What rules I need to know when making a business website?

[Tim]

Hello Everyone,

I'm planning to make a small online retail store. What rules and regulations do I need to know before making a business website? Such as trademark, copyright, etc. Any tips or link would be much appreciate.

[Dr Timothy Sanders]

Hi Tim,

I have taught marketing and communications at the University of Arizona for the past 27 years and one thing I learned and teach my students: there is no magic formula that works for everyone. Every business is unique and requires a tailored strategy to be successful.

Some general rules: choose a good host and one that can easily be upgraded in case your business takes off!. If you make $10,000 a month no shared hosting will suit your needs. I use
http://goo.gl/CNi3z for over 40 personal business websites, with three of these earning a huge amount of cash and upgraded to dedicated servers. As far as customer service, uptime and speed go, you can't find any better in terms of shared hosting for the typical average small business website. They offer the best features at the lowest price in the market. One great feature they have is that they give you $100 google adwords credit which is great to start up a business and test out the waters without having to do much SEO.

The only drawback is that you will have to pay your hosting fees yearly. In other words they don't offer monthly plans. If you're on a very tight budget, http://goo.gl/lwivl may be a better option for you. The price is actually higher and the quality of the service not on a par with Bluehost but they do offer monthly plans that may be suitable for younger entrepreneurs and beginners! Again this is an affiliate link. If you click on it, you can use the code ARIZONASANDERS to get a great discount.

Whether you choose to go with these or other services, I also would like to recommend you to have a look at some of the websites hosted by whoever it is you are considering as your host. Check the host's forums for a list. My favorite free tool for checking out website speed is this: https://www.cloudflare.com/plans They offer a free basic test service. I recommend using the pro for $20 a month once you start making money.

It's always best to check out a host yourself rather than take anyone's word because hosting companies pay fees to their customers for recommending their services. That includes me and in no way is meant to imply anything on anyone who may have already answered or will answer this question in the future.

Lastly, before you choose a host make sure to have chosen the right domain! This is a crucial step towards ensuring success for your business, way more important than choosing the host. Your website has to rank as high as possible in google for people to be able to find it easily. You need specific tools to do this. The top level application, used ethically by many internet marketers is http://goo.gl/6Q4YS . You can use the application for free without buying anything. Please do not underestimate the importance of keyword research. If you don't want to use the program I suggested, google the tern "keyword research" and do it manually. It takes a bit more time but it can be done. Without it, you won't go anywhere.

Hope this helps and let us know how you are doing!

[bcnu]

Your state laws will determine what business name registration you need (if any) as well as certain tax certificates or other official documents so your business can be regulated. Depending upon what you're selling, you may need to collect sales taxes from at least some of your customers and remit the proceeds to the state treasury. You will need business insurance to cover claims for lost shipments, defamation, trademark/copyright infringement, product liability, fraud, etc. You can avoid some PERSONAL liability by arranging to form and operate an LLC or corporation, but there are tradeoffs in complexity of accounting, among other things.

Your trademark is automatically covered, once you use it on your service of offering goods online. You may, however, want to register it in one or more states or in the federal USPTO for ease of proving your priority over others who might try to take similar domain names or use similar brands on their own retail websites.

Like any other business, you may need various "agreements" or "contracts", including standard terms and conditions, shipping, returns (customer satisfaction), disclaimers of warranties, limitations of liability, limited quantities and coupon policies (not requiring rainchecks), etc.

There are lots of websites about the ins and outs of online retailing.

[Bob]

If you want an easy business website that has everything you need to get going, including search engine optimization, mobile-readiness and the ability to grow with your business, visit http"//ezbusinesswebsitebuilder.com. Included in the customized website is a free 30 minute consultation, where the staff can help you determine how best to present your business online. The cost is just $349, but with the discount code of vta2013, you can save $25. EZBbusinesswebsitebuilder.com makes it easy. They worry about the rules so you don't have to. Get online in just 3-5 business days with a website you can be proud of and one that's going to generate new business for you for months and years to come.