In the last couple articles, I went over some of the things that you need to know before you build your own website and some of the most common website building methods. Those methods include:

• DIY build from scratch- you’re building your website by creating individual web pages using some type of web page building tool like Expression Web, iWeb, or Dreamweaver and HTML.

• Professional web designer or developer- you work with a skilled web designer or developer create your website for you.

• Turnkey web builder service- you use some kind of service like Big Cartel or the website builder software provided by many web hosts to develop your website.

• Open source e-commerce or web software- you’re building your website using free or low-cost web building systems like Wordpress, Joomla, or Zen Cart.

Now after being online since 1996 and using all of these methods to build a variety of websites, my recommendation for building your own website is to use the free open source blogging software, Wordpress.

Why Wordpress? Because Wordpress has some pretty impressive options and features that make it a great choice.

1. Wordpress is free to install and use- Unlike some of the other paid software and services like Big Cartel, you can install and use Wordpress to build your website for free. Well, almost for free, you still have to pay for the hosting account that you install Wordpress on. But you can get good reliable hosting for $12 or less per month. Now compare that to some services that charge $20, $30, or $50 or more per month, $12 or less is a pretty good deal.

Plus, there are a lot of hosting services that allow you to run more than one website on one account. Since Wordpress is free, you can use multiple installations of Wordpress to run multiple websites all for the same $12 or less per month. If you have the need to run more than one website this is a definite plus.

Finally, you can easily transfer your Wordpress website from one host to another without losing the design of your website or any functionality which can be a problem when using a third party web building service.

You can read the rest of the article by signing up for the Crafted Webmaster Newsletter for free here: http://www.craftedweb.com/subscribe.html. If you subscribe now, you can get my free audio download, “10 Steps to Getting More Traffic on Your Website” and get 10 powerful tips on how to increase traffic to your art website.

If you’re a subscriber to my weekly newsletter, you’ll know that I’ve done a series on building your website and some of the various methods on how to get your website online. A lot of questions I get from subscribers is specifically about how to build a website. Some of the most common questions include:

• How do I get started?
• Do I need someone to help me?
• What kind of equipment and software do I need?
• Do I need to learn web design?
• Do I need to learn HTML?
• Do I have to know how to program?
• How long is it going to take me?

I’ve been designing websites since 1996. I’ve made more websites that I can remember and made more mistakes that I would like to remember. And one of the best methods that I’ve run across to create your own website that’s low cost, easy to maintain, and is flexible enough to handle any kind of website you can think of is by using Wordpress.

Now if you have a blog, you’re probably familiar with Wordpress. It’s the free open source blogging software that allows you to host and maintain your own blog. Millions of bloggers use Wordpress…in fact this blog uses Wordpress. But, you can use it for more than just blogging. You can use Wordpress to build a website, an ecommerce store, and online portfolio, or just about any kind of site you can think of.

So to illustrate how easy it is to use Wordpress to set up and maintain a website, I’ve decided to do my first ever webinar called, “Easy Website Building with Wordpress” on Tuesday, June 22nd at 8:00 p.m. (EST). On this webinar you can watch me show you:

• how you can easily install Wordpress on your website…even if you don’t have any technical skills
• how you can transform Wordpress from a blog to a fully functioning website…you can easily run your blog and your website at the same time
• some of the killer plug-ins and resources you’ll need in order to make the most out of Wordpress
• how you can easily make changes to your website, add pages, and even change the entire look of your website with just a few clicks!

By the way, did I mention that this webinar is free?

So if you’re interested in learning more about Wordpress and how it’s a great website building tool, please join me at 8 p.m. EST on Tuesday, June 22nd. You can find out more information about the webinar by clicking here.

The webinar should last for about 60 to 70 minutes…plus it will be recorded so if you have the leave the event early or if you can’t make the event at all, you can watch the replay later. The seat are limited, and since this is a free webinar the seats tend to fill up fast, so you should reserve your spot soon.

Last week, I went over some of the things to consider before you start building a website:

1. cost- how much will it cost you to build and maintain?
2. maintenance- who and how are you going to keep your website running?
3. control- who has the ultimate control over your website?

Now there are a number of different ways you can build a website, but you need to make your decision with those three points in mind. So let’s go down some of the most common site building options and the pros and cons of each.

DIY- build from scratch- you’re building your website by creating individual web pages using some type of web page building tool like Expression Web, iWeb, or Dreamweaver and HTML.

• Pros- if you’re doing the work yourself, then the cost of building and maintaining the website is fairly low. You’re mainly paying for the cost of the software, the domain name, and hosting. If you know what you’re doing, you have complete control over how your website looks. Plus you can do the maintenance yourself.
• Cons- You have to know what you’re doing. This method has a pretty steep learning curve and can be time consuming if you’re a beginner. You’ll need to know how to use the tools, learn at least some basic HTML, and web design. Plus, if your design skills are limited, then your website may not look as professional as it could be.

You can read the rest of the article by signing up for the Crafted Webmaster Newsletter for free here: http://www.craftedweb.com/subscribe.html. If you subscribe now, you can get my free audio download, “10 Steps to Getting More Traffic on Your Website” and get 10 powerful tips on how to increase traffic to your art website.

If you’re thinking about building your own website to showcase and sell your work, you might have found that there are a number of options available to you. As with the case of having a lot of options, the more you have the more confused you get, and most newbies don’t really know what the best choice is.

When you’re building your own website, there are several things that you need to you take into consideration before you begin:

1. Cost (development and maintenance)- the cost of building a website is always high on the list of worries for artists looking to build their own website. The cost varies from site to site depending on what kind of features the website will have, whether you’re getting a professional designer to set up your site, and whether you’re going to have the ability to sell directly from your website. Calculating an exact cost for an “average” website is difficult until you take some of those factors in consideration.

Also, most people only consider just the costs associated with getting a website up and running. It’s also important to factor in costs associated with keeping the website up and running. Depending on what method or service you use to build your website, what you spend on keeping your website running may actually cost more than the initial set up.

You can read the rest of the article by signing up for the Crafted Webmaster Newsletter for free here: http://www.craftedweb.com/subscribe.html. If you subscribe now, you can get my free audio download, “10 Steps to Getting More Traffic on Your Website” and get 10 powerful tips on how to increase traffic to your art website.

I haven’t done an Ask a Question post in a while…so here’s a question a reader wrote in about web hosting.

I’m looking to set up my own website, but I don’t know how much it should cost per month or who I should set me website up with. Any ideas?

M. Ferrer

I answered a question similar to thisin the Etsy forums yesterday, so here’s what I had to say.

Hi there,

The price of web hosting varies from company to company and it also depends on how big your website is and what extra services comes with your host. On average, if you’re planning on putting up a plain old website or Wordpress blog, or maybe a web store using Zen Cart or OScommerce, you should pay no more than $15 per month for hosting. Any good web host should offer a package for this price that gives you more than what you would need. I use two hosting companies for all of my websites: Hostgator and Bluehost. I’ve been using them for a couple of years now and I haven’t had any issues with them. They both run about $10 per month.

If you’re looking for a web host that will also include ecommerce capabilities, say they also give you an easy way to build your website without knowing HTML or provide shopping cart services, you can expect the monthly price to be higher. A service like Big Cartel will run you anywhere between $10 to $20 per month depending on how many items you’re selling. If you’re going to use a service like that, be sure to shop around for the best features and price.

You should also avoid web hosts that are too cheap, like in the $2 to $5 range. These hosting services tend to be rather unreliable and you run the risk of your website running very slow or not at all. So beware!

Hope this helps!
Nicolette

Do you have a burning question about websites or promoting yourself online? Click on the “Ask a Question” tab at the top of the page and send me your question. I’ll send you an answer to your question personally.