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You’ve got a concept for a business, are excited about putting it out
on the Internet, know a little bit about computers and the Internet, but know
nothing about building a web site, or web design.
You can still be highly successful and save money by doing the job yourself
so long as you’ve got the willingness to learn and the time to spend on
the project. It can be fun … and it should be.
The contents of this article will greatly improve your knowledge of web design
without causing you to feel overwhelmed. Keep this article as a reference point,
check off each part as you go through the process of development, and, in due
time, you will have an effective web site for marketing the information, product,
or service you wish to provide to your customers.
Domain Name
Keep it short and relevant to your business. Do not get frustrated trying to
lock down a domain name by settling on anything to get you web space. You will
soon realize that every word on your web site has relevancy to its success.
Register for no less than two years. Serious businesses don’t renew yearly.
You have to show that you’re going to be sticking around.
Web Hosting
Don’t mess around with small time web hosting. Affiliate yourself with
a reputable company that provides top-notch service, as the rewards with regards
to security and support are worth the extra dollar.
Web Site Construction
The basis by which people choose to build their web site is at their discretion.
Microsoft FrontPage is a worthy choice for those of you who are new to web development
and starting from scratch. Instead of reading books to learn about web design
and development, you may be much better off using Google, MSN, or Yahoo to find
the answers to your questions. Use “quotations” around your question
in a search bar to get more specific answers.
Layout
Building your web site on a template is a fine way to start, but you may want
to learn how to build from nothing. The mistakes that you may make along the
way will prove invaluable. It is strongly recommended that you go with Tables
instead of Frames, and if you don’t have a clue what either means, just
do a little reading about the two on the Internet before you start building.
Resolution
It would be a safe bet to keep your web site at no more than 750 pixels wide,
regardless of the fact that more and more people are going to 1024x768. If your
site is geared towards older folk, then you can count on the majority being
at 800x600 for easier reading. You don’t want to alienate your visitors
by having them scroll to see the whole page. Be sure to check that your web
site pages show up the same in all browsers.
The Intro
Never ever put “Under Construction” or any other type of phrase that
says that you are incomplete on your web site. Your site is young … it
is never incomplete.
Try to refrain from saying “Welcome to …”. You should think of
your web space as being real estate. The space you use up with unnecessary text
is a waste of advertising.
The Text
Keywords, their place on a web page, whether they are bolded or not, and the
number of times each word appears on a web page are factors that determine how
high you end up in search results.
HTML Tags
Before I say anything further, don’t get freaked out by HTML code. It
not as hard as it looks. Again, do a little reading on the Internet … this
time about Meta Tags and Keywords. You will have to make sure that your Title,
Description, and Keyword Meta Tags are bang on with the text on each web page
you build. You can use many free Tag Analyzers found on the Internet to check
relevancies.
Graphics
Graphics increase load time and looks. There’s a fine line between too
little and too much. Use customers, not friends and family to gauge what is
appropriate for the way your web site will look.
Random Tips
You may need to read a little to learn how to implement some of these tips,
but nonetheless, they are here for your consideration to improve the placement
of your web site in search results:
Make sure your title is right below the head in the HTML code Use one or two
keywords in an ALT Tag to describe your images Get links pointing at you from
sites sharing similar content
About the Author:
Austin Culley is the Chief Operating Officer for Oil-Net.Com Inc.
http://www.oil-net.com |
