I would like to start my own small business (travel) and I need help developing a website and everything needed?

PO2 Jacqueline Roeshink — Fri, 24 Jul 2020 10:38:15 -0400

I have looked at WIX, is that a good and trustworthy site? any others/better?

Response by SGT Robert Pryor made Jul 24 at 2020 11:42 PM

SGT Robert Pryor — Fri, 24 Jul 2020 23:42:29 -0400

Hopefully SGT Private RallyPoint Member sees your post. He is the first person I'd talk to about this. Go to his profile page and start scrolling down through some of his updates/shares and you'll see what I mean.

Response by SPC Terence Q Burns made Jul 25 at 2020 8:03 AM

SPC Terence Q Burns — Sat, 25 Jul 2020 08:03:10 -0400

I'm currently using Wix, but Name Cheap is another one where we're building our dot org site on right now. Easier said than done.

Response by LTC Jason Mackay made Jul 25 at 2020 12:53 PM

LTC Jason Mackay — Sat, 25 Jul 2020 12:53:40 -0400

You may want to look at Upworx to find people to do the work you are not able to do on a project basis.

When you say "everything needed", what do you think that means? Developing a website is a distinct task, but are you talking about creating a corporate entity? LLC, proprietorship? My CSM created a company using Legal Zoom. If you are talking about sales/marketing leads, that's you unless you are bringing on employees or contracting some or parts of that out.

Areas to look at
- Operations. Your business idea looks like a service so scheduling will be the key, but if it is a product you need to consider supply chains.
- Sales leads, prospecting, customer relationship management
-Marketing
- accounting (accounts payable and accounts receivable, taxes, balance sheets, cash flow statements, etc)
- Finance. How are you going to acquire capital to resource your operations
- if it is more than you, Human Resources, compensation and benefits. You may want to look at brining on independent contractors.

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Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 25 at 2020 1:22 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 25 Jul 2020 13:22:08 -0400

Thanks for mentioning me, SGT Robert Pryor. PO2 Jacqueline Roeshink, my recommendation depends on your future plans for the website:
E-commerce
In-depth customization
Just blog and post affiliate ads

Many prefer Wix because of it's longevity and ease of use with drag-and-drop without the need to code much (WYSIWYG - "What you see is what you get"). However, Squarespace is arguably the best option for those who want a stable website without the responsibility of maintaining a web server.

The more DIY method would be to purchase web server space from a web hosting company:
GoDaddy like SP5 Jim Curry mentioned
HostGator (great uptime and support)
InMotion Hosting (great support)

This method requires you install your content management system (CMS) or website builder of choice and set it up yourself (or with the help of your web hosting technical support). The most popular options for this route:

WordPress.org (WordPress.com is the restricted Wix/Squarespace style version of WordPress)
Drupal
Joomla

Lastly, remember that a domain and website are separate charges and components. In most cases, you can connect a domain and website from any two different companies.

Let me know if you have more questions regarding this.