If you’re serious about owning a web design business, you must do it legally. That means getting a business license. Every state and locality varies on how a business license is obtained, and the costs involved. I’ll bet most places are cheaper than what I’m paying, however.

Keep in mind, I’m in California, a very regulation-controlled state. So your state may not have requirements like what I’m about to describe.

When I started my web design business I had to file a Fictitious Business Name Statement at the county clerk’s office. That cost a mere ten dollars, and I added a second business name for a few dollars more. It got expensive at the next step, however. The Fictitious Business Name Statement had to be published several times in a local newspaper. I checked around and decided to have the county-wide weekly paper publish this for me, and it cost fifty-three dollars.

Total cost so far: $65

Next I had to get a home use permit. Since I was a renter, I had to get my landlady to sign a statement giving her permission, and that had to be notarized. The notary public cost ten dollars, and the home use permit was fifty dollars.

Total cost so far: $125

The final step was to take all my paperwork to the county courthouse where the local county tax collector took my fee - sixty-six dollars for the year. In return I got a nice piece of paper to hang in my office, saying my business is legally licensed in this county.

Total cost so far: $191

Of course the sixty-six dollar fee repeats every year - the others don’t. I prefer the one-time-only fees. I still have a business license because though I’m no longer doing web design for others, I’m earning money through advertising on several sites I own.

…

I’ve checked business license fees in many other localities - and never find them to be as much as I’m paying here in Siskiyou County. It is enough to make your blood boil, especially when a huge business like Walmart can operate on the same sixty-six dollar business license fee that I’m having to pay every year.

…

Speaking of blood boiling. Imagine how a licensed business owner feels when someone comes into their town advertising to do the same job, when that other person isn’t licensed.

There are lots of people saying they will work as web designers, who aren’t licensed, and I’m here to tell you, it isn’t right, and if you try it, you’re likely to get bad vibes from people who are doing things the legal way. Personally, I don’t make snitch calls to report people like this, but it does upset me and make me angry when someone says he’s a web designer, but doesn’t take the time to set up the business legally. I’m sure web designers in other areas of this country feel the same way.

So if you’re going into business, play fair, and play by the rules. Get your business license so you can hold your head high and earn the respect that a business owner deserves.

I just joined a great message board resource: Create Blog - where blog skin designers get together and offer their template creations to the public.

There you’ll find free Blogger templates, free Xanga templates, free Livejournal templates, free website templates, free MySpace templates, tutorials, graphics, wallpapers, banners, and more.

It is a friendly site with some wildly talented designers contributing. Just go there and join - you won’t regret it. Here’s the link again: Create Blog

See you there!

Before you design a website, you need to know what its purpose is. Why would you put time and money into a website if you don’t know what it’s for?

When your site visitors arrive you’ll have only a few moments of their time to let them know what your site is about, so be clear about it up front. The best time to decide what the site is for is before you start building it.

Making a business plan for your site is not a bad idea, though you might not need to do much more than create a mission statement and a list of goals. What do you hope to accomplish by having the site on the web? What features should the site have in order to fulfill its potential?

If you already have a mission statement for your business you may want to post it on a separate “about us” page on the site, or you could integrate it into the text on the main page to clarify what your business, organization, or personal site is about. Either way, have a specific focus for the site, then build the site around your goals and objectives.

You are not building the site for yourself; keep that in mind. You’re building it for your potential visitors. Do you have ideas about who they will be? What will they be looking for? Who are you trying to attract? Knowing who you’re talking to will help you decide what kind of site you need.

Put yourself in the place of your ideal potential site visitor. What is this person looking for? What is this person like? What colors will appeal to this person? What features will make this person return to your site often?

You need to give people reasons to want to come back, so plan these features of your site in advance. You might want to offer interactive online post cards, a photo gallery with free images to share, frequently changing articles or stories, free e-book or software downloads, or consumer tips reflecting your area of expertise. Other ideas include an online store and shopping cart or a message board for community musings, though that last idea can be problematic if you don’t have enough site users.

By the time you finish planning your site, you should have a good idea of what it will be like and who it will serve, and how. Then it’s time to put your HTML skills to work and create the best site possible. Knowing where you’re going with this site is much more important that putting a half-finished idea online quickly, without having a plan.