Now that hosting and domain registration is done. You'll need to get your website done. If you don't ready know how, you'll need to engage a web guy. I'm using the term web guy because there are consultants/programmers/designers/strategists etc but you generally engage one guy and you don't and shouldn't really care if he outsourced/worked with an army in the background.
But choosing this one guy is really important. If you get a wrong guy. It can become a journey of heartaches and money wasted. I've been sent messages to "update"/"improve" websites and the job really involves re-doing the entire site. The bad part, it might cost more than what was paid for the site in the first place. Ok... maybe it's because I'm not as cheap as student or some freelance programmers.
There is no rule to this. Find someone you trust or others have recommended, find someone whom you can work with/get along, find someone who has been in the industry and truely passionate about web technologies. The last part is really important. I know many who have gone with trusted names/old-timers in the line. Expensive but are you really getting value. People who are passionate generally keep in touch. They know the vibes and the trends. They know what works NOW and what's past it's time. In getting your web site, there's no room for the "buy IBM" mentality. People who have spent time in the industry doesn't guarantee results. Brand names mean close to nothing. Seem quite contradicting to my first point but what I'm trying to drive home is the fact that too many established interactive agencies out there are just over-charging for useless stuff.
Useless in the sense that you can do nothing to update/upgrade/improve your website. Except either through their expensive services or re-doing the whole site.
What I do recommend and do for everyone who comes to me is I use a Content Management System like the one here. Just so that you can update simple content by yourself and if you are really smart, also figure out how to enhance it using free extensions from the community. It's really simple.
- Go to www.joomla.org and download the latest version of Joomla. If your hosting company has a one click installer like Osprohosting which I use, it's even easier. Just use the one click installer and follow the step by step process of having Joomla installed. Otherwise...
- Upload it using FTP. You can use a program like www.filezilla.com.
- If you need a nice design, subscribe for a professional design template like the one I use.
- Upload and activate the design template and get started with uploading your content.
Sometimes if the process of setting up your own database, installing your own joomla is too daunting get someone to do it for you. I believe the market rate is anything from $500 onwards depending on how much content/design work you need.
I stress the importance of using a CMS. It makes updating of content in the future convenient, and inexpensive(or even free if you do it yourself). I've had many friends coming to me with sites that are hard coded or generated using other site generators. Doing a site update is like doing up the site from scratch. When in doubt ask your developer about all future maintenance and don't just take their word for it. When in doubt, ask around. There are many out there who are willing to give advice for free.
Good Luck with your website!
