There are two approaches to DIY Website Construction.

The first is to go about gathering and purchasing all of the components separately. The second is to buy a package that has all of the components and build your website yourself using the tools at your disposal.

When you think about what you will need for a DIY Website Construction, consider the following:

• Domain Name
• Web Hosting
• Templates or HTML program
• Keyword Research
• Content generation
• Autoresponder
• Sitemap submission
• Community or forum for support

If you don't do this on a regular basis, putting all of the pieces together for a DIY website may seem overwhelming.

But you don't need to put all of the separate components together to do your website yourself. You can buy a package that combines the best of everything.

One thing, though. Your best bet is NOT one of the domain name services. These services allow you to get a "brochure site" up quickly. But they don't help you generate a website that sells. And, unless you are putting up a website just for friends and family, there's no use in a website that doesn't sell.

Instead, you should look for a package company whose goal is to make your site sell. They're not there to sell lots of additional components, they want you to succeed.

For one price, you should get your domain name, web hosting, templates, keyword research, an autoresponder, email addresses, sitemap submission, statistics monitoring, and more. You also want to make sure that there is some level of support for the community whether it is phone based technical support or a welcoming forum.

If you're not ready to put all of the components of a DIY website together yourself yet, I recommend Site Build It for a package deal. It includes all of the necessary components and has a very supportive forum community.

To get the SBI package deal, click through to my Small Business Website Marketing Blog.

Did you know that your css code could be slowing down your website? Did you also know that there is a free solution out there that can help you optimize or reformat your css code for speed and readability? This article is going to explain the benefits of optimizing your css code and the reasons why all web designers should be doing it. First we need to take into account the 2 reasons why you would want to reformat your css: readability and optimization.

Readability

Having nicely formatted css that easily readable is very helpful when you are developing a site. Most of us (me included) can get pretty sloppy when in a hurry to develop code, and a formatter can really help out to make it more readable.

On development teams where both Macs and PCs are used, sometimes line breaks are not read correctly across platforms and your css can end up all on one line. A formatter can help get your code looking pretty again.

Optimization

The opposite of readability is optimization. One problem with CSS is that it can get pretty file-size heavy when designing with it - especially on complex layouts. Optimizing your CSS will strip out all unnecessary characters and leave your CSS lean and mean.

Optimizing css is great to do once you've finished your site and don't plan to work on the design very much anymore.

The css formatter is a great tool because it can do both! You can format for readability while you are designing, optimize when you go live, and reformat it for readability if you ever need to work on it again. It's really a 'win win' thing to do.

Your Small Business Website doesn't have to be a challenge. You'll be able to get it up and running without a professional web-designer, you'll be able to describe you're unique value proposition, and you'll have an offer waiting to bring in business that already believes your solution is the correct one for them.

One of the biggest myths about creating a website is that you have to use a web-designer. Designers can bring a great service, but your goal is to make information available and to interest clients in your products and services. To leverage this, you should look for a templated site. Simply put, that means you pick out a predesigned website and make a few customizations that are appropriate for your business. Usually you have hundreds of choices from which to choose. Then you add your images, upload your logo; and more importantly use your voice to communicate. Quick and dirty in the world of websites can be worth more than you ever thought.

Give them a reason to pick your business over the competition. Price isn't the only comparison people are looking for. And sometimes you don't want to compete on price-it limits your audience. Do some research on your clients. How do they search for your product or service? Are you saving people time and stress? Could your value be in the way you integrate with something they are already doing? Formulate your 'sweet spot' in the industry and broadcast it. This is the one piece of information that you can't afford to not include on your website. Make it the central message and use your features and benefits to back it up.

State your offer! You've got their attention now make them an offer. So often a company puts so much energy and effort into their website, but they forget to ask for the sale. Whether you are selling products or services, you must give them explicit instructions about their next step. Should they sign up for a newsletter? Download a report? Call for an appointment? Customers love simple directions for the next step. Present your features and benefits and then drive them into a sale. Otherwise you're leaving money on the table.

So you've made the offer. They identify with the features and benefits, but how do they know that this is really for them? You need to offer proof. This could be a video on youtube demonstrating the actual benefit or perhaps testimonials from your customers. This is big because you've led them down the path of searching and research. Make sure they know that they have chosen correctly. You ease their mind and add third-party credibility to your site's visitors by including statements from like-minded customers.

Many times small business owners are fearful of their website. They don't know what it requires to set up a website or what it needs to include. Taking action can be as simple as finding an easily editable templated site that you can quickly customize, broadcasting your unique value statement, asking for the sale, and providing credibility from others. Erase the fear and profit from your small business website.