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4 Mistakes New Entrepreneurs Make When Getting Online

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Article Contributed by Levi Henrikson

Every entrepreneur who has ever wanted to share an idea with the world sooner or later has to face the fact that they need a website. However, if you don’t know exactly what you need ahead of time you can easily be duped into paying far more money than you really need to.

In this article, I will discuss the most common mistakes solo entrepreneurs make when attempting to get online for the first time.

1. Not giving enough thought to the name

While a good name won’t automatically make you successful, a bad name could severely limit your ability to reach your market. For example, Google was originally called “Backrub.” Do you think Google would be the multi-billion dollar titan they are today if they had kept the same name?

If people can’t remember your name, then nobody will spread the word about you. The name should ideally be very short (e.g. 9 letters or less) and it should make intuitive sense to the public for what you are offering. Here is a helpful guide that explains the art of naming in more detail.

2. Choosing an unavailable domain name

It’s not enough to just come up with a good name. You need a name that also has an available domain name. You should try to get the “.com” domain if at all possible. This is what most people will attempt to type in when they hear your name.

The challenge of finding an available domain adds another layer of difficulty to the process, but the good news is that there are some very helpful tools that utilize the available domain name data to help you generate business name ideas. Two of my favorites are Bust a Name and Lean Domain Search.

Bust a Name allows you to enter in keywords that you might want in your name and it looks for available combinations of those keywords.

Lean Domain Search allows you to put in one keyword and spits back a long list of available domain names that contain that word.

3. Signing up for the first hosting company offer they see

Soon after you sign up for a domain name you will start seeing a lot of advertisements for hosting services when you are browsing the web:

These special offers might seem enticing, especially since you do need to get a hosting service and the offer may sound really good on the surface.

Ignore these offers. The hosting companies that are most heavily advertised are not necessarily the ones that are best suited for you. I suggest you read some reviews on the different options and choose the one that is best suited for your needs.

4. Paying thousands of dollars for web design

In the early days of the Internet, getting a website designed was a big project. Everything had to be built and customized from the ground up. The process took months and would typically several thousand dollars even just for a modest website. Thanks to WordPress and other do-it-yourself platforms these days are long gone.

Unfortunately (or fortunately for you), not everyone realizes how easy it is to get a website today. Many web designers will take advantage of this ignorance and propose a $3,000 website when really all you needed was a $37 WordPress theme to get started with a sleek-looking website.

There is still a place for custom web design, but it is not when you are just starting out. Skip the web designer for now. Instead, install WordPress and get a theme from a site like Thrive Themes or StudioPress. It will save you a lot of cash and a lot of headache.

Now that you’re aware of these common mistakes solo entrepreneurs make when trying to get online, you’re better equipped to move forward pursuing your dream without breaking the bank.

The key is to be proactive about finding what you need instead of just reacting to promotions and sales people. The hardest part is choosing a name, but after that it is not very difficult or expensive to get online.

Now get out there and start sharing your ideas with the world!

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