How to Get Your Business Online in 2024

Taking your business online is no longer just a "nice-to-have", like it was back in the early 2000s. These days, being found in search results is practically the only way to make a living anymore.

But most people think that owning and maintaining a website is easy. Of course, they used freelancers and developers to do it, so it would be easy.

Going online is no longer an option for your business, it's a critical necessity

If you're a cash-strapped entrepreneur, freelancer, solopreneur, or startup founder, you'll know that the $$$ asked is a lot to find. Do you bite the bullet and invest in a website, or do you forego this online presence in favour of more inventory?

That's a tough question to answer. What do you need most - more stock, or more buyers?

This is what's known as a Catch 22 situation - going nowhere until you find buyers, but caught up in the fear of not having enough stock when the buyers finally buy. But those buyers won't buy until they find you - which they won't unless you get online.

In our series on How to Start Your Own Business, you may recall the worksheets and brainstorming we did to plan your new startup...

Within that series, we covered many topics, including:

• Your business idea's potential.
• Your niche market in the industry.
• Your target market and persona management.
• What your competitors are up to.
• Brainstorming a company name.
• Developing a mission statement.
• Calculating your startup and operating costs.
• Your net worth and degree of debt.

And more. But all of that was just planning. Or as I like to call it... crystalising your idea. It went from a 3am brain fart to a solid, well-researched, strategised roadmap for your future in just 10 days.

And that's about how long you'll need to get your business online, too. There are some inevitable costs you need to know about, but there's also some things you can do for yourself that would minimise the cost of these inevitables.

Over the next 20 days, we'll take a deep dive look at what's involved in getting these must-haves in place, where and how you can cut corners off your budget - and where you really should not!

So, grab those lists and all the homework you've done so far. Let's take a look at what you can do for yourself to keep the costs low, and what you have no choice but to budget for.

DIY Website and Online Business Checklist

A question I get asked all the time is "How do I get on Google so people can find me?".

The answer is somewhat complicated. With guidance, it's easy enough to do, but it takes a LOT of hard work to get it right.

Most people give up at this point. Hard work is not what they asked for.

But if you plan it well enough, you shouldn't need to look at it again for about another 6-12 months - until it all needs to be updated.

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In the list that follows, the basic assumption is that you're a noob - you have no experience in doing this. I'm going to walk you through the absolute basics of how to get started getting your business online and searchable by the bots so you're "found on Google'.

This is the logical order of things:

1. Create a website wireframe.
2. Compare website builders.
3. Choose your domain and hosting service provider.
4. Design your logo, tagline, slogans, and bio.
5. Set up your new website and business profile pages on your social media accounts.
6. Bookmark your favorite image stock sites.
7. Decide on your SEO strategy.
8. Find your audience.
9. Plan your content calendar.
10. Draft your first piece of content.

Honestly, set aside at least 1 day per list item above to do your homework. Follow the steps in the guides, published daily. The list will also be updated with hyperlinks you can follow, as and when they are published.

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Whether you have little-to-no money to do this, or are being bankrolled by your parents, there are some costs you simply cannot avoid. However, you'll find all the advice you need in this brand new series.

Inevitable Costs to Budget For

In these guides, I'll walk you through how you can possibly try doing the work yourself, but also why this step makes sense to hire a professional.

In no particular order, here's what you need to budget for:

1. Hire a VA.
2. Pay for hosting services.
3. Product photography.
4. Pro features on social platforms.
5. Content scheduling apps.
6. Video editing.
7. Monthly subscriptions.
8. Packaging, shipping partners, and distribution networks.
9. Banking profiles and payment methods.
10. Rent and facility costs.

Join me as I expand on these two main points in the next series of my newsletter: Everyday Content Tips & Tools

Really looking forward to seeing you tomorrow. Thanks for walking this journey with me.

If you found my content helpful, please share it to your network.

WYSIWYG - About My Services

I am a content polymath. That means I can write about any product or service with the smallest learning curve you've ever known. Technical? Adult? Pet? Automotive? Product-related? XaaS? B2B or B2C? Financial terms? Food? Clothes? Jewelry? Toys? Can someone say "review"?

I am an accomplished ghostwriter. That means nobody is ever going to know that your content was written by me. It wasn't written by AI, either.

I am a UX (user experience) analyst. That means I track your user's journey and make recommendations that guide the customer down the sales funnel. I don't hustle the transaction.

WordPress is my platform of choice. That's because it's versatile, modern, intuitive, and comes with loads of themes, plugins, and options to help you stand out from the crowd.

I qualified as a customer service agent back in 1993 already - long before the internet and content was even a thing yet.

I pass plagiarism tests, AI tests, grammar and spelling tests, and human interest tests. Why? Because what the customer wants is king to me.

My Upwork profile is full of 5-star recommendations that happened after I delivered the services I do, not during the contract, and not in the honeymoon stage, either.

I'm an ENTJ with Fieldmarshall sub-variant. That means I pay attention to detail and follow instructions.

If you remember WordPerfect on Windows 3.1, I should be your content creator. Why? Because I'm old-school, white-hat, process-driven. I do my research. I know what a clock is. I speak proper English.

While a lot of that is because I'm also a Gen X worker (born in '72, baby), it all boils down to personal standards. If I won't read your drivel, why would I write it?

I change worlds - one subscriber at a time. How can I change your world, today?

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