Website Design Advice - How to build your own website fast and easy.

Web Site Design Advice

So you are thinking about building your own website.  Here you will find some tips and great places for help building your own personal or business website.  I will tell you about two companies that I would recommend. 

I will talk most about 1&1 Web Hostingas they are the Web Hosting Company I use.  They have been a great company to work with.  I will also talk about GoDaddy, as they are another one of the best Web Hosting companies in the world.  I recommend both these Web Hosting Companies because they have everything you need to make and run a web site.  You pay one monthly price for a complete hosting package.

They have powerful tools that lets you construct a professional-looking site in minutes, with no programming experience or HTML know-how.  The handy wizards they have will guide you through the site-building process from start to publish, with easy-to-follow instructions and simple point-and-click prompts.  You will be able to have feedback forms, a visitor counter, guestbook, forums, shopping carts, and many other forms.

Steps to think about when building a website.

(I can't stress this enough, but write everything down, plan, plan, plan.)

Step #1:  Ask yourself these questions

• Why do you want to make a website? 
• What is the purpose or goal of your website? 
• Who do you want to view your website?  (your target audience)

Examples

• Personal website for sharing photos and personal information. 
• Business showcasing their products or services. 
• Online Store - selling one product or many. 
• Hobby - Setup information hub for your hobby.

Step #2:  Plan your content

• Where are you getting your content from? 
• How are you going to show it on the web? 
• What are you going to sell? 
• Free giveaways? 
• Order Forms & Checkout Carts? 
• Are you going to have ads on your site?

Step #3:  Plan the hierarchy of your web pages

What is the order of your web pages?  Starting at your Main Home Page, layout on paper how each page links to other pages.

Step #4:  Pick your Domain Name

Try to pick a domain name that fits with your website content.  Pick a name or two and type them into a domain name checker like the one at 1&1 Web Hosting or GoDaddy.  You type in your Domain Name choice and it will tell you if it’s free to buy and also give you many other word combinations for you to pick from.

TIP:  If you can, you should always try to get a domain name that ends in ".com".

Step #5:  Pick your Web Hosting Company

I use 1&1 Web Hosting and I also recommend GoDaddy Web Hosting.  Both companies are great and they both have many options for building websites. 

They have low cost options for the first time website builders.  The low cost websites start at $3.99 per month.  They both have all the options you could ever want.  From an Online Web Store to a personal web site.  You also will get hundreds of email accounts that you can use with your own domain name.   

Step #6:  Pick your Template

Each web hosting company has many website templates to pick from.  They have many themes for all kinds of websites.  Pick your page layouts & color scheme.

Step #7:  Insert your Content

Now the fun part, designing your website.  Start with your Home Page and work from there.  Think about what kind of graphics you want.  Think about the placement of your content.  Make sure you use the build-in spell checker to make sure your content is grammatically correct.  

Step #8:  Evaluate the website

Once the site is build, have someone else look at the finished project and give you constructive feedback. 

Ask these questions: 

• Is the site easy to navigate?
• Is it easy for your customer to find the information they want.  Should only be a few clicks away.

 Step #9:  Launch you New Website!

Now its time to show all your hard work to the world.  Publish your website on the Internet.  Submit your site to search engines and directories.

Congratulations on your new website!