Web Designer Tools For Building A Home Internet Business

Whether you're just starting out online, you have a small business offline, or have already developed an online presence, you'll find articles and tools within this site geared towards making your ventures more profitable, and where possible, easier.

• Perhaps you are looking around for a way to earn an extra few hundred or thousand a month, but aren't sure where to start or the best way to do it.
• Maybe you'd like to take your online income to the next level.
• Or perhaps you are looking for low cost ways to add certain functions to your existing website.

Maybe you'd like to tap into the marketing and revenue potential of the web if you're a small business owner - yet you don't want to pay outrageous fees for web designers and programmers.

At the heart of having an online presence is a website. Not just any website, but a professional looking and highly functional website. To this end, we've got a lot of template driven web designer tools that are completely free, in the form of content management systems (CMS). Actually, these are Open Source tools, and were developed by thousands of dedicated programmers in the Open Source community, so we can't claim ownership :-)

However, using these tools can be confusing if you don't have some experience with content management systems, so we've got written and video tutorials available on how to set them up. There are more articles coming, and reviews of some other site builders that are not Open Source.

Additionally, you'll find articles on various ways you can make money from your site, and even a section on home business ideas.

There are a lot of options for developing business ideas for home. And there are some great tools out there that take you by the hand. Have a look around. There are sections on business ideas, affiliate marketing, selling products, making and selling ebooks, niche marketing, network marketing, adsense and alternatives, the search engines, freelancing, setting up a website, and more. Pick your business and get going!

My Recommendations for those Starting Out and Wanting to Build a Website:

1. You Need A Sitebuilder:

I use XSitePro, and this is what I recommend. It is what I use to build this site, and has many advantages including:

• easy HTML editor (so you don't need to learn how to program HTML)
• website templates that can be modified to create an individual look using a point and click system
• automatic creation and maintenance of google sitemaps - so you don't need any extra software
• place to store all your affiliate information including login url's, passwords, and of course, your affiliate links
• very clean code that is structured so the search engines see your optimized page content first, not your navbar elements or javascript - this will help your organic search rankings
• a feature that analyzes your page and makes search engine optimization recommendations for on-page factors like keyword density
• easy way to add images, graphic boxes, order links, highlight text on a page, bullet points, and more
• automatically creates and maintains a visitor sitemap that updates when you add pages. A visitor sitemap is different to a google sitemap but just as important. It gives visitors a way to find other topics of interest on your site, and is an essential part of what is called 'visitor optimization'
• change your site design in one place, without having to go through pages individually. So, after your site is made, you can add a footer, change text in a footer, add tracking code to a footer, change where you put your nav bar, or any other possible thing. XSitePro does it all for you
• an FTP program is included, that is easy to use and just requires you to fill out a few boxes, click upload, and your site is on your server
• add adsense code anywhere on the page with a point and click
• create redirect links so you can hide your affiliate url easily (this looks much more professional and helps click thru rates)
• a privacy statement you can use - essential for your visitors
• easily add your contact details - your contact details add credibility to your site
• create a links page 
• create a breadcrumb trail
• has a built-in spell checker
• you can create sales letters and direct response sites with it (as well as affiliate and content sites)
• you can create as many sites as you like - there is NO per site fee - this can save you hundreds of dollars (if not more)
• the cost is one off - no licensing fees or ongoing costs
• you can change web hosts incredibly easily as you're not tied to one. This is important because as your business develops, your needs may change, or the web host you are with may go in a direction that is not what you want. Or, it could turn out to be unreliable.
• all updates within the same version number are included free - and it is updated regularly. Major upgrades are very discounted.
• great selection of tutorial videos
• great support and an online forum
• and many more features

Click here to check out the online video.

XSitePro really simplifies the task of website building, without making you give up control of your website to a proprietary system where someone else decides what to include or what isn't going to be. Thus, you have ample room for future growth, along a path of your own choosing.

Importantly, it allows you to update a website quickly and easily. I can't tell you the countless hours I used to waste when I had to manually edit footer links all the time

It is perfect for beginners as it requires absolutely no knowledge of HTML, or site installation. Plus, it has a comprehensive manual and training videos that explains how to use all of its' features. You can get started very quickly, and it has an excellent tutorial where you actually create a demo site. This tutorial allows you to jump straight in by showing young exactly what to do - and helps avoid the confusion of getting too much theory all at once. My sister loved the demo and found it really helped her get started quickly (you can see her site here).

It is perfect for experienced webmasters who want to save time. Your time really is money. By automating site maintenance tasks as much as possible, you can devote more time to creating content, marketing your site, and building your business. XSitePro enabled me to do that in a way SBI never did. That, and the fact that SBI is a proprietary system without sufficient flexibility (for my needs and business growth), was one of the key reasons I changed to using XSitePro.

There are so many more things I could talk about here, but the website itself has a lot more information about the many things it can do. There's also an online video you can watch. Click here for more information...

 

Cheap Alternative To XSitePro: For those on a budget, you can create a great looking and effective site with Joomla. Joomla is a free content-management system. The only drawback is that it can be difficult to install and set up if you're not familiar with content management systems. So, we put together a video series to show you just how to do that. You can find out more here. There's some great bonuses to get you going too!

2. You Need To Learn How To Structure And Promote Your Site

There are ways to structure your website that can make a real difference to how you rank in the search engines, and therefore, how much traffic you get from them.

And this ebook, The Master Plan, shows you exactly how. Charles Hefflin writes in a clear, no-nonsense way. He is rich in detail and devoid of hype. Not only does he tell you about why you should structure your site in the way he recommends, but he actually takes you though the process step-by-step.

This is important, because too many ebooks I've seen just give you a lot of theory and then not much in the way of how to practically apply all that information. Theory alone  is no good when it comes to building a site if you've never built one before, or just aren't very experienced at it.

Actually, theory alone isn't much good for accomplished webmasters either as it can be really confusing. Not only that, it's the quickest way to mean you never go out and apply what you've learnt. You won't earn money online that way!

I use this ebook, it's my 'website bible'. I use it for my current sites, and when I'm developing new sites. It has cutting edge information that not too many people out there are talking about in a practical and comprehensive way.

It will help you design a website that is not only clear for your visitors to navigate, but most importantly, it will help you rank well in the search engines.

You will learn how to:

• do keyword research
• organize that research into a great blueprint
• organize your navigation for search engines and visitors
• use latent semantic indexing to gain a competitive advantage (don't be put off by the term - its not hard when you know how)
• create an internal link structure that will improve your rankings
• one of the best ways to get your site indexed
• do meta tags properly
• schedule the growth of your site
• traffic and link strategies
• and much more.

With XSitePro and The Master Plan, you will be well on your way to creating successful sites that rank well in the search engines, sites that visitors love, and that can earn you a very good income online. I didn't have either of these when I was starting out, but I wish I did. They have my highest recommendations and are both things I use now every day.

• Learn more about XSitePro here
• Learn more about The Master Plan here

Wishing you success!
Rebecca

	I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed. – Booker T. Washington

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