Mini site development - Part 1

Developing domains into mini sites or fully developed sites can seem like a lot of work, but it does not have to be. The key to easy development is automation.

If you are considering moving from parked domains to development of some of your domains, here are a few tips to get you started quickly for about $250.

All web pages contain some basic elements such as a header, footer, navigation and content. By using a well coded template and automating your header and footer and title and meta tags, the only work left for you to do is write content.

Because of the quality work available at low costs, I’d recommend that you outsource the header and template and even the content, if your budget permits.

Header design

Every web site needs a header. Normally the header contains the site logo and some basic navigation links such as home, about and contact.

There are plenty of places to get a logo/header design, just do a google search or ask a friend for a recommendation.

Expect to spend $100-200 for quality work.

Site template

The site template is the most important part of your mini site. This is where the automation magic happens. With the right template, you automate most parts of your site and only have to worry about adding the content section to your pages.

Make sure that your template is designed with standards and SEO in mind.

I like Instant Coding for template design because they are fast and professional and deliver XHTML/CSS standards compliant templates starting at $149.

Whomever you use for your template design, make sure you ask them to use includes for header and footer files and also include sample navigation links like item1, item2, item3, item4, item5 so that you can rename the links to names of your own choice when you’re done your content.

Navigation

Keep your navigation simple. It is always a good idea to use CSS styled text links for your nagivation so that you can add more links or change them easily.

Use relevant anchor text in your navigation links so that it is themed with your page titles, meta tags and the content on the page that they link to. For example, try not to use links of Products or Maintenance but instead use Pool cleaning products and Swimming pool maintenance.

Content

No matter how many pages of content you have, you will want to use relevant titles and meta data for each page. This will enhance the user experience and improve your search engine rankings.

For a visual understanding, please view this sample page of what the basic elements of a page are.

Footer

Most sites use a footer. The footer is where you include your site name, your copyright information, and links to your privacy, disclaimer or terms pages.

Wrapping up

This should be enough information to get you started on your first mini site with just $250. Once the site is complete, you will need to build backlinks and keep adding a few pages of new content each month to keep the visitors coming back and improve your search engine rankings.

If you need any help with your mini site or have any questions, please feel free to make a comment below.