Before you sit down and start building your new website, take a minute to draw up an chart of the pages you'll be constructing, beginning with a home page and branching out from there. Make each progression through your site logical and easy to follow. Menu bars with links should have a "title" or an "alt" tag embedded to describe just where the link leads. It is also an excellent idea to include an email link on each page of your site.

     Assuming that your new website will be commercial in nature, selling products or services, don't be afraid to get a little creative with your descriptions. For example, if an employee has had a good result with a product you are selling. a brief anecdote about their experience might just sell that item for you. "How To" paragraphs, inserted here and there, also boost sales. Take a page from retailers such as Land's End. There is a reason why they show their tents and parkas being used in someplace like Patagonia. They are selling the mystique along with the product.

     Finally, CHANGE THE CONTENT OF YOUR WEBSITE AT LEAST WEEKLY! Consider adding a text banner or flash image on your home page shouting "Updated on ______" If the content of your site is not kept fresh and up-to-date, there is little reason for a customer to keep coming back again and again. Hosting packages from "Site Me Up" include periodic updates FOC for one year. (*** within reason - extensive updating is billed at $14.95 per hour, with a minimum 1/4 hour increment.)

What Will It Cost Me?

     If you decide to construct your website yourself, with a little perseverance you can find all the tools you'll need at minimal, or no cost, on the Web. Virtually your only expenditure will be the time and effort involved. If you lack the time and inclination to do this, consider a web developer such as "Site Me Up". You'll find that it can be both cost effective and affordable, freeing you up to concentrate on your business.

     Hosting packages from "Site Me Up" are tailored to fit the needs of the individual client. To give you an idea as to pricing, here are approximate costs incurred for the websites featured on our home page:

Ranchmart - This was originally an E-commerce site with multiple pages, hundreds of SKU's and a secure shopping cart. Cost to create a similar site would average $3,000.00 to $4,000.00 for setup and maintennce during the first year of operation. Ranchmart was unable to renegotiate lease terms with it's landlord of 28 years, and is now solely an Ebay storefront website.

Johnny La Fonda - This is a site with paid hosting. It promotes a San Antonio based guitarist. It is a "work in progress", and cost to set up a similar site when completed would average $700.00. It is assumed that the site owner would acquire the skills necesary to maintain a site such as this during that first year.

Christian's Canvas Creations - This is a site with paid hosting. It promotes the sale of works by a young Texas artist. Cost to set up a similar site would average $700.00. It is assumed that the site owner would acquire the skills necesary to maintain a site such as this during that first year.

San-Antonio-Daily - This is a site with free hosting (using a hosting credit from a dedicated server). It is a blog on life in South Texas. Cost to set up a similar site would average $200.00. Because the content changes daily, the site owner must posess the skills necessary to update the site.

Angel Touch Day Spa - This is a site hosted for free by Lycos-Tripod. No sales are made directly - the site owner can be contacted via telephone for appointments. Cost to set up a similar site would average $250.00, and this particular site can be used as a starting template for a similar business at a very modest cost.

Dive Cozumel - This was a site being hosted for free by their ISP. It is informational in nature, sharing with others a love of scuba diving in Mexico. Average cost to set up a similar site would be $450.00 to $550.00. *** Note: Here is one of the pitfalls of using a "free" hosting program. The bandwidth available for free was quickly surpassed by the number of visitors, and it was necessary to switch to a paid hosting program. (Or deal with the site being taken down continually while additional bandwith was being paid for.)

La Fonda Oak Hills - This is a paid site to promote a Mexican restaurant in San Antonio, Texas. They accept on-line payments for gift certificates via a third party provider, promote special offers to web surfers, book functions, and maintain a database to email customers periodically. Cost to set up a similar site would average $750.00 to $1,000.00.

Texas Horse News - This site was the on-line version of a monthly publication for Texas horse enthusiasts. That publication is for sale. The link presently redirects to the owner's business of horse export.

Chance Priest Custom Knives - This site was constructed for a custom knife maker from Lytle, Texas. Mr Priest buys, sells, and trades custom knives, particularly from WW II, Korea, and Vietnam; both from this website and on Ebay. Average initial cost for this site would be about $450.00, and the site owner will be doing his own updates and additions, as he plans to feature 2000 plus items. SiteMeUp has been initially tutoring the site owner in basic html programming.