Building a website - advice!

[Fractal-]

Hey all,

I just found MMM about a month ago, and have since then read all the blog posts and invested possibly too much time skimming through the forum!  I did have a question concerning the development of a website.  Several months back I had an idea for a website that I thought has the potential to be highly successful.  I have done some research and have not come up with any sites in the same vein, though I continue to search.  My problem is that I know nothing about building, maintaining, or otherwise running a website, so I was curious if anyone has any advice they might have for someone who works full time and doesnt have anything in the way of 'seed money'.  My wife and I just finished paying off all of our debt so we are looking forward to figure out how to break away from our 9 - 5 jobs and grow that Mustache.

Thanks!

[khizr]

Hey all,

I just found MMM about a month ago, and have since then read all the blog posts and invested possibly too much time skimming through the forum!  I did have a question concerning the development of a website.  Several months back I had an idea for a website that I thought has the potential to be highly successful.  I have done some research and have not come up with any sites in the same vein, though I continue to search.  My problem is that I know nothing about building, maintaining, or otherwise running a website, so I was curious if anyone has any advice they might have for someone who works full time and doesnt have anything in the way of 'seed money'.  My wife and I just finished paying off all of our debt so we are looking forward to figure out how to break away from our 9 - 5 jobs and grow that Mustache.

Thanks!

Yep my rec would be buy a cheap hosting plan from siteground.com, follow their tutorial to install wordpress, and just start messing around. WordPress is pretty easy to use if you are willing to spend a few weeks learning, and there are tons of free tutorials online and videos. Just dig in and get messy.

Thanks, Ben

[marielle]

I've heard of Squarespace which makes creating your website user-friendly (drag and drop) but I've never used it.

Pricing doesn't seem too terrible, but it is an option if you don't have time to learn how to do it yourself.

https://www.squarespace.com/pricing/

[VeggieGirl]

What kind of website will it be? Just information or selling something? Lots of DIY options available nowadays like the other people have mentioned.

[SeattleCPA]

Hey all,

I just found MMM about a month ago, and have since then read all the blog posts and invested possibly too much time skimming through the forum!  I did have a question concerning the development of a website.  Several months back I had an idea for a website that I thought has the potential to be highly successful.  I have done some research and have not come up with any sites in the same vein, though I continue to search.  My problem is that I know nothing about building, maintaining, or otherwise running a website, so I was curious if anyone has any advice they might have for someone who works full time and doesnt have anything in the way of 'seed money'.  My wife and I just finished paying off all of our debt so we are looking forward to figure out how to break away from our 9 - 5 jobs and grow that Mustache.

Thanks!

Yep my rec would be buy a cheap hosting plan from siteground.com, follow their tutorial to install wordpress, and just start messing around. WordPress is pretty easy to use if you are willing to spend a few weeks learning, and there are tons of free tutorials online and videos. Just dig in and get messy.

Thanks, Ben

We've done websites a variety of ways and I think wordpress lets you build a pretty nice looking site (check out my sig's link to my blog for one example).

BTW, I think you'll find a blog an easier "destination" to get links to... which is how you'll build your site's visibility.

[beardedone]

It's great to see fellow Mustachians taking the leap into entrepreneurship! I'm in mid-leap, myself.

Other people have suggested some great ideas for how to build a website without coding chops (other options: Wordpress.com, WPEngine, Wix). But I would advice you, before you build anything, to validate your idea. Will people pay money for whatever you are planning on selling through your website? Is anyone interested at all in the topic you are targeting? Have you struck gold with an idea that is very different than anything else, or have you simply found a niche that has been tried and abandoned?

An easy way to validate an idea is to see if people will give you something for it, before you have made it. Will they give you their e-mail address on a landing page that explains what you are offering and offers to notify them when it's ready? Will they give you their credit card information to pre-order a product before you have made it (and get a discount)?

Here are some articles I think you'll find helpful. Some of them focus on software products, but most of the advice they provide can be applied generally:

- Finding The Right Idea: http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/earning-money-finding-the-right-idea/
- Validating Product Ideas Before (And After) Building Them: https://training.kalzumeus.com/newsletters/archive/validating_product_ideas
- How To Create a Million-Dollar Business This Weekend: http://tim.blog/2011/09/24/how-to-create-a-million-dollar-business-this-weekend-examples-appsumo-mint-chihuahuas/
- Chapters 9 & 10 of The Four-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferris

Finally, don't be shy about sharing your ideas. What use is an idea if nobody knows about it? It's unlikely no one has the same ideas before, but most people are not interested (and don't have the same skills and experience) in the same things you are. An idea has zero value without proper execution.

[jade]

For once you've made sure you want to go ahead with your idea, another option is "google sites". after using WordPress, blogger etc. I found this and the free hosting and easy to build sites made it great for my small biz, so I only pay domain fees once a year (approx $12). But it depends what you might end up needing on the site.... First make sure whatever avenue you go down suits your needs.

[trashmanz]

As mentioned above, the particular recommendations would depend on what type of site it is.  E.g., blog or product sales, etc.

[kurtnyc]

It's great to see fellow Mustachians taking the leap into entrepreneurship! I'm in mid-leap, myself.

But I would advice you, before you build anything, to validate your idea. Will people pay money for whatever you are planning on selling through your website? Is anyone interested at all in the topic you are targeting? Have you struck gold with an idea that is very different than anything else, or have you simply found a niche that has been tried and abandoned?

An easy way to validate an idea is to see if people will give you something for it, before you have made it. Will they give you their e-mail address on a landing page that explains what you are offering and offers to notify them when it's ready? Will they give you their credit card information to pre-order a product before you have made it (and get a discount)?

This is super solid advice. Validating an idea is often skipped because it's painful if the idea doesn't work out. but you can save YEARS by doing this process first. if your idea involves content marketing, then learn how that market works. I'd suggest the free authority hacker podcast. yes they have a course, but a lot of info is free on their blog. the other links provided are also great.

If you were validating a content idea, and say affiliate marketing was your monetization strategy, your probably not looking for an unknown topic with no traffic. if you can't find anyone making money the way you think your going to make money, that is actually not a great sign. you want a proven market you can enter in a new way.