Before building your website which will be your main digital asset, you will need to take into considering three other issues inextricably related to it. What are these?
- Domain Name
- Hosting
- Business Email
Without these 3 components you cannot run your website effectively. Let me elaborate on each.
Domain Name —
For your website to exist on the worldwide web it needs to have a unique name, called its domain name. For example, if your website is known simply as My Business, then it will be designated a domain name such as MyBusiness.com — it could also be MyBusiness.net, for that matter. The suffix .com or .net depends on what’s available. Domain names are also bought and sold by digital companies such GoDaddy, Canva and many others.
Hosting —
The process doesn’t end there. For this domain name to be available for viewing by your audience, it has to be presented when someone types into their browser. This is a separate service, often sold with the domain name by the same company. It lives on what’s called a server owned by the company that sells the domain name to you. A server, as the name suggests, functions like a file server — if you want to look at a file, you just go into the filing cabinet and pull it out, except the process in the case of a server works digitally. The process is automated and so you need not worry about doing anything yourself. Increasingly, the process is AI-driven these days.
Business Email —
This is your professional email address, as opposed to your personal one. While you may have a personal email address such as JohnSmith@something.com or JaneSmith@something.com, your business email may be different, depending on which digital company you go with. They could have a professional email address such as Jane@mybusiness.com. You can also get a professional email address from Google.
The question is, why do you need a professional email address? A professional email address proves immediately to your audience that you’re a serious player, someone to reckon with in terms of authority. A professional email address also exudes trust. In fact, trust and authority are your real assets in this business. And, the very first step to acquiring these is through a professional email.
Recap
This should be enough for today — three crucial issues to be considered prior to building your website. As I have pointed out above, GoDaddy is one company that can provide all three in one place. GoDaddy, however, isn’t the only company which provides these services — there are others such as Canva and many others. And, you can always go to Google to get one, too. It takes minutes to set up. I recommend getting a professional email.
So, Which One Should You Choose?
That is entirely up to you. However, it’s important to know the pricing and what you’re getting for each tier — usually these tiers often come with a free “starter” option, to give you an understanding of what you’re getting. This free option allows you to test the waters before taking a full plunge.
When it comes to getting a paid subscription, it pays ask what the returns policy is, should you have a change of heart.
Let me point out that these companies (GoDaddy; Canva) are not affiliate marketing platforms in the strict sense, even though they may have their own in-house expertise for different areas of which affiliate marketing is just one.
If your aim is to go directly to dedicated affiliate marketing companies — as opposed to those selling the kind of services mentioned above — then it is better to choose a platform that specialises in this field. One that comes to mind immediately is of course, Wealthy Affiliate.
Why I prefer a dedicated affiliate marketing platform over a generalised digital marketing company is that this is their main focus. That means you can find everything in one place — website; domain name; hosting; professional email — without getting distracted. They also provide invaluable insights through their mentors, one such mentor is Kyle who I referred to in an earlier post. Please feel free to check Kyle out on Wealthy Affiliate.
What’s Next?
Now that you have an understanding of the three components discussed here, you’re ready for the next step. Go here to: Building Your Affiliate Marketing Website
You can get in touch with me, if you have any questions here: soheil@affiliatepathways.com.
Cheers.