. Their email support, for example, is the best of any Internet company I’ve ever done business with. They also have an active customer support forum and weekly newsletters with tips and inspiration.
The owner is very active in the forum, which indicates his sincere interest in seeing people succeed. His passion for making sure that this service remains cutting-edge is evident. This is constantly demonstrated by their continual upgrades, some of which cost millions! My take on him is that he’s a man of high integrity.
The best part of this service is that most of the technical aspects, including search engine optimization (SEO), happen behind the scenes. This is a considerable advantage, especially for those with limited technical experience or no aptitude or desire to learn it. This feature frees you from this crucial component so that you can devote your time to building your online business.
So, whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned veteran who has tried and failed, this service could be what you’ve been looking for.
I was shocked to learn that 99% of new Internet businesses fail or have limited success. Why? Because their websites get little or no traffic. I had to admit that I was a part of that group at one point. At least, I was until I purchased a subscription to this company’s service. Their tutorials, forums, and article analysis tool showed me what I had been doing wrong and how to do it right. I saw more traffic to my website in the first few months than in the prior five years!
About 10 months after I started, I got an additional subscription for a second website, which also generated an exciting amount of traffic.
The product I’ve been talking about is SBI.
To find out what it’s all about, I highly recommend you watch the SBI video tour. This video could change your life! If you’re retired, SBI might be the best thing for you.
One of the top advantages of SBI is that you do not need to know or do any coding. 🙂
SBI comes with a 90-day guarantee. That way, you can try it out for three months and ask for a refund if you don’t like it. I don’t know if you’ve researched much, but 90 days is a generous guarantee.
My next new project adventure was with WordPress.
WordPress + Premium Framework & Theme
This website uses WordPress with a premium framework and theme. The framework works alongside WordPress and powers the theme, containing the design elements and controls.
I found the premium framework and theme after weeks of exhaustive research. Before I started, I knew nothing about WordPress, frameworks, or themes.
I love this setup. However, the technical learning curve is much more challenging than SBI’s. So, I wouldn’t recommend WordPress for someone with limited website design knowledge or e-business experience. For these people, SBI would be a better fit. Newbies could get discouraged, especially if they paid for a premium framework and theme.
During my research, I learned the importance of having a premium framework and theme when starting a serious enterprise. There are thousands of free themes on WordPress, but there are several disadvantages if you use them for a business. Here are the most important.
- It may not provide regular and ongoing updates to keep up with the general updates made by WordPress, Google, and the Internet.
- The developer, often an individual, may not be around to do updates in the future.
- The framework/theme may not meet all current Internet and SEO standards.
- The framework/theme may not be coded optimally for website performance and search engine friendliness.
I opted for a premium framework and theme because of all the above, and my desire for the best. If you can’t afford a premium theme, I’d use one the WordPress team offers.
I picked the premium framework and theme company I did because it offered these advantages over its closest competitors.
- State-of-the-Art Code – Having advanced and clean code is necessary for site performance and search engine optimization.
- Unlimited Updates – This is huge because you will always have a cutting-edge website.
- Automatic Updates – With this feature, you never have to be concerned about whether your site is up-to-date.
- Unlimited Support – Access to quick response support gives you peace of mind, knowing there’s help if needed.
- Value Pricing – Offers many beneficial mechanisms and tools for your money.
All my research indicates that this company offers a rock-solid framework and themes created by brilliant, well-respected developers.
This company also has a fairly extensive library of tutorials. I found these to help get a jump-start on building my new site.
The company I’ve been talking about is WPE. Their hosting plans include many premium themes.
Note – Some of their policies may have changed since an acquisition.
Unlimited Hosting Service
An unlimited hosting service offers unlimited domains (websites), unlimited space (website files), and unlimited transfer (traffic) on one hosting account.
So there’s no limit on the number of e-businesses you can start. You can keep testing and trying different website ideas, which won’t cost you any more money. This arrangement is ideal for an Internet entrepreneur, especially one just starting.
Here’s why I picked this company.
- Low cost.
- Outstanding customer support.
- Continually improving and adding new features.
- One-click automatic WordPress installation.
- Regularly at the top of the best hosting rankings.
The company I’ve been talking about is DH.
Note – DH is one of a few hosting companies recommended by WordPress.
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Don’t let your inspiration to start your e-business pass. Go for it now!