Sometime back, one of my newsletter
subscribers wrote and asked me the above question. For the
benefit of others who might be wondering the same thing, here
is a reprint of my answers.
Why would an individual person want
a Website?
Many people want Websites just for "the heck of it."
It's something to show friends and family and building them
can be rather fun if you like to do that sort of thing.
I'm a freelance writer (small time...local
publications). What would a Website do for me?
It can improve your credibility. It can be a source of reference
when you contact publishers. You can refer them to your
site to look at samples of your work. If you listed yourself
in the "regional" part of the search engines,
it could provide more local exposure. It might even expand
your contacts to other areas -- if that's something you
would want to do.
Does a website cost a fortune to
set up and maintain?
There are some free web hosting companies that you can use and it won't
cost you a penny (although these are not recommended if it's a business site). If you decide you want to put a website up and
don't want the hassle of doing it yourself, there are a
wide range of Website designers and prices to choose from, as well as web hosting companies that offer web building programs as part of their hosting packages.
How do you actually make money
with a web site?
That depends on what your site is for. If you're selling
products, of course your money will come from sales. If you offer a service, the site can be an excellent source
of new clients.
Being technologically impaired,
would I be able to operate a website if I had one?
That's a question I can't answer. What I suggest is for
you to sign up with a low-cost web hosting company that offers a web building program. Experiment
a little and see if it's something you feel comfortable
doing. If you're willing to spend the time and effort, you may discover operating a website is easy -- and fun!
Nan Yielding has nearly 10 years experience as an online business owner. She is the owner of Writing-Etc.com and offers internet marketing services and assistance to help website owners attract more customers and increase sales.
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