Walk Like a Giant, Sell Like a Madman

Chapter 13. Creating and Maintaining Your Own Web Site

Although the fastest, easiest way to establish a presence on the Web is by launching your own blog, as discussed in Chapter 11, "Blogging Your Way to Credibility," traditional web sites are still an attractive option. While blogs encourage weekly or even daily postings and visitor interaction, a typical web site is static, functioning as an information kiosk. You can create a web site that contains anything and everything your clients and prospective clients will want, and then simply leave the site alone; web sites can be very low-maintenance.

Setting up a web site can be quite a challenge, however, especially if you want your own online store where you can sell products and services, accept credit card payments, and ensure that your clients' information is secure.

One chapter cannot possibly teach you everything you need to know to create and maintain a complex web site, but this chapter introduces you to the basic considerations you need to make and offers some tips to help you maximize the effectiveness of your web site for e-commerce.