I've talked to many therapists who are hesitant to create a website because they think it is too expensive or feel overwhelmed and confused by the process. Many are surprised to find out that it is straightforward and inexpensive for the average person to set up their own website. There are many ways to set up a website online; this article pertains specifically to set up a site yourself.
The first step to setting up your massage business website is to create a domain name. A domain name is the address (called a URL) people type into their web browser to go to your website. For example, BIOTONE's website can be found at www.biotone.com. Your domain name might end in .com, .net, .org, or one of the other many options, although .com is preferred since that's what most people automatically type when searching for a website. I register my domains through GoDaddy.com, but many companies offer domain name registration. Registration shouldn't cost more than $10/year. It's important to choose a good domain name so check out this great article on DailyBlogTips.com for tips!
Once you've registered your domain name, it's time to design your website and host it online. There are many tools available to design your website easily, and they are often provided FREE in combination with hosting.
I have always used GoDaddy.com to host my websites and have, in the past, used their Website Tonight tool to build sites ($4.99/month for a 5-page website, including hosting). If you don't want to use Go Daddy's services, there are many options. Google website building tools, and you will get about 35,600,000 results! Just make sure you can load the website to your specific registered domain name since some tools add a tag to the end of their domain name. You don't want to end up with www.hostingservicename.com/biotone instead of www.biotone.com! Also, take advantage of any free websites you might be eligible for, such as those offered by ABMP, IMA, and AMTA.
Print your web address on your business cards so new contacts can learn more about you or spend a little extra time optimizing your website so people who are searching for a therapist online can find you. With a little time and research, you can learn to add a shopping cart, blog, or contact form to your website, too.