Creating the Perfect Website - A beginners Guide
by Amanda EvansAre you looking to create the perfect website? A complete novice when
it comes to HTML, CGI, FTP and all the other associated pieces that make up the website puzzle, then this article
is definitely for you.
By following the 5 guidelines listed below you are guaranteed to create the perfect website.
1. Plan your website
Creating a plan of your website will help you identify the purpose of your website and will also help you to see
how many pages you will require. You should then research similar sites to see how they appeal to their target
audience. You should also make a list of the tools that you will require, for example do you intend to have a
guestbook, a message board, a chat room, a web journal or blog. How often do you intend to update your site? Are
you going to sell products from your site?
By answering all of the above questions you will have a very clear perception of what your website will be about
and what you will need to get it up and running. You can then move on to step 2.
2. Finding the right hosting service
Choosing the right hosting service will depend on your individual needs and having created your website plan this
will make choosing the right host a lot easier. Before paying for hosting I recommend that you check out some of
the free hosting companies. Here you can host your website for free and learn about web-building in the
process.
Here are a few of the sites that I trialled:-
www.bravenet.com This site allows you to have your own free website yourname.bravenet.com. The tools on this site
are excellent and include a guestbook, message board, web journal and site counters to name but a few. They also
have a website builder which is very important for the novice user. Great templates and also easy to use.
www.frandt.com Offers free web hosting yourname.frandt.com. Another great site with many tools.
www.tictacwebsites.com You can get a 10 day free trial from this website. Another great site with an abundance of
facilities. If you decide to use them hosting is $20/month.
There are many more hosting services available and a quick search for free hosting or paid hosting will give you a
huge list. I will recommend that as a novice you start with the free hosting services. This is some great advice
that I would have loved to receive prior to starting my website.
3. Starting Your Website
Once you have chosen your hosting company the next thing is to start building your website. Using the site builders
is the best way. You choose your template and then start imputing your content. Dont worry about getting everything
in on the first attempt, you can always edit your pages as you go along.
If you are intending to put in e-mail forms for subscriptions or feedback most hosting companies have this in their
tools section. If not you can just create a link to your e-mail account.
Do not worry about adding pictures and advertisements, these can all come at a later stage, for now the main
priority is to get your website up and running.
4. Publishing Your Website
Once your website is completed the next stage is to publish it on the web. Your hosting company will have a
facility for this. This usually involves submitting your website to various search engines. You may also be
required to create keywords and meta tags. Keywords are words that will be picked up by search engines and will
help generate more traffic for your website. Try looking for keyword software. Some web hosting companies do all
this for you which are an extra bonus.
Now that you are published on the web you are ready to move on to the last step.
5. Promoting Your Website
This is where the frustration begins. You have your website, its on the internet but how do I get people to visit
it. There are numerous ways to get traffic and the internet is full of ways to do this. Joining a traffic system is
probably the best. I use traffic swarm to promote my website and also instant buzz. Both of these have really
worked for me and have increased my traffic significantly. Another way is to advertise, you can place adverts for
free but this can be extremely time consuming has to go to each website individually. I used adblaster, a great
piece of software that allows me to type my ads and them with the click of just one button my ads are submitted to
over 2500 websites. Ezine articles are another way of getting people to your site. Check the ezine directories and
submit your articles.
Now that you have the knowledge, why not get started creating your own website. If you need free advertising I
provide it on my website.
Amanda Evans is the owner and producer of www.amandawrites.com a website dedicated to helping people achieve their goal of become a
writer. Why not visit and subscribe to our free newsletter.
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