Things You'll Need:
- Domain name Server space
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Step 1
Consider what you want to have your car web page named. The domain, or URL address, of your car web page is crucial to your success, as it will be your first impression to your audience. Use a service such as WhoIs.com to search for available domain names, choose one that is available, and then purchase it with a service such as GoDaddy for as little as $9.95 a year.
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Step 2
Secure hosting for your car website. Each site you have must have a server to allow it to exist on the internet. Some domain registration services allow for free hosting, as do sites such as DevHub. Alternatively, contact a friend and see if you can secure hosting on their server for free.
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Step 3
Consider what kind of basic layout you require for your website. If you do not understand HTML codes and such (which require a separate tutorial), the best bet is relying on a traditional blog layout for your car website. Traditional blog layouts typically do not require a knowledge of coding because WYSIWYG (What You See is What You Get) content management systems exist that do the work in updating your blog site and its coding for you. Consider Wordpress as a WYSIWYG content editor for your car website. To utilize this non-coding required program, you can visit Wordpress.com (see Resources) and download the software for installation on your server. Or, even easier, rely on a program and site like Blogger.com to build your website in blog form (although, keep in mind, you may be assigned a non-domain name as a result). Either way, each allow the user to select a basic theme from which they can automatically determine whether their site has tabs up top for navigation, sidebars and more.
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Step 4
Consider what kind of cars, manufacturers or niches you want your car website to cover. For instance, you may want to focus on luxury manufacturers only, such as Lexus (division of Toyota), BMW, Mercedes and more. Or you may wish to only feature muscle car news from a variety of manufacturers. Otherwise, you may want to find a niche by, for example, targeting the eco-friendly community by featuring stories on hybrid and all-electric cars. Take into account the demographic you are aiming for, and choose accordingly.
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Step 5
Make media a priority. Readers of car sites want to see the new car designs they are being led to far more than they just want to hear about them. Consider an open blog layout like what is featured on Jalopnik and Autoblog.
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Step 6
Think about themes that mesh with your chosen car coverage. While it is hard to go wrong with a predominantly white background for a website (due to readability), if covering eco-friendly/hybrid cars, add some splashes of green into the theme of your site. Use some common sense and play to your target base.
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Step 7
Utilize social networking tools, especially mobile-compatible tools, such as Twitter. After all, this is not primarily a teen-oriented site you are dealing with. Car blog readers are likely to be shopping, or considering shopping, for a vehicle, and if they are of age for purchasing their own vehicle, it is much more likely that they will be smartphone owners, as well. Use a Twitter account with the name of your blog to send out tweets (small character updates) about new content on your car page.
