How To Build A Website - 5 Top Tips

Everybody seems to be getting their own little place on the web, whether it is to sell some old stuff on an auction site, post photos, write a diary or build a business empire. Web design appears like a bit of a magic art that can seem to be to some people highly technical and needing years of study and practice. Well in some cases it is. The good news ,however, is that simple web design is accessible to most of us with little effort. With a little knowledge and being prepared to work to your limitations, you can build a perfectly acceptable simple site to express yourself.

There are a few tings that you need to get your website up on the net. The first thing is a computer with an internet connection. In addition to this, you will need some kind of editing software for any images or photos you would like to see on the site. The only other thing you need is a little imagination while I take you through the 5 tips on how to build a website.

1. Draw out a plan of how you want the site to look on paper before even touching the computer.

This is very important because if you don't the computer has a very canny way of controlling your design. With no direction, you will find yourself adding elements that you didn't want or leaving out elements that you need. At the end of the design process your website may not look anything like what you intended. So remember, plan it out first.

2. Select the design method.

Now with your plan to hand you need a way of turning your piece of paper into a fully functional website. There are many ways to do this with many pros and cons to each method. Let's take a look at some.

2a. Hand coding HTML

HTML is one of the languages used to produce websites. There are many free resources on the internet with tutorials and examples for you to use on your site. The good thing about this method is that if you have a good understanding of HTML, you can produce amazing sites. However, the downside is that it is not the quickest thing to learn so it may slow you down.

2b. Install a web design software package onto your computer.

There are some very good web design programmes out there that you can use on your computer. These programs speed up the process of designing websites by allowing you to hand code HTML and then switch to a 'design view' which shows you what the page will look like. Alternatively, you can add text and pictures to the page and the programme writes the code for you. This method is easier than pure hand coding and takes a lot of the repetitive processes out of the equation. However, there is still a learning curve to the programmes and you will need some knowledge of HTML to make the site work successfully.

2c. Use an online webpage editor.

There are companies on the net that offer free webpage editors for you to make your own site on their website. Some of these are excellent and are so easy to use that even the biggest technophobe could have a website up and running in a day. These programs work by being able to place items on the page by dragging and dropping them. There is no code to learn and you have a lot of control over the layout. The downside is that a lot of people use the same programmes and you have to work from a predesigned layout. You can not be as individual as the other two methods but this is quite simply the easiest way in.

3. Make your images web friendly.

If you take a picture on a digital camera to put on a website, you have to make the file size smaller before publishing it on the web. This is because now-a-days, digital cameras take very detailed images and therefore create a large file. When someone tries to view it on line in its original state, it will take a while to load the file through an internet connection. If you have to wait for a site to load, you may get bored and click onto a faster loading site. If you want people to see what you've done, decrease the file size. The way to do this is to run your picture through an image editor like the one discussed at the start of this article. In many of these programmes there is an option to optimize the picture for the web. This decreases file size whilst having very little effect to the quality. In a flash, you have fast pictures.

4. Find a place to put your website.

To do this you will need a web address and what is called a host. The web address is what people type into the address bar to find your site and the host is the place where your site is stored. If you hand code or use a piece of software mentioned in 2b. you will most probably have to buy a domain name and some form of hosting. This can be affordably done by using a domain name and hosting company. These companies usually provide you with the tools to get your website from your computer onto your hosting package.

If you use the technology mentioned in 2c. then you usually get the hosting and web address included in the package. As you save the page it automatically publishes it to your web address. Very simple indeed.

5. Check your website for errors.

This is your new baby, you don't want it to have mistakes. Always check your work and have friends and family do the same. Your website could be seen by millions of visitors, don't give a bad impression by having spelling mistakes or broken links.

Obviously, like anything web design is not for everyone and not everyone finds it easy. All I will say is that it is fun, it is creative, it is frustrating but a good website can do wonders. Know your limitations. If your site is a hobby then go for it. However, if you are starting a business you may not have the knowledge or time to represent your company as it should be on the web.