From Open Forum | Matt Silverman
Associate Features Editor, Mashable 

September 1, 2010

Online
infrastructure for your small business doesn't have to be complicated or
expensive. By leveraging many of the free and inexpensive products
offered by Google, you can create a website, a domain-branded e-mail
system, and a document collaboration platform, all unified under one
master login and password.

 

Once all of the
virtual wires are connected, these services are extremely user-friendly,
allowing anyone with a bit of web knowledge to become the "system
administrator" for their office.

 

Follow the steps
below, and you'll be on your way to a customizable and scalable business
infrastructure that lives where your employees do: in the cloud.

 

1. The Master Key: Your Google Account

 

Create a free consumer-level Google account (essentially, a Gmail address) that you'll use to administer your business domain.

 

This could be your
existing Gmail address, but if you already have other Google products
connected to this account (YouTube, Docs, Blogger, etc.), we recommend
creating a new profile -- yourbusinessname@gmail.com, for example.

 

Note that for the purposes of this tutorial, this will not
be the e-mail address that you'll be using to conduct business and
correspond with clients. Consider it the "Master Key" account, which you
will use to access the rest of your domain. Be sure to choose a strong
but memorable password.

 

2. Create a Blogger Site

 

Head over to blogger.com. Log in with
your "Master" Google account, and you'll have the opportunity to create a
blog on this popular Google-owned platform. Using a blog as your company website has a number of advantages:

 

• The platform is free.


• The backend is easy to use, so anyone can update or change it.


• Your data can be accessed from any web browser, as opposed to more complicated FTP software.


• Custom templates can get your site looking good even if you don't have web design experience.


• Integrating elements from your business's social media presence is a breeze.

This blog will
eventually become your business website, so title it with your company's
name. The blog URL is less important because we will be mapping it to
your custom domain in the next step, but for consistency, create yourbusinessname.blogspot.com, if available.

 

Choose the default
template for now (we'll be customizing it later). Once you've set up
the blog, you'll be taken to the Dashboard, which is where you can start
creating content for the site.

 

You'll have to
decide: Do you want a traditional informational business site (with
pages, links, etc.)? Or do you want to keep the blog format and create
content on a regular basis? We urge you to choose the latter -- business blogging
is one of the best ways to distinguish yourself in any field or
industry. If you decide to stick with this format, you're off and
running. Experiment with your content and layout, and skip ahead for
some resources on finding the perfect template design.

 

If you've decided
to stick with a more classic site layout without the blogging format for
content creation, you can still utilize the Blogger content management
system (CMS). Simply create one blog post that will serve as your home
page. Title it accordingly, and add information about your business.

 

In your dashboard,
choose "Design." The "Page Elements" screen is where you can manage and
rearrange the items that appear on your site. In the box labeled "Blog
Posts," click "Edit" to bring up a list of settings. Since you will only
be creating one blog post to act as your home page, uncheck all the
items on the "Post Page Options" list. This will remove things like the
date, time, and sharing options, and format the entry like a simple
page, rather than a post. As this will be your only entry, it will
always appear on your home page.

 

To create static
pages (About Us, Contact Us, etc.), click the "Posting" tab and then
select "Edit Pages." Pages are formatted like posts, but will not appear
as part of the blog feed. Instead, they can be arranged like
traditional navigation links at the top of your site. You can also
configure the order in which they appear, and whether certain pages are
visibly linked in this navigation.

 

Note that Blogger
utilizes Picasa to host images. You can upload post images and business
header logos directly through the Blogger interface, but if you want to
manage your images more directly bookmark the Picasa Web Albums site, and simply log in with your master Google account to see the Blogger album(s).

 

3. Design Your Site

 

Now for the fun part. You don't have to be a web designer to build a
great looking blog. There are plenty of free template resources
available, particularly for the Blogger platform.

 

We've previously highlighted some of our favorites, many of which are clean and versatile -- perfect for business use. Additional quality templates can be found on these sites:

 

• Deluxe Templates


• BTemplates


• Templates Block 

You'll need to
download the template XML file and upload it to your blog. Under the
"Design" tab, choose "Edit HTML." This is an area where advanced users
can make more specific tweaks. For now, you can upload the template of
your choice by selecting the downloaded file and hitting "Upload." This
will change the look and layout of your site, but the content itself
(Posts, Pages, etc.) will be unchanged.

 

Note that
templates utilize different layouts and page elements. Changing or
altering your template will never erase your content, but it may arrange it in a way that's undesirable. You should always download a backup copy of your current XML template before installing a new one. That way, you can revert back to it if something goes awry.

 

As you become more familiar with how templates and blog elements work, you may want to do some further customization by tweaking the XML and HTML in your layouts and posts.

 

4. Register and Map Your Custom Domain With Google Apps

 

Now for the overhead cost. A whopping $10 will allow you to register
your custom domain through Google with one of its registrar partners.
Domain registration should be a top priority for all businesses these
days, and setting up shop with Google offers the added benefit of its
integrated apps -- an e-mail, calendar and document system identical to
the free products on the web, but which operate within your custom
domain.

 

From your Blogger
dashboard, click "Settings," then "Publishing." Currently, you're
publishing on the "Blogspot" domain, but click the link that says
"Switch to: Custom Domain." This will take you through the process of
checking your domain's availability and making the purchase with a
credit card. Because you are doing this directly through your Blogger
account, the system will map your site to the new domain name
automatically -- no DNS manipulation is required.

 

Once you've registered yourbusinessname.com,
you'll have the opportunity to set up your employees' accounts -- up to
50 of them, as needed. Explore the administrator backend to find out
what other settings and features might be useful for your company's
workflow.

 

Conclusion

 

You're off and
running with a complete, cloud-based business infrastructure that you
can customize and administer from any browser with one Google account
and password. As you begin to experiment with more online content, your
master Google account connects you to a host of other useful products
like YouTube, Google Voice, and AdWords -- all of which can easily be
integrated on your site, and all "live under one roof," so to speak.

 

For
$10 and a bit of DIY time investment, this is a small business web
solution that's certainly worth experimenting with. If you give it a
shot, let us know if it meets your needs in the comments below.