Im looking to start my own online business but have no idea where to start! I want to create an online website which will see users submit to a single fixed cost monthly subscription. The website itself will have to look professional as there is some compeition. I need ideas on where to start, i know i will have to look at website hosting/creation/payment solutions but was hoping someone could share a little knowledge! Thanks, dan.
Hi Dan
I'd start by considering your budget and what you're looking to achieve.
Depending on the nature of the site, if it's not online retail, but more paid for content, I'd recommend Wordpress or Drupal.
Wordpress will be best for a small or medium sized site, and Drupal more for something like
www.economist.com (which runs on Drupal) - as in, a large Content Management System (CMS), with lots of content and community features.
Wordpress is easier to use though, and probably the better option for smaller sites.
Then if you're on a very low budget you can select an appropriate free theme, and add your content. Many of our clients do this, with some great results. There's plenty on help available on the internet, including this forum.
If you have a bit more budget you can opt for a premium theme.
For the best results, you'd get a professional/designer involved, who can work with Wordpress or Drupal and create something unique and professional for you. Starting with Wordpress, Durpal or another open source CMS though will help ensure it's built on a solid, technically sound foundation, and helps keep costs low. It also empowers you to edit the site yourself, making changes without getting a designer involved, and makes it easy to add new fresh content (which your subscribers will want I presume, and google will like too).
Any decent web host will offer everything you need to support this. Most decent hosts provide a one click installer so you can have Wordpress and other software up in seconds, and some like us will even let you select it when you order so it'll be installed for you automatically.
Do ensure you choose a UK web host, especially if your website will be UK focused. This will help provide the best performance for your main visitors, and it certainly helps to deal with a company in the same country as you.
As for payment solutions, PayPal and Google Checkout should suffice to start, depending on your needs, and there's plenty more posts and information on other providers in this forum.
I hope that helps.
If you've got any questions I'm happy to help.
Good luck!
Dan
