Creating Your Own Website
| Category: Website Design and Development | Date: 2003-10-27 |
A lot of thought and care needs to go into your Website before you actually begin construction. First you must decide on a name for it.
Choosing a Website Name
Dont take this task lightly. You want to have a name that people will easily remember. Often people will use their names, which is good if youre well known. But if you arent famous yet, chances are searchers arent going to put your name in the search bar. That is unless theyre specifically looking for you.
Most traffic to your site will come via search engines. Think like someone whos looking for something on the Internet. What search words will they use? How can I incorporate this into my Website name?
Its best to choose names that arent hyphenated or underscored. This way the search engine will pick up all the words youve chosen, or any of them. When you break up the words it lessens the chance of being located.
Registering your Website Name
Probably the most reliable and well known places to register your Website Name is at:
http://www.register.com
You can get a two year registered Website Name for approximately $35 per year. Register.com also has a search box so you can enter any combinations of names youre looking at registering. If its been taken already, theyll let you know. There are other places online where you can find it cheaper and you just have to use your own good judgment if you choose one of these. Theyre usually offered to anyone who buys their Web Hosting program.
Choosing a Web Host
This can seem like a daunting chore! There are literally thousands of Web Hosting sites available to you. Some are great, some are bad and some are somewhere in between.
Be careful about joining a Web Host that locks you into a years lease. Many Web Hosting companies will lure you in by offering you great savings when bought in increments like one year. If you purchase their package then remember if you arent satisfied with their service youre stuck with them legally.
Luckily my last Web Host, who shall remain nameless, was on a month-to-month basis. Since it was my first paid hosting I didnt know if this was the norm or not in getting bad service and frustrations galore. I began talking to others who were paying for their hosting services and soon learned I was paying a lot of money for little service.
Now Im with a new Web Host and things couldnt be better! Its even cheaper than the other Web Host! I get prompt replies to any emails I query. And I know my Web site wont havent countless down time nor will I have to worry about anyone accessing the many pages of my site. Heres one I recommend:
http://www.100megswebhosting.com
This alone will give you a source of relief. When you send others to your site you want them to see it and possibly make a purchase. If they arent able to because of server troubles, its unlikely theyll return.
Creating Your Website
Surf other Web sites to give you an idea of what kind of display you want to show. Once you know how it should look you have 3 choices.
1. Hire someone to do the site for you. You can go professional if you have the funds, but you can also get the professional look without paying out a lot of money. Many people know how to do html coding so there might be someone you know that would do it for you at a reasonable rate. Or you might be able to do some other kind of agreement like advertising.
2. Buy any book that guides you with the basics of html. Check out your local bookstore. There are many Web Design books out there and looking through them in the store will help you decide if you can handle it. Its not really that difficult to learn and one becomes proficient in it from repetition. Theyre always loaded with pictures that help guide you along.
3. Check out Web sites online that help you create different html coding. From the basics to the more advanced, youll find many good articles and codes here: http://www.htmlgoodies.com If youre looking for a specific table or display you can always click View on your browser toolbar and then Source to see the html coding used to get this effect. Many people do this now.
When designing your Website, always beware of using too many graphics especially if theyre big files. You should decrease the size if you have the software to do so, and also make sure you give the dimensions in your html coding to further help with the quick downloading of your page.
Its also best to have a side column with links to each of your pages. This gives for easy navigation without visitors having to constantly use the back button. Its user friendly and shows a well-organized and professional Web site.
Be shy about using various fonts and colors too. Its fine on a personal Web site but on a professional one you want to keep consistency and make it easy on the eyes. Stick to Times Roman or Arial for best results.
Now youre ready to show the world what you have to offer. If you follow these simple guidelines youre on the right path. And when visitors are beating a path to your Web site, its because they love what you offer and, youre doing some excellent marketing. Thats a whole new article!
©2002 Dallas Franklin
About the author.
Dallas Franklin, Writer and Creator of the writing site designed for Writers. SellWritingOnline.com delivers while you discover how to sell your writing online. Visit us at:
sellwritingonline.com
Or subscribe to the Free SWO Newsletter delivered every Saturday at:
sellwritingonline-subscribe@topica.com
Contact Dallas at: sellwritingonline.com
******************
Please feel free to use this article in your Newsletter, eZine, or Website in its entirety including the resource box. Please notify me of publication by sending a Website link or a copy of your eZine/Newsletter when published to mailto:dallas Thank you.
If youd like to see more available articles by Dallas Franklin, visit:
http://sellwritingonline.com/tips.html
dallas@sellwritingonline.com
http://www.sellwritingonline.com
Choosing a Website Name
Dont take this task lightly. You want to have a name that people will easily remember. Often people will use their names, which is good if youre well known. But if you arent famous yet, chances are searchers arent going to put your name in the search bar. That is unless theyre specifically looking for you.
Most traffic to your site will come via search engines. Think like someone whos looking for something on the Internet. What search words will they use? How can I incorporate this into my Website name?
Its best to choose names that arent hyphenated or underscored. This way the search engine will pick up all the words youve chosen, or any of them. When you break up the words it lessens the chance of being located.
Registering your Website Name
Probably the most reliable and well known places to register your Website Name is at:
http://www.register.com
You can get a two year registered Website Name for approximately $35 per year. Register.com also has a search box so you can enter any combinations of names youre looking at registering. If its been taken already, theyll let you know. There are other places online where you can find it cheaper and you just have to use your own good judgment if you choose one of these. Theyre usually offered to anyone who buys their Web Hosting program.
Choosing a Web Host
This can seem like a daunting chore! There are literally thousands of Web Hosting sites available to you. Some are great, some are bad and some are somewhere in between.
Be careful about joining a Web Host that locks you into a years lease. Many Web Hosting companies will lure you in by offering you great savings when bought in increments like one year. If you purchase their package then remember if you arent satisfied with their service youre stuck with them legally.
Luckily my last Web Host, who shall remain nameless, was on a month-to-month basis. Since it was my first paid hosting I didnt know if this was the norm or not in getting bad service and frustrations galore. I began talking to others who were paying for their hosting services and soon learned I was paying a lot of money for little service.
Now Im with a new Web Host and things couldnt be better! Its even cheaper than the other Web Host! I get prompt replies to any emails I query. And I know my Web site wont havent countless down time nor will I have to worry about anyone accessing the many pages of my site. Heres one I recommend:
http://www.100megswebhosting.com
This alone will give you a source of relief. When you send others to your site you want them to see it and possibly make a purchase. If they arent able to because of server troubles, its unlikely theyll return.
Creating Your Website
Surf other Web sites to give you an idea of what kind of display you want to show. Once you know how it should look you have 3 choices.
1. Hire someone to do the site for you. You can go professional if you have the funds, but you can also get the professional look without paying out a lot of money. Many people know how to do html coding so there might be someone you know that would do it for you at a reasonable rate. Or you might be able to do some other kind of agreement like advertising.
2. Buy any book that guides you with the basics of html. Check out your local bookstore. There are many Web Design books out there and looking through them in the store will help you decide if you can handle it. Its not really that difficult to learn and one becomes proficient in it from repetition. Theyre always loaded with pictures that help guide you along.
3. Check out Web sites online that help you create different html coding. From the basics to the more advanced, youll find many good articles and codes here: http://www.htmlgoodies.com If youre looking for a specific table or display you can always click View on your browser toolbar and then Source to see the html coding used to get this effect. Many people do this now.
When designing your Website, always beware of using too many graphics especially if theyre big files. You should decrease the size if you have the software to do so, and also make sure you give the dimensions in your html coding to further help with the quick downloading of your page.
Its also best to have a side column with links to each of your pages. This gives for easy navigation without visitors having to constantly use the back button. Its user friendly and shows a well-organized and professional Web site.
Be shy about using various fonts and colors too. Its fine on a personal Web site but on a professional one you want to keep consistency and make it easy on the eyes. Stick to Times Roman or Arial for best results.
Now youre ready to show the world what you have to offer. If you follow these simple guidelines youre on the right path. And when visitors are beating a path to your Web site, its because they love what you offer and, youre doing some excellent marketing. Thats a whole new article!
©2002 Dallas Franklin
About the author.
Dallas Franklin, Writer and Creator of the writing site designed for Writers. SellWritingOnline.com delivers while you discover how to sell your writing online. Visit us at:
sellwritingonline.com
Or subscribe to the Free SWO Newsletter delivered every Saturday at:
sellwritingonline-subscribe@topica.com
Contact Dallas at: sellwritingonline.com
******************
Please feel free to use this article in your Newsletter, eZine, or Website in its entirety including the resource box. Please notify me of publication by sending a Website link or a copy of your eZine/Newsletter when published to mailto:dallas Thank you.
If youd like to see more available articles by Dallas Franklin, visit:
http://sellwritingonline.com/tips.html
dallas@sellwritingonline.com
http://www.sellwritingonline.com
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