5 Newbie Mistakes to Avoid When You Make Your Own Website
Here are 5 mistakes to avoid when you make your own website.
1. Never Getting Off the Ground
The most common mistake the newbie makes is never getting past square one. They buy their domain, they set up their hosting, and maybe they even figure out how to get Wordpress set up on their site. You know what, it's great you've gotten started, and these days it's so easy to get online that you really have no excuse to leave your ideas on the back burner. But it makes no sense to clutter the web with unfinished sites and leave your ideas floating out there somewhere in the ether.
The truth is that even basic Wordpress design has a learning curve. It's gotten easier than ever, but you should be willing to put some effort into it and be prepared to struggle to make it work. There is plenty of advice out there on the web to help you out whenever you get stuck. Leverage the power of Google and YouTube videos any time you don't know something—it's really that simple.
2. Not Allowing Access to the Search Engines
Another simple mistake people make is not allowing Google to access their website. When you set your settings in Wordpress, make sure that you set the Privacy to: "I would like my site to be visible to everyone, including search engines (like Google, Bing, Technorati) and archivers ." If you don't, your site will block the search engines, and that means no organic traffic.
Not exactly a good idea.
3. Paying Too Much Too Soon
You're probably pretty excited about getting out on the web, especially if you're venturing out into Internet Marketing (as opposed to being an established business) and have never done this before. And when we're excited, we often think it's better to leverage the help of professionals who know what they are doing.
Well, it is true that outsourcing is a great tool, and I use it often myself, but you need to be careful because you don't even know if your idea is going to yield a return yet. Not to mention that someone who doesn't know what their employees are doing for them exactly makes for a horrible manager.
It's okay to pay a little here and there to get going, but save money where you can. Don't spend thousands on web design and hand an SEO "expert" the pin number to your bank account. Take it slowly, learn the process, and hold on to your wallet.
4. Thinking a Website Equals Sales
The reason so many people pour money into outsourcing and think it will come right back to them is they foolishly believe that an online presence equates to guaranteed sales. Not so—and anyone who feeds you that lie has something to sell you in their back pocket. Once you have a website, you need to drive traffic to it, and the traffic better be qualified.
5. Thinking Traffic Equals Sales
Even once the traffic is coming, however, you need to be ready for it, and that's why you don't want your site to look to amateur. This is where it can really pay to get a little help from someone who has some knowledge about online marketing, website usability, and traffic conversion.
