Since I have been at this for awhile I have noticed the same questions time and time again. I think to summarize the question I am asked the most is
“How do I build my own web site?” with “How do I start an online business” or “How do I make money on the web?”.

The last 2 questions are a little more tricky but let’s start with the first one and try to address the others.

As with many things building your own web site or blog is a process and like any process it has a multitude of steps. Let’s break it down and try to make each step as clear and simple as possible.

1. Concept – What are you bringing to the party?

Create your concept – what product or service will your site or blog address?

Web sites

• Corporate – Company information
• Corporate – Product information
• Designers/Artists – Portfolios
• E-Commerce – Shopping sites
• How to and DIY sites
• Sales / Lead Generation sites
• and many more

Blogs

• Entertainment – Gossip, Sports, Moms, Jokes, Photos, Music, Religion, Hobbies
• Web site support – Blog is used as an additional information channel that supports a corporate site
• Microblog
• Education or school blog
• How To and DIY blogs
• Product Reviews
• Computing and Software – training and support
• News – Business, Industry News
• Politics -
• Hyper-Local and Neighborhood – Activism, commerce, news and other hyper local content

Clearly there are many, many opportunities and ideas that can be catalysts for web sites and blog sites. Look around and try to fill a void that you see – that is many times the best place to start.

2. Monetization Model- Will your monetize your site or blog?

Many sites or blogs don’t make money.  Some don’t try. Some try and fail. Some exist to support a business or  web site that does make money even though the blog or web site does not.   We will discuss some ways to make money from your blog but overall you will need to establish a goal for monthly revenue

Once you have your concept you need to decide if there will be a monetization element.
If so, then you will need to have an idea what level of monetization might be achieved and then decide how to budget for your costs. If not you still need to budget for your expenses so you will know what type of investment you will be making each month in hosting and other costs.