In the last few blog posts I’ve been discussing the various ways you can create an online MLM home base (to use Chris Brogan’s terminology). You can combine any of the following to create a solid online presence for your MLM business: a company-approved duplicated website, a blog, and a custom website.
In previous posts, I’ve talked about the advantages and disadvantages of each of these, as well as 3 steps to choosing your blog service should you pick that route. If you missed those articles in the series, check ‘em out below:
Online MLM - What to Do If You Have No Website
Online MLM - Should Your Home Base Be a Blog or Custom Website
Online MLM - 3 Steps Finding the Right Blog Service
Creating Your Custom MLM Website
If you have decided to make a custom website part of your online MLM presence, the one question you need to ask yourself before proceeding is this:
“How skilled am I on the computer and on the internet?”
If you are all thumbs when it comes to your computer or navigating the internet, then you will probably want to hire someone to design, host, and manage your custom MLM website. If, on the other hand, you are reasonably skilled at using applications such as email, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter, then you may want to consider using a do-it-yourself web service to create your own website. Let’s explore both options.
Getting Help for Your Custom MLM Website
This option obviously saves on time but costs you money. You can choose to spend as little or as much as you want, but generally here’s what it’s going to cost to get someone to design a professional-looking MLM website, host it, add content to it, and manage it for you:
Website Design: $250 to $500
Most website designers with solid reputations who deliver professional-looking websites charge between $250 and $500 for the website design. This means providing you with several basic designs to consider, based on your specifications, and then refining a single chosen design until you are satisfied. A website design is just that–a design. It does not include placing any of the content, like text or pictures, on your custom MLM website.
Elance and other similar sites are good places to look for website designers because they offer user ratings and feedback, and operate similar to eBay. You post the work you want done and vendors bid on the job. When choosing a website designer, ask to see a portfolio (most have online portfolios). Shortlist bids from vendors who offer websites with a “look and feel” that you like, and are within your price range. For instance, I know some people prefer clean elegant lines on their websites while others like to go wild with bright colors and a snazzy logo. You would choose completely different website designers for these two different kinds of looks.
Note: Be clear when you negotiate a website design contract that the design is a “work for hire” and belongs to you, not the designer. This issue is quite important to clarify up front because ownership issues can cause a lot of headaches down the road.
Website Hosting: $10-$20 per month
Depending on what services you want to offer on your website, such as an ezine or a contact form, website hosting should run $10-$20 per month. Every website needs to be “hosted” before it can be visible to the rest of the world. “Hosting” is just a fancy word for the place where your website lives. You can sometimes get away with services that are $5/month or less, but the hassle of poor customer service often isn’t worth the money you save. Check online reviews for the best hosting services. If you use a website designer, you may also want to ask them whether they offer hosting on their private server.
Domain Name: $12 per year
If you are going to go to the trouble of building a custom website, then you will want to get a domain name to go with it. Services like GoDaddy offer free online searches for available domain names, and usually charge around $10-$12 per year per domain.
Adding Content to Your Website: Varies
If you want your website designer to add content, such as text and pictures, to your website once the design is finalized, you will need to negotiate a separate price for this service. You can also get a virtual assistant to perform this service for you, as they sometimes charge less. They are also listed on Elance-type websites. The cost will depend on the complexity of the content you want to put on your website. Some vendors will charge so many dollars per page of content, while others will evaluate all the content and give you a fixed price. For placing content on simple websites with up to 5 pages, I’ve seen this service done for $50-$100.
Managing Your Website: Hourly or Monthly Retainer
As with adding content to your website, the cost of having someone manage your website will vary. If you want to add a lot of new content to your website every month plus send out twice-monthly ezines, the cost could run a few hundred dollars per month. If you just want someone to tweak some text here and there, the cost could be as little as $30 per month. Some vendors charge hourly ($20-$45 per hour is usual) while others will work on a monthly retainer.
Total Cost: Not Insignificant
As you can see, launching a professional custom MLM website can easily run into the hundreds of dollars. However, if you have decided that this the route you want to take, by all means do it right. It’s good to be aware of the cost before you start, though, so you don’t suffer from sticker shock every step along the way. If this route sounds too rich for your blood, you can always try your own hand at creating a custom website using one of the do-it-yourself services.
Creating Your Own Custom MLM Website
Paying someone else to design, host, and manage your custom MLM website is clearly the softer, easier approach if your bank account can afford it. If not, however, don’t despair. If you have reasonable computer skills, there are a number of website-builder services that work well for the relative beginner. Google Sites and Snappages are two that come to mind, as these offer professional-looking sites without annoying ads.
Both services offer free and paid services. With Snappages, you may want to upgrade to their $8/month professional service, since it gives you the ability to have your own domain name and Google Analytics tracking. The same goes with the Google option: you can upgrade to their Premier version to access more services (cost: $50/year).
Google, Snappages, and other similar services offer you pre-built website templates. All you do is choose one that you like, and fill in the pages with your content. Type in text, add pictures, even share your calendar online if you like. These build-your-own website services come with a lot of features at a low monthly cost.
If you’ve never built a website before, be prepared to get a little frustrated and punch every button until you get the result you want. And don’t worry … all that button punching will give you a lot of sympathy when you start helping your downline build their own online MLM presence, not to mention that this exercise provides you with plenty of fodder for a blog post or two!
Is a Custom MLM Website for You?
If you’ve made it to the end of this article, then you may already be too exhausted to consider starting a custom MLM website today … or you may be raring to go and already tapping away on Snappages or Elance. Either way, it’s good to know what you are getting into before you dive in should you choose to create your own website. There are a lot of advantages to having a well-done custom online presence, but it takes considerable time and/or effort. Even if you are not ready for a custom website today, keep it in the back of your mind for the future. As your computer skills increase and you get more comfortable online, having a custom website may become more possible and less scary!
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