1. Name – Every website needs a domain name that’s descriptive and relevant, but what type of name should you pick? There are two rules of thought here. One is to go the brand route and use a name that over time will become relevant. Second is to go the route of a keyword-rich name which will rank well and instantly let your readers, visitors, and the search engines know what you’re about. Which domain name route you opt for is entirely up to you, but deciding upfront which you’ll be taking is what you want to focus on.

2. Structure – You want a site that is search engine friendly and one of the best ways to optimize a site from the get go is to use a blog format, such as WordPress. With WordPress you get search engine friendly URL’s, as you get to choose the URL structure within the back-end area of WP.

The URL (or permalink) of your site should have keywords in it, so when search engines spider it – they know what its about.

3. Purpose – Every website should figure out what is it’s PRIMARY focus – is it to capture leads, direct sales, testimonials, or provide information? Determine this early on as it will help when it comes time to develop a content strategy.

The purpose of your site will also determine its layout and design.

4. Design – The look and feel of your website says alot about you. Do you want a standard generic template or a custom design which highlights your logo and unique brand?

With WordPress you have several choices -

A. Free Theme: A generic template found on the web.
B. Premium Theme (with customizations): A paid for theme you can customize.
C. Custom Theme: A theme created from scratch specific to you.

I recommend B or C. Either will serve the purpose of having a professionally designed blog website that stands out.

Some good premium WordPress themes include: Fresh News Theme, Thesis Theme, and Revolution Church Theme.

5. Layout – Depending on the purpose of your site (see above) you will want to lay out your site accordingly. If the purpose of your site is to gather leads then be sure to highlight your sign up form. If the purpose of your site is to sell directly, be sure to make it easy to place an order. If the purpose of your site is to be an information portal, set it up so that it highlights information right from the onset.

6. Content – Every website should have the following pages:

About Us Page – What are you about? What is your business about? How are you different? Etc.

Contact Us Page – Make it super duper easy for anyone to reach you. Add a contact form and let people know how and when to BEST reach you.

Services Page – What services do you offer? What are your skills? Any credentials? Highlight your unique offerings here.

WordPress makes it easy to add as many pages as you need. Think about your sites purpose and fill accordingly.

As for articles – keeping your blog website fresh with new content will keep the search engines coming back again and again. This is a good thing. Think about what your customers (and prospective customers) are interested in. What do they want to learn? What tips would they find useful? What keeps them entertained? Fill your blog with these useful, informative or entertaining articles. You can add as many articles as you like and style your site in blog format or style it in a more traditional format – but whichever style you choose – you want to make it known you have relevant articles available for your audience. Make sure this is apparent from the first glance.

7. Plan – Every website should have a marketing plan. How will you spread the word – online, offline, social media, advertising, family and friends?

Have a plan and work the plan. Incorporate your website URL in all your communications, from your business cards to customer newsletters, mentioning it in seminars, attaching to email signatures, etc.

Decide early on how you will promote your blog website. Have a plan in place.

These tips are meant for new blog websites, but can be applied to any site. If you run a small business and don’t yet have a website, but have been mulling over the idea – it’s never too late to create an online presence.

Follow the tips above and don’t just create a website, create an online presence that will explode your sales, leads, and income.

RSS Readers: What Tip Can You Add?

What tip do you have for small business owners looking to create their first website?

I joined Pepperjam recently, and one of the things i like about this network, is the accessibility factor. You can easily reach the staff (heck even the CEO, Kris Jones) via multiple communication channels, including: IM, email, (and my personal fave) their company blog.

They have a slew of solid merchants, including: eBay, Webmaster Radio, Text Link Ads (boo! to that one), SEOMoz, PlayBoy Store, and others. eBay is a great money maker. If you’re a blogger and have yet to try and make money with the eBay affiliate program, now is a great time to join Pepperjam and do so. The (exciting news) i mentioned above is that for the month of July, Pepperjam is offering NEW! incentives.

NEW! Incentives from Pepperjam Network

1. )The lead payout has increased to a generous $7. So every blogger you refer to the program (*and gets approved) nets you a $7 referral commission

2.) Spread the word on your blog, (like i have), and earn an easy $10

3.) Join the network, receive a $10 sign on bonus

Pepperjam is an up and coming affiliate marketing network that is growing leaps and bounds. They were recently featured on a report by Marketing Sherpa, which highlights the leaps and the bounds.

Once you have reached $25 in commissions, PepperJam pays you promptly via Paypal. Ready to join? Click the banner below, and sign up today to make money via your site or blog!

If you run a blog (or blogs) then you will surely fall in love with WordPress and it’s many features. One issue you will have early on is deciding amongst the plethora of wordpress themes available. There are both free WP themes and also paid versions of WP themes. Let me quickly tell you about Structure from Justin Tadlock, a free WP theme.

I’m really digging this wordpress theme Structure by Justin Tadlock. It is a magazine style theme with great composition, layout, and cool web 2.0 features such as video embed, an image gallery, and prominent 125×125 ad placeholders.

You can tell when a blogger designs a WP theme because they throw in (blogger specific extras) like Justin has done. You will find several useful wordpress plugin’s built in the theme. This one is hot and did i mention it’s 100% free. Also should you need any help, Justin has a support forum open to everyone.

Looking for a modern WordPress theme? Try Structure by Justin Tadlock.

Or Try A WordPress Theme Club

Have you heard of wordpress theme clubs? You pay an annual fee (anywhere between 20 to 40 dollars) and you get access to a variety of premium exclusive designs.

Take a look at these premium wordpress themes by Elegant WordPress. The cost to join the club is an annual $20 fee and you get access to all the premium themes on the site. My favorite theme at Elegant is Who’s Who and eVid, a theme for video bloggers. It is well worth the 20 bucks.

Or Try A Fee Based WordPress Theme

Another wordpress theme you might be interested in is Money Blogger, by BlogOhBlog.

Click here to view more details