For most people looking to bring their small business online or wanting to communicating their message, establishing an online presence begins with creating a website or blog, where the introductions between them and visitors take place.
While some people may be able to put up a website and establish a presence within minutes, the task may see daunting to others. And although there is plenty of work involved in establishing a wide presence online, the fundamentals involve only 3 steps. Those steps are purchasing a domain name, getting reliable web hosting, and building your site.
1. You Need a Domain Name
The first step in establishing an online presence is purchasing a domain name. When it comes to purchasing a domain name.
There is no shortage of tips on choosing a domain name. The important thing is for your domain name to clearly identify with the information on your website or be relevant to your brand.
For example, if you sell or write about widgets - you may want to include "widgets" in the name (e.g., bestwidgets.com). Another approach is to simply use the name of your company or your own name (abcwidgetscompany.com or abccompany.com or myname.com). This clearly establishes your identity and also goes a long way in helping your website be part of search engine results when people do searches relevant to your name, company, products, and/or services.
2. Reliable Web Hosting
The next step is finding reliable web hosting. A web hosting company will "rent" space to you on their server, so that you can make your website available to the world.
Numerous web hosting companies and packages are available from you to choose from. For most individuals looking to establish an online presence, the basic hosting packages are often enough to begin with.
When looking at your options, you may even find free web hosting packages. However, these may not be practical for your website, since they often come with restrictions and will include advertising within the website you create.
3. Building Your Site
Once you have a domain name and reliable web hosting, the next step is to build your website (or have someone build your website).
Installing a Content Management System (CMS) such as WordPress is the simplest way to get started. The simplicity of installing WordPress, along with the ease of managing your site and publishing content makes it the ideal way of establishing your online presence.
Additionally, thousands of "Theme" options are out there to make your site unique to you and the content you provide.
Your Online Presence
That's it! Those are the 3 steps needed to establish an online presence. Of course, there is more involved after you have these steps in place, such as marketing your site and attracting more and more visitors. But as you can see, the basic steps are simple enough to get going quickly.
Felix Mack is an Entrepreneur and Internet Marketer. He helps others establish an online presence and generate an income working form home. You can learn more about Felix at his blog: FelixMack.net
