Many people have read the how to build a web 2.0 website for $15,xxx+ dollars. The truth is you can build a very effective web 2.0 website for much less. Depending on the type of website you can get started for $50-$500. Below are some good tips to follow when building your own website:
Script / Coding
There is no need to go out and hire script developers to build your website when in most cases there are open source scripts available at little to no cost.
—- How to do it: Use WordPress to build our main website.
Cost: Free
Since you may have a great idea and WordPress may not be able to do what you need, you can hire a free lance programmer to create a WordPress mod for you to use.
—- How to do it: Use a site such as Elance to hire a programmer to make your modifications.
Cost: around $15-25 per hour.
Design
Your website design is very important and you should spend plenty of time on it.
—- How to do it: You can get thousands of free templates at WordPress’s Template Viewer website.
Cost: Free
Logo
Your logo must stand out and make people remember your site name.
—- How to do it: Hire a freelance logo designer. A great place to look is Elance.
Cost: $20-100
Web Hosting
Your website needs to be up for people to discovery and enjoy it.
—- How to do it: Search and find a web host, research them and then make your decision. Don’t fall for the unlimited specials or the 3,000 GB packages. If it sounds to good to be true, it is.
Cost: $10-50/month
Domain Registration
You want to buy up all the most popular domain extensions now before your site becomes popular. If you don’t you will be sorry when you have to pay thousands for each instead of a few dollars. You want to make sure to register: .com, .net, .org, .info, .us. You don’t need to waste your money on tlds that no one has ever heard of like: .tv, .name, .cc, .nu, etc…
Cost: $30-60 per year (depending on the register).
Marketing
In the end if you have a great website and an awesome design and a ground breaking idea it really won’t matter unless people find your website.
—- How to do it: If your idea is truly special marketing is easy. You can start by submitting your site/idea to Digg, Slashdot, Reddit, etc…
Cost: Free
Grand total:
Script/Coding: $200 will build quite a site, but this value will really depend on your idea.
Design: $0, use a free template until you get enough money to hire a top notch designer. The free templates sometimes look better than what a design company could create for you.
Logo: $40, there are thousands of quality designers that will create amazing logos for $40 or less, you just need to find them.
Web Hosting: $10, keep it simple to start in case your idea doesn’t pan out.
Domain Registration: $50 (for 5 domain tlds), a domain is a domain no matter where you buy it.
Marketing: $0, use your free resources.
Total: $300