subject: Planning A Website [print this page] Before you decide to make your website there are many things you need to take into account prior to construction. Here are some questions you need to ask yourself before you spend one shiny penny on your project.
1.) How complex is the website going to be?
The main reason you need to ask yourself this question is due to programming skills that may be required to get the desired functionality.
2.) Are there any open source software platforms that can handle the complexity?
You need to ask yourself this question because you don't want to spend money when you don't have to. There may actually be a free open source software program available that can handle the complexity you need.
3.) How much time do I have put into the website?
This question is by far the most over looked. Often times people do not consider the amount of data entry that will be required to complete the job. Data entry aside, you will also have to fill the website with quality and unique content.
4.) How will I make money from the website?
Assuming you are like many people and want to build a website in an attempt to make additional income. You absolutely need to plan out exactly how you will monetize your website.
5.) Can a regular shared hosting account handle this kind of website?
Though shared hosting accounts are more than capable of handling most kinds of websites you need to be sure before you start construction. A good example of this would be a video website due to the amount of disk space and RAM they require. If you have established that shared hosting would not be an option for your website, then you would need to make sure your budget can handle VPS hosting or a dedicated server.
6.) Is this my passion/hobby or am I just doing this to make money?
This is important to ask yourself because the odds are you will not put much time into the website if it's something you are not passionate about. You should always follow your passion.
Building a website can be very fun and fulfilling, and in most cases budget should not be a deciding factor. In fact, building a website is usually incredibly inexpensive. So, if you have asked yourself these questions and still feel you have what it takes to move forward, then I urge you to begin construction.
