Web Site Building for Non-TechiesSo you've been thinking about building a web site but you don't know the first thing about computers, other than turning them on and surfing the net? Are you dreaming? YES. But is your dream unrealistic? NO. Why? How do I know this? Because I was in your spot not long ago. And today I can proudly say that I built this entire site by myself.
"Hello, My Name is Guylaine, and I'm a Luddite." You probably think I'm joking when I call myself a non-techie. But hey, I'm a writer, not a computer person. I'd LOVE to be more computer-literate but my mind just doesn't work that way. Over the years I've had to accept this fact. Even my eyes tend to go cross-eyed like a Siamese cat's when I read technical jargon. So how did I do it? Doesn't web site building take lots of boring skills with annoying acronyms for names, like HTML and CSS and SEO and so on? Don't you need to be accepted into a secret society with a secret handshake and learn gobbly-gook that normal people don't understand? Don't you need a college degree or at least several expensive (and boring) evening courses in computer programming? Surprisingly -- no. Not if you've got the right tools. My Story But let me back up a bit first. In early 2008 I was at the same stage you are, just mulling over the idea of a web site. I've written for magazines for several years. I used to hang out on a web site for travel writers. A few of the other writers had started their own travel web sites, where they wrote and posted their articles. A few of them were going on and on about how much fun it was, how much creative freedom they had, and how much money they were making through advertising (ok, they weren't revealing the figures, but one was living on his ad income, and several others called it a "profitable sideline" in addition to their usual writing work). In other words the majority weren't getting rich on it, but it did bring in extra income. SO I thought… hmm, why not me? I'm a writer. I have a lot of knowledge about my home, Ontario, and many travellers are interested in detailed first-hand information when they're planning their trips. Trouble was, I had no web design skills. All of the mumbo jumbo techie stuff these writers threw around went right over my head. Then one day another writer on the site mentioned a company called SiteBuildIt . He said they had tools that simplified the whole process and let even non-techies build a successful site that would pay off in the long run. It wasn't a get-rich-quick program, though, he warned: building a site with them meant you got plenty of help, but you still had to put in many hours of hard work and creative energy. I thought about it, investigated the company's site (especially the pages on travel web site owners), contacted several other people who had used this company to build their sites (who were all very helpful), asked my friends what they thought of it, … and then … and then….. I sat on the idea for nearly a year. I'm not a risk taker. I mulled it over. Could I really do this? Finally, in LATE 2008, after experimenting with a free blog that wasn't going anywhere (no visitors), I signed up with SiteBuildIt and began creating my web business block-by-block. You can too. If you want to see more examples of people who have turned their hobbies into successful web businesses, see here . Oh, and if you have any questions about building a site this way, please feel free to contact me through my contact page. Thanks! UPDATE, OCT 2011: I started the site in late 2008 but I didn't put any advertising on it until mid-2009. In the past two years I've earned a part-time income from it... actually more than I had expected! However, all I have are Google ads for income. (When people click on the ads on my site, I earn a small amount from Google... this can vary from a few cents to a couple of dollars.) There have been a lot of shakeups recently in the way Google determines which sites go to the top of the page when someone does a Google search and this affects "traffic" to the site, and ultimately income from advertising as well. So for those of you counting on earning money with your site, relying entirely on Google ads like I've been doing may not be your best route. Luckily, SBI helps to teach you other ways to earn income from a web site. You can check them out here: SiteBuildIt Disclosure: I'm an affiliate of "SBI!" (Site Build It) because I know from experience how it's helped me and many others build a web site and a business. As an affiliate, I will receive a small referral commission that helps to support this website if you sign up for "SBI!" through the links given here. Thank you in advance for your support for this site. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about "SBI!".
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