How much does a website cost?
Hmmm... how much does it cost to buy a car? A house? The answer is, it depends. If you want a one-page informational website, it will certainly cost you less than a fully-functioning storefront with advanced capabilities.

Make two lists - what you NEED the website to do, and what you WANT the website to do. This often gives you a good start to pick and choose what is worth spending the extra time and money on.

After the initial development, the monthy hosting fees (cost paid to have your website available on the Net) can range from free to hundreds of dollars a month, depending on your site. A normal site, without any e-commerce, will run you an average of $15-30 per month.

I bought my domain name... now what?
Purchasing your domain name is the first step. In effect, you now have a phone number, but no phone... the next step is to decide what you want. Look around at websites in similar markets or areas. What do you like, what do you hate? Make a list and some URLs to share with your developer, and integrate that with your needs vs. your wants. Remember, you can always start small, and build on from there!

How do I show up better on search engines?
It's all about content. You can pay Google all you want, but research shows that the vast majority of paid links go unclicked. People want relevant results, not paid results. Build your site with your search terms (and searcher) in mind. Is your business local? Mention where... Link to other sites, and have them link to you. The more you are linked to, the more valid the search engines see your content as being. Narrow your focus as much as possible, then expand from there.

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