Once you’ve got the basics of your new side hustle it is time to start thinking about how to attract (potential) customers and how to start selling your product or service. A website for your side hustle is a must, whether using it as a marketing tool or as an online shop. It isn’t hard to get started in the world of online marketing or eCommerce. Just follow the steps in this quick start guide.
The question is no longer “Do I need a website” but rather “How can I get my side hustle online in an easy way without spending lots of money”. It’s 2024, there’s no discussion about whether you should be online. Your customers are online, end of discussion. So how to get started? Easy.
How to register your own web domain
A web domain is the URL people type in or click on to get to your website. For example, the web domain of this blog is digi.geek.nz. It is like the street address of your house. You tell friends to go to 15 XYZ Street for drinks & nibbles and they show up. The same goes for the web domain of your small business website.
To purchase a web domain, you use a registrar like Crazy Domains. You can search the database to see if your dot NZ or dot CO dot NZ domain name is still available and then register it so it is yours. You can register your local New Zealand or Australian Top-level domain or an international one via them. Their prices are low so it won't cost much to register your website domain name.
Another great option – especially when going for an international domain name – is to register your domain name via Namecheap. They have an extensive range range of international Top-level domains to choose from, for example, dot COM, dot IO, dot AI or dot NET.
Whether you want to go for a dot CO dot NZ, a dot NZ or a dot COM address is up to you. It doesn’t matter which one you choose as long as you choose a normal one, one that isn’t associated with dodgy sites. A country-based top-level domain like .CO.NZ or .NZ is perfect if your customers are mainly based in New Zealand and you want to show you are a Kiwi small business. Dot COM is perfect when focusing on a more international target audience.
Find a good hosting provider for your side hustle website
A hosting provider is a company that provides you with the server (computer) where your website data is located aka hosted on. When people type in or click on your website URL / domain they will land on your website stuff that is saved on a huge computer, a server. Your hosting provider is the one providing that (shared) server and maintaining it.
A website domain registrar often provides hosting services as well, but you don’t have to use the same company for that. It is perfectly fine to purchase a domain from one company and select another as your hosting provider.
There are lots of hosting options to choose from, but make sure you choose one that fits your small business needs. Don't just focus on price, also focus on what you are getting. If you plan to use WordPress as your Content Management System, make sure to go for dedicated WordPress hosting. That's a hosting plan with a provider that focuses solely on hosting WordPress websites on that particular server so it is tweaked and performs significantly better than a hosting provider with a generic server that lets everyone run on it what they want to run.
Selecting the right hosting provider will have a big impact on how your customers perceive the website and also on the ranking of your website. If you choose a cheap but slow hosting provider, customers will leave the website if it takes too long to load content. Keep in mind that now every website visitor is sitting behind a fancy desktop that is connected to the internet via high-speed fiber. A lot of customers – at least 50% – visit your small business website on their mobile at 4G and maybe even 3G data speed. Yeah, 5G is a thing but not everyone in New Zealand can access that right now.
When your website loads slowly it won’t just annoy customers, it also annoys search engines like Google. With so many websites online providing heaps of info, you will need every little bit of advantage you can get to rank well. And yes, the speed of your website is a ranking factor.
WP Engine offers more and makes your online life easier
A lot of WordPress geeks prefer to use WP Engine as a hosting provider as they are one of the best and still affordable WordPress hosting companies. They only focus on one thing: hosting WordPress sites and they are the best when it comes to uptime and speed. Plus, you’ll get lots of freebies, like SSL and staging and development environments. Then you can update or tweak your website without messing up the live site. A staging or development version of your website is like a private version of your website – which isn't visible to visitors – so you can make changes to your website to see what it looks like before you push it live.
WP Engine offers a lot more. Their managed server plan – which means you don't have to maintain or update the server, it's all done for you – for WordPress hosting includes this:
- 24/7 WordPress-specific support, so there is always a helping hand available if you encounter an issue
- Threat blocking & WordPress security, keeping your small business website safe & secure
- Flexible site copy tools, so you can easily update your website on the staging site, and then push it live when it's ready. No technical knowledge is required.
- Site speed boost with EverCache. making your website load fast (SEO benefit)
- Free automated migration plugin, making it super easy to migrate your website from another hosting provider to WP Engine
- Transferable sites for easy client hand-off, in case you are in the business of creating websites for clients
See all the features & benefits of WP Engine to decide whether they are the perfect hosting provider for your side hustle.
GreenGeeks is hosting for eco-conscious entrepreneurs that doesn't break the bank
If your side hustle or online business focuses on eco-friendly products then you want to do everything you can to keep your carbon footprint as small as possible. But let's face it, websites need servers (computers) to run and servers need power to stay online. Not everyone might realise it, but the Internet is a huge polluter of the environment. When you host your website with an eco-friendly web hosting provider you'll make a positive impact on the environment!
Enter GreenGeeks, the world's leading eco-friendly web hosting provider. And this is what sets them apart:
- They have been recognised by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as a Green Power Partner since 2009.
- They buy 3 times the Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) as the power they consume in a year.
- For every hosting account that they host on their platform, they will plant one tree via One Tree Planted.
- They have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.
That's how they help you to run an eco-friendly online business with their unique & affordable green hosting solutions. And this is what they offer on the tech side:
- Managed WordPress hosting
- 1-Click WordPress Installation
- WordPress Acceleration as their platform allows you to take advantage of LiteSpeed's LS Cache for WordPress plugin, which enables your WordPress website to perform 4X faster
- Enhanced Security
- Automatic Updates, automatic updates to your WordPress core and plugins to keep your WordPress website secure
- On-Demand WordPress Backups
- Free SSL Certificates
- 24/7 Support
- FREE WordPress Migration
- Developer Friendly
- Reliable & powerful Infrastructure, matched 300% by renewable energy
- Multiple data centre locations, also close to the Australia/New Zealand region
- Name brand servers and parts, which they don't oversell
- The fastest hardware: SSD hard drives
- Ultra-optimized web & database servers allow for blazing-fast data read/write, serving pages up to 50 times faster.
- Accounts hosted on their web hosting platform are backed up nightly
- Also, regular web hosting or WooCommerce hosting
That's only the start of the advantages of GreenGeeks. Check out the full list and see their affordable prices and switch to or start with an eco-friendly hosting provider that matches your company's ethos.
Namecheap offers super-affordable WordPress hosting
EasyWP is Namecheap's low-priced Managed WordPress Hosting solution for every side hustle or solo entrepreneur. Their features & pricing plans are flexible and easy to understand. See what they offer on their managed WordPress hosting plans – managed means you don't have to do the tech stuff on the server.
- Simple & easy hosting for a single WordPress website
- SSD Storage aka fast & robust storage
- 99.9% Guaranteed Up-Time
- Free Migration to their WordPress hosting
- 24/7 Support
- EasyWP Cache Plugin – Faster performance via advanced caching
- Free PositiveSSL
- Free CDN – Content Delivery Network – which means servers worldwide deliver your content in record time
See the full list of features and compare their hosting plans to see if this fits what you are looking for in a WordPress hosting provider.
Get your DNS up & running so people can get to your website
Okay, this may sound complicated but it isn’t. For people to find your website, you will need to set up your DNS – Domain Name Server – settings. It is like a map or a direction guide. These settings will tell people that if they want to visit your business dot com it is located on the server over there.
Cloudflare and Bunny DNS provide an easy-to-set-up and free service for this. Their onboarding process is super simple as they will show you would to fill out where and how. Both DNS providers offer a generous free tier so perfect for a small business. Or you can get your DNS service included with your hosting package. It all depends on what you prefer: an external DNS provider or have it done by the same party that hosts your small business website.
Set up a proper business email address
When you own your own domain – the URL – it is easy to create a proper business email address. It looks so much better when customers can email you on your name at businessname dot CO dot NZ instead of your business name at Gmail dot com. The difference is night and day: a real professional vs amateur hour. Remember: when running your business, it all comes down to how customers perceive your business.
You can be super professional but a crappy website or a sloppy free email address can be a turn off to potential customers. So get a proper business email address. Here’s how to set it up.
Business email that respects your privacy
You will need to get an email hosting company, which is different from a website hosting company. Google and Microsoft offer paid email hosting services to small businesses in New Zealand and around the world, but the big question is: do you want to be in bed with Big Tech?
Did you know that Big Tech companies scan and analyse your email so they can serve ads to you? Yes, they read your emails. If you are okay with that, that’s fine. No worries. Your choice.
I prefer to do business with an email hosting provider that:
- respects your privacy and that of your customers
- provides a secure and ad-free environment as it is your business email we are talking about
- keeps their hands off your business – and private – emails. What is yours should stay yours.
Luckily there are email hosting providers that offer an affordable service and respect your privacy. Take for example StartMail, an email provider that offers a super affordable business email solution that is super easy to set up and respects your privacy.
- No ads, no tracking
- You can create unlimited aliases, so you can sign up for newsletters or shop online without having to give your real email address
- Send encrypted emails to anyone
- Works on any device so you can access your email with your web browser or favourite email client, like AppleMail, Outlook or Thunderbird.
- Use your own domain and create your own business email address. Sending an email from a @GMAIL or @YAHOO address is so unprofessional.
- Manage multiple users with group subscriptions. Add team members and enjoy discounted rates for additional email inboxes.
- Easy migration without technical expertise. Their email and contact migration tool makes the process simple and worry-free. Simply transfer all of your important emails and contacts to your new email account and set up email forwarding for 30 days after the switch. No more manual data entry or lost messages
See the full list of advantages of using StartMail as your email provider.
Choose a CMS – Content Management System – for your business website
The Content Management System or CMS is the website builder you are using to create your website. It is the backend system of your website. When comparing CMS’ names like WordPress, Wix or Shopify will pop up.
They all do a great job, it is up to you which one to go for. There just isn’t enough space to go into the pros and cons of each one in this article. I have worked with many different Content Management Systems throughout the years and the one that is my personal favourite for small business or side hustle projects is WordPress. Especially if flexibility and full control is what you are after. With WordPress, you can start small and scale as soon as your side hustle grows.
Have a look at this article for more info about using WordPress for your small business project.
Start creating content for your website
Now that the tech stuff is all up and running, you can start creating content and building pages and blog posts. Now the fun stuff can start. Keep a few simple rules in mind and you will do great here.
- Keep it simple… Creative yet simple.
- Using a page builder or pre-build templates is a great way to get started. You won’t create a cookie-cutter website if you use it as the basis for your website and build on top of it. Starting something new can be hard but if you use a template or building blocks it'll be much easier.
- Add plenty of text to your website. Don’t like text? Well, search engines and some customers certainly do. Remember: not all text has to be in your customer’s face. Some text will be placed below the fold – below the first visible part of your website – or even at the bottom of the page. The biggest mistake small businesses make is not adding enough distinctive text to their website or online shop. Relevant content is king!
Check out my article about the first step in ranking your website by creating distinctive content.
Now it is up to you…. To become a successful online business
It is your turn now. Start creating that awesome online business, get your side hustle online and reach more customers. Feel free to share your experiences, and tips or ask a question or two, Just post it below this article in the comment section. Happy to hear from you… And to answer your questions.
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