1000$ Project teaches what you need to have a website, step by step
Do I Have to Turn Into A Techie?
I sure hope not! I really do want to know, what do I need to have a website?
I started building a blog-site. I am a baby-boomer.
I was not born with an IPhone in my hand like kids are today. Questions I asked, and you may be asking are:
- Do I have to turn into a techie?
- What am I going to require or want to have, to be successful online?
I've learned along the way. And I've had great teachers. BUT there is a lot to know. I am still learning every day.
The thing is, it is doable, even for non-techie me. I kept taking baby steps. And it works!
The reason it works is that I have great teachers who have helped me understand every single thing about what I was going to need to have a website, why I needed it, and what I could do with it. I got step by step guidance and training.
I learned to type when I was a child. That helps, of course. And I have had a computer since the 80's, so that helps, too.
Old-Style Computers Were Only Word Processors (Read: Typewriters)
Of course, the computer I had back then was really a superannuated word processor that cost about $3,000. Now my much less costly computer has so much more capability. Plus it has speed, and I type in actual words instead of DOS commands.
Anyone remember DOS? You've gotta be almost as old as I am to remember, I guess, but I am a babyboomer and there are an awful lot of us babyboomers!
About 15 years ago, I hired a web designer to build me a website. It took all kinds of techie knowledge of HTML and other fancy computer languages to do a website back then. Or at least that is what I understood and was comfortable with in those days. It all seemed kinda overwhelming, but I had a business and I needed a website. That design of a simple website cost me $2500.
What Else Did I Need Help With Back Then?
Then I had to write content, and he put it together for me on my site, with layout and illustrations. Back then, I had to pay a lot to answer, what do I need to have a website…not, not so much!
These days, what do I need to have a website?
A whole lot less than the way it used to be! We have web designs that are all done, and range in cost from free to less than $50 for many of them. Certainly for ones that work for me. I am not (yet) a Fortune 500 company that needs an incredible website with extra capabilities. I wouldn't know what to do with one of those!
What I need is a website that looks pretty, that seems inviting. I have one I like. It wasn't hard to find.
I needed a host for my website and I had that initially through a webhosting company that gave training. They have great support if something doesn't work, which has happened to me in a minor way once in the past three months. They backed up my site daily, so I wasn't at risk of losing all my work. It was a good way to learn how to use WordPress effectively. I recommend just signing up for a training host for a few months, then switch over to A2 Hosting. And use those first months well, by getting every piece of the training they have for you…
An alternative is to go to YouTube, search “wordpress” and get your training there for zero cost and just start out with A2 for a lower investment.
A2 also has great support, daily backup AND few restrictions on what plug-ins you install…wait. Plug-ins????
Content A Huge Focus
I need to layout my content for my blogs.
You need to make a design…use of headlines, typefaces and images get reader attention.
It's kind of like when the company comes to put on kitchen countertops and they draw things out and make a paper layout to use as a guide to make what will fit.
It's an outline with all the headings and subheadings to help make sure you put together something that will be user-friendly to your readers.
I use WordPress for my blog. WordPress is another tool that has become so user-friendly that it's almost like using Word or just typing. It's easy. I'm sure there are details and features that I still have no idea about – YET. But that hasn't been a stopping point. I just incorporate new things I learn along the way.
Traffic Generation is Important for Readers to Find Solutions
I needed training on how to drive traffic to my blogsite. I got that, too, through my mentor Bo Tipton. Bo is amazing with his step-by-step balanced instruction. You can get the exact training I got by subscribing to the complete training for only $6.95 a month! Check out more about that here…
What kind of training have I gotten? Well, there's training in how to write good blogs. And then you get an assignment to practice. That helps to build your website. Content is important to attract and help our readers. And images. We have pixabay!
Training in SEO
When you ask, what do I need to have a website, the answer has to include SEO…
There is training in SEO, or Search Engine Optimization. The search engines, like Google, look for good content, that includes things like keywords and activity in taking care of your content.
Keywords are words that a reader might plug in to Google to try to find the information he or she wants. They have a problem or a challenge, and they want answers. Keywords help them find information on the internet that gives them answers.
Good use of keywords means it is more likely they will find your information instead or in addition to someone else's. I have two great sources for keyword help for best SEO…Squirrly, a free plug-in, with paid options, and Rival Keywords, a one-time purchase tool.
Use of Social Media
Use of Social MediaI got training from Bo in use of other outreach for traffic. Use of Social media sites like Facebook with its 2.2 Million monthly users who stay on FB for an average of 20 minutes every day is important to reach people. That's growing everyday, so by the time you read this, the number of users will be exponentially higher. You can read more about how to use Facebook here.
Coming in fast behind Facebook are other social media sites like Twitter, Google Plus, Pinterest, Linked In, Instagram, and YouTube. I recommend accounts on all of them. Squirrly is soon to offer a posting service for a low monthly fee that will cut your social media posting time down to minutes a month! I am a beta tester for it, and it is an awesome tool.
To use Social media the most effectively, you need to spend a fair amount of effort. I keep mine moderate, yet do what I need to. I usually seek out and comment on people who work in my niche and in internet marketing in general, and I make my own contributions. Squirrly has tools to help you find published articles and information for you to post to your pages, as well as easy post creation to link to your own website and products.
I generally spend only about 30 minutes out of my 4-6 hours of work each day on social media. When I make comments, I am sure to share who I am as a person, not only what I am writing about or about a product I want people to buy.
No, These Days, I Don't Need to Be A Techie to Succeed on the Internet
A central theme to everything I've learned, is that having an internet business is not selling stuff. It is about building trusting relationships with my readers as I help them with solutions for challenges they have searched about.
It is a whole lot easier than it used to be, back in the old days of the 80's! And so much less expensive.
I am able to stand on my own two feet, or ten fingers as the case may be, and make things happen, without hiring expensive ‘experts' to help me with my online business.
Check out the 1000 $ Project…you won't be sorry.
I wish you the best in your future business endeavors, whether online or other. Thanks for being here.
What do you want to do with your life?
How and what you think attracts both good and bad into your life:
Hello Annie, wow so much information in this article! I am also of the generation before all of this and it is so exciting to me as a senior citizen that I am able to process and do this! And I am loving every single moment of it. So when you say, no you do not have to be a techie to succeed.. I can attest to that.. it is all here to make our world and business thrive. Thanks so much, in peace and gratitude, ariel
I love not having to become a techie, or to have to hire one, like in the past. I am loving it, too. Thank you for visiting again!
Hello Annie, I so do hear you ! I am also from the time before cell phones and the internet. And I could not possibly imagine that I could make this happen. And yet here we are creating a business because we found out we could! So much great information in this post. So youa re so right, we do not need to a techie..we just need to do the work.Thank you ! In peace and gratitude, ariel
Hi Ariel, thank you for your comment! Isn’t it great, that we can build a business – an online business – and get the training we need to do it! Can you imagine what kids born today will be doing? Our work was not invented when we were young, and theirs hasn’t been either! The possibilities are endless. Isn’t that exciting? We just need to remain lifelong learners and hook up with training to help us implement.
I have always loved technology and for years followed the trends and advancements very closely. When my friends were buying magazines like Women’s Day and Family Circle, I was buying PC Magazine and the like. I fell away from all that tech stuff.
When I discovered Wealthy Affiliate, I knew it was exactly what I needed to get back into this computer age and learn all I needed to build a business, connect with customers in my niche and monetize my site. I’m still learning. Every day is something new I did not know. What a marvelous age we live in now! This truly is an exciting time.
I had the same experience when I found Wealthy Affiliate, Sue. I found a resource and access to a technology to help me make a difference in the world. I’m learning more daily, and that is a part of what makes life so stimulating. I’m doing it! We both are. I am glad to be on this trip with you, Sue.
I embraced computers when they first arrived on the scene so I have been pretty comfortable with them most of my life. But now days it seems technology is advancing faster then ever and I find myself having to apply myself more to keep up with the changes. It is really amazing that the computers in our smart phones are far more powerful then the computers aboard the first space capsule that landed men on the moon!
What an amazing image, Craig! Technological advances keep moving faster and faster! I am very thankful for fine teachers to help to use it the best possible way! Just yesterday, I learned how to put an internet link on YouTube without being rude and misusing someone else’s video! Pretty cool, don’t you think?
That is so interesting Annie, some of us are just some few years of age and not advanced in age at all. I never used dos operating system even though I came to hear about it and all the commands involved.
But thankfully, technology keeps on advancing and making things more and more easier to do. I especially like the fact that building a website nowadays has become even more easier to do. And like you even said, with the help of Wealthy Affiliate, one can easily create his or her own website without any struggles at all.
I well remember the first time I sign up to join their training program. I had no knowledge at all on how to build my website and even how to start a business online.But with their help. I now have my own website that is running for my business. So I highly recommend their Training Program to all who are interested in building their own successful businesses online.
Thanks for sharing this,
All the best.
Stephen.
Hi Stephen, I am so glad to hear how Wealthy Affiliate is working so well for you, too. It is a pretty amazing platform and resource.Wealthy Affiliate
Annie,
Technology sure has come a long way since the first computer came on the scene. You are right, with technology today, we do not need to be techie’s to set up a website. It really is a lot easier today to get a website up and running. It still amazes me that people are doing a lot of the work right from their cell phones. We sure have come a long way/
Lisa
It’s so doable today, isn’t it, Lisa! Thanks for visiting!
You really laid out what is needed to have a website. I think I need to upgrade my internet to keep up though. Good internet also plays a vital role in all of this. I also need an automatic posting app or plugin for my social media. I just can’t seem to keep up with it.
Hi Brittaney, Thanks for visiting. Thank you for mentioning the auto posting app…I’m now going to work on a post about that! I agree, I need one, too. I am not keeping up with it as well as I want. Thanks for the idea!
Annie