SEO World:

Have you been thinking about a new website for 2009?

Do you have website concepts and ideas but don’t know how to get that project in motion, besides having a limited (shoestring) budget? You’re not alone–it’s common, especially in a tightening economy.

However, you shouldn’t hold back. It’s possible to do this and significantly slash the often-high costs.

This simple and effective to-do list will get you a brand new, professional looking (WordPress) website in as little time as a week (or slightly more, depending on scope). And it will be search engine-ready, for the most part.

Before you begin, get a hosting account and install WordPress on your domain.

Step 1: New Website Begins. Fast Hiring. Concepts, Creation 

Go to odesk.com, elance.com or rentacoder.com. Sign up for a free account to search for a website designer. Query  for “website designer,” “graphics designer,” “photoshop designer,” “website developer” and combinations thereof. Look for titles that highly match your search query. Don’t go too broad. Look for history, feedbacks and examples of work. (Tip: Don’t be easily fooled. Ask detailed questions about the projects they show you). Each of these resource sites has a vast group of people who can help you at a competitive cost. When you submit your project, outline the description of job, skill sets and experience. Don’t give all the details yet. Create the project on a fixed price if you are comfortable or set a range from $10 to $25 an hour. Make sure to select options for certifications and site “readiness” where available.  Once you locate a few designers you like, interview them. (Skype, IM, etc).

Once you award him/her the project, send a concept. It can be as simple as three to five websites you like, graphics/images you found and further detail and description of your website, business and its overall purpose.  Make sure the designer delivers your new site designs in Adobe Photoshop format (PSD). Try to get several designs to choose from before selecting the final one.

Step 2: New Website. Developed

Once the final PSD is sent, go to psdtowordpress.com and get your New WordPress Theme created. ($300 to $400). These guys will have it ready very quickly; fast loading, search-friendly, W3C compliant and ready to load into Step 3.

Step 3: The New Site Goes Live

Now simply upload your new theme (to wp-content/themes) via your FTP utility, log in to WordPress, select the new theme–and bam–your new website structure and design are ready. You may go back to your profiles set up in Step 1 and search for “wordpress developer” and find somebody to help you tweak the site if need be.   Last, you want to install a few WordPress plugins (wp-content/plugins), some of which are listed below.

There are many out there, but start with this list to help your new, search engine-friendly website:

• All In One SEO
• XML Sitemaps
• Google Analytics
• Wassup: Real Time analytics for ADD people
• SEO Slugs: Optimize directory slugs
• What Would Seth Godin Do
• Wp Super Cache

You’ll have a lot of fun with your new website, and all for less than a thousand bucks.

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