I am seeing more and more of this and I believe it's time to lay the cards on the table. I am highly bothered by domainers who attempt web development without knowing the basics. If you have thousands of dollars to throw away on developers, designs, content writers, advertisers and consultants then this post isn't for you. If you can't afford to do that, then listen up.

Before you even attempt to create a webpage or hire a developer/designer, have some type of basic understanding of the internet. Most business owners don't know a thing about how the internet works but domainers should know better (and I've developed for both audiences). This is important because: a) You know what direction you want to take your domains. You need to be able to get that across to your developer. b) Most developers/designers aren't domainers. They more than likely won't understand in full terms what you're trying to do. c) You need to do things in a way that is different from everyone else. I see quite a few domainers copying others when it comes to development.

Learn the basics of:

• The Internet (Email, hosting, domain forwarding, etc)
  
• SEO and Natural Traffic Patterns
  
• Design Usability (Upselling, Navigation, Ad Placement)
• Basic Marketing (Advertising, Word of Mouth, Promotion and the differences)
• Content Writing
  

It also wouldn't hurt to learn about FTP and HTML. Both are easy to learn and will prevent you from having to hire someone to install simple scripts.

When you develop your domain portfolio, you are the ring leader. If you don't have a clue then neither will your developer. And your revenue will show it.

 Older Posts

• Don't Tell Me What to Do! -28/03/2008
• Full Websites - Intro -25/09/2007