A website is an investment.

If you’re an artist or small business owner in the 21st century the best way to attract new buyers & clients is to have a good website.

Websites are internet real estate, and their value can only go depending how well you develop the property.  Getting a website doesn’t have to be complicated, or expensive.

Where To Start

First, you need to register a domain and buy a hosting package. There’s no shortage of places to start. GoDaddy and SquareSpace are two of the most popular options. And both are grossly overpriced.

If you don’t know much about putting together a site, or you don’t have the time or patience to learn, you’re likely to wind up with a very expensive and underdeveloped website.

When you’re ready for a website that reflects your magic, the home for your online business, you shouldn’t pay more than $150/year for hosting (including domain registration).

New websites should start with the most basic hosting package. You won’t need lots of storage or bandwidth. You have no idea what kind of traffic you’ll get – and you can always upgrade later to scale. A decent hosting package for a new site is worth $10/month on average.

At the very least your hosting package will come with MySql database capabilities (your web designer/developer will know what to do with that). Your hosting package should also include e-mail.

HIRE A DESIGNER. SERIOUSLY.

Okay. Obviously you should hire Nineke Publishing. But the truth of it is that unless your creative gift (or your company’s focus) is design, you’ve got no business building your own website.

Various factors determine what makes an effective website, and most designers and developers study them – specifically, as relates UX and UI.

“UX design refers to user experience design, while UI design stands for user interface design. Both of these are crucial to an IT product and need to work closely together”

– (Hackernoon, Jan. 2018)

So while you should absolutely have a vision for your website, you also need to find someone with knowledge & experience of modern web design best practices. And you need to trust them to bring your vision to life . . . online.

Spare yourself the frustration of trying to “figure out” your website, and keep your time and energy where it belongs: focused on your passion, your art, and your business.

Finding the right web designer…

… can be a challenging process. It’s hard to feel assured and secure. Everyone has a horror story.

Some web designers charge $1000+ per project and when the site is finished, and they’ve been paid, you’re on your own. Some designers disappear halfway through a project. Some respond to e-mails, but charge more for a site update, or any maintenance.

Oftentimes you have to hire someone new to come in and fix what your original designer won’t. It sucks. But it doesn’t have to be that way – if you get it done right the first time.

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