If you want to know how to make websites for money these days, I would recommend the following. When building a website, don't build it from scratch, instead use CMS technology like WordPress. The secret to making money from websites is thought web hosting, of course web hosting is one of the most competitive industries to conquer. The cool part about being a web developer/designer is that you can easily recommend your web hosting in addition to the website design. The hardest part about running an online business is generating customers and we website company is no different. You will want to set up a blog to generate traffic to your website, and a product page where you can funnel your blog traffic to. The steps are listed below in more detail.
Reseller's aosting account
First, you should purchase a reseller hosting service. A reseller account is basically the act of renting a server you can rent from a hosting company that will allow you to sell web hosting to your customers. Here are some examples or reseller hosting services.
- http://www.bluehost.com/cgi/info/reseller Bluehost
- http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=cjcophst20 Godaddy
- http://www.lunarpages.com/web-hosting/webmaster-reseller-hosting/ Lunarpage
- http://www.justhost.com/cgi/info/reseller#ic Justhost
Billing system
Next you will need to purchase billing system software. Billing system software allows you to manage customers accounts, products and invoices. Here are some billing systems listed below. You will want to create a Pay Pall account to setup with your billing system.
- http://www.whmcs.com/ WHMCS
- http://www.ihostdev.com/ihost.html iHost
- http://www.awbs.com/ AWBS
Blog for web traffic
Lastly, you will want to create a blog and a product page. Once you have your reseller hosting setup and your billing system setup, you can create a product page to funnel your blog traffic to. Your blog should consist of articles people might read who are on the verge of starting a website. Perhaps you can build a blog instructing people on how to use a popular blogging service like Blogger. Perhaps you can offer a website package that's better than Blogger's service and display your offer on your blog pages. While people use your blog to help them solve their Blogger problems they will see your superior service offer and buy it. I'll leave developing a niche up to you.