Build a website from scratch?  No way!  Unless you are very familiar with html language and how to build websites, this is a very daunting task.  So what do I do?  There are three choices which I would like to outline below.

Free Websites
There are several companies out there who host websites for free.  Some examples are http://www.yola.com and http://www.webs.com.  I’ve used yola.com to build my dog breed information website.  It does well for its purpose.  But it has many limitations – setting up payment methods, being forced to use only their web page formats, and other limits to functionality.  But if your message and your products are simple, this can be a good way to go.

Pay Someone to Build a Website
I would never recommend this option.  Although you have complete control over how your website looks and works, it can be very difficult to make changes.  Paying someone to build your website is expensive.  And if you want to make changes later, you have to pay again.  This can get very costly.

Go With a Website Hosting Service
This is the option that I chose long before I even knew that free websites existed.  I purchased six websites from a web hosting service and have used four of them in the past four years.  Although it was expensive up front and I have to pay a monthly hosting fee for each live website, I prefer to use this web hosting service to build my websites.  I have a lot more versatility, it is easy to use, setting up payment methods is simple, and I can make changes as often as I want at no additional costs.

However, if you choose to purchase a website from a website hosting service, be very very careful.  There are a lot of scammers out there.  And while I use StoresOnline for this service, they also have a bad reputation.  I probably paid more than I should have initially and maybe $25 per month per website is expensive.  But I love how easy it is.  And my website http://www.petautosafety.com is doing very well and has more than made up for the costs.

Most of the people who give StoresOnline bad reviews didn’t have the luck that I have had.  It takes more than just building a website to make money.  You have to do a lot of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) which can take a good couple of years.  StoresOnline gives you a lot of tips and tools, but even this doesn’t guarantee that your website will be successful.

Supposedly, StoresOnline made a lot of people think it would be easy.  They have testimonials from people who made a lot of money right away.  But times have changed and there is a lot of competition.  When I went to a StoresOnline seminar, it was indeed very motivating.  But they made it very clear to me during the seminar that it would take a lot of hard work.  Perhaps StoresOnline wasn’t as honest at other seminars or perhaps people just heard what they wanted to hear.

My website for my self published books will be done through StoresOnline.  Look for it soon.  And look for more blog posts on how I will do the Search Engine Optimization (SEO).