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Ten Ways NOT to Set Up a Website-based Service Business

1. As the first step, "Hire a web designer."

First create a storyboard of your website, based on your strategy.

2. Focus on graphics, typefaces and colors.

Focus on potential clients and customers.

3. Avoid anything that has to do with "strategy."

Spend more time on strategy than on website design.

4. Rely on your web designer for all the updates.

Only if your designer is also your significant other! You may need to make changes as often as once a day. Even if you have infinite financial resources, your designer may not have infinite time for you.

5. Avoid learning HTML.

You need a smattering of HTML even if you use a package. If something goes wrong, you'll save time if you can take a quick peek at the source code.

6. Take a course in web design after your site has gone public.

You may not need a course. Begin with a practice website, using a free package like Netscape's Composer, or PageMill, which has been bundled with iMacs. Most ISP's offer free websites for personal use. Don't use the "quick design" option: Write your own code and practice uploading!

7. Rely on submitting your name to search engines to generate traffic.

Supplement by submitting content to popular sties.

8. Refuse to pay for a pro to help with writing web content. If your strength lies in pictoral or oral communication, get help! Words count.

9. Ignore your competitive websites.

Don't steal what's copyrighted, but learn from everybody else.

10. Create a concept that requires more than three sentences to explain.

You're lucky if your audience listens beyond the first sentence. I offer one-to-one consultations for anyone considering starting a business.

About The Author

Cathy Goodwin, Ph.D., is an author, speaker and career/business consultant, helping midlife professionals take their First step to a Second Career. http://www.cathygoodwin.com.

"Ten secrets of mastering a major life change" mailto:subscribe@cathygoodwin.com

Contact: cathy@cathygoodwin.com 505-534-4294

MORE RESOURCES:

Yahoo! News Search Results for website design
Yahoo! News Search Results for website design

• StockLayouts Offers Subscriptions to Its Entire Design Template Library and R...
StockLayouts LLC , the leading provider of graphic design templates for print, has introduced subscriptions as the principal way for its customers to purchase and download a constant supply of its fully designed templates for creating business marketing materials.
• A Luna Blue Launches New Website. (Broadcast Newsroom)
Stock Footage Website Launched By A Luna Blue. DMN Newswire--2008-8-26--A Luna Blue stock footage launches a new website design. They're still tarting up nature, chasing moonlight and spinning the globe now with every stock video clip available in HD, DV and Multimedia formats.
• Reed Business Information's Design News (www.designnews.com) Announces Mechat...
WALTHAM, Mass., Aug. 27 -- Design News (www.designnews.com) along with sister publications, Control Engineering, EDN and Test & Measurement World, have announced Mechatronics 2.0: Driving Innovation in the Auto Industry, an expo and conference on September 9th in Dearborn, Michigan at the Ford Motor Co. Event and Conference Center.
• Stracka Design Company Acquires GolfQ.com to Expand Golf Course Promotion Bus...
The Stracka Design Company LLC, home of www.Stracka.com, Golf's premier social network, has acquired the assets of Texas-based GolfQ.com Inc. GolfQ (www.GolfQ.com) touts itself as being the World's Largest Golf Community and has been helping golf courses promote their property since 1999.
• The Continental Group Launches Internet Marketing with New Website to help Co...
ELEMENTS, an internet marketing agency, Launches The Continental Group on ElementsConnect? for website management. The primary objective of the new website was enhancement of brand messaging, interactivity and design. ELEMENTS provides real value through a combination of beautiful designs, great customer service and innovative technology solutions. (PRWeb Aug 26, 2008) Read the full story at ...

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