| Making a Website |
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Making a Website The next step in making a website is to decide how you want to build it. In order to make a website you are going to need some type of website building software. This section explains:
Which Website Builder Software is Right for You? Before you start making a website you will need to decide whether you want to use a web host's site builder or use your own. Your choice will affect the web host you choose since not all web hosts provide a web site builder. Your Web Host's Site Builder. If you use a web host's site builder, making a website is really simple. All you need to do is click on the template you want and then add your information. You can spice it up with your own graphics and other links like counters, guest books, etc.I usually recommend that if you are new to all this or fairly new that you select a web host that has a site builder and use it for making your website. It's going to be a lot easier, cheaper and less frustrating for you. Plus, your website will probably look a lot better. One thing to be aware of - if you use the web host's site builder it's even more important than it normally is to make sure you choose a good web host. Since your site is built with your web host's software you won't be able to take it with you and make changes if your host turns out to be bad. To see the hosts with web builders that I like, click here. Your Own Website Builder Software. If you want to use your own software program the most popular is Front Page. It runs about $125 at Amazon. It's pretty complicated to learn so again, if you are not experienced with making a website, it's going to be a lot easier to start out using a web host's site builder. You can always move up to Front Page later but it's hard to start out with it. Some people try to build pages using MS Word or a similar program - save your time and energy. Unless you are a real wiz at creating pages in there you are going to spend a lot of time and energy and have an ugly looking page to show for it. Go with a web host's site builder. You will create a much better looking, more professional looking website for a lot less effort.Where to Get a Website Builder If you want to use a web host's site builder, here are the ones I recommend for making a website. Each of these is cheap, easy to use, and the sites they make look great. 1. Fast Easy Websites - this place has one of the easiest and best site builders found anywhere. Pros: It's head and shoulders above the other do-it-yourself site builders out there. Plus, at only $8.95 a month (which includes the web hosting) it's cheap. What I like best about these guys is that not only is their site builder really great, but their hosting service is too. It's really reliable (a lot of web host companies aren't) and if you have any questions you can just call or email them and they will help you quickly and without attitude.Cons: Like with most website builders, Mac users can't use it because it requires IE 5.5 or higher. Bottom line: They are good, cheap and you can get everything you need for making a website from them (domain name, site builder, search engine submission.) My favorite. 2. iPower Web- this is also a really great host that has a very nice, easy to use website builder. Pros: Easy to use, good tutorials available and a bit cheaper if you pay yearly. They cost $9.95/month if you pay for 3 months or $7.95/month if you pay yearly.Cons: They don't offer as many template choices or graphics as Fast Easy Websites does, but they are a bit cheaper if you pay yearly. Mac users can't use this one either. Bottom line: A good solid choice. Do's and Don'ts of Making a Website Regardless of what software you use when making your website, there are some basic do’s and don’ts you need to keep in mind. It's very easy to get carried away especially if it's your first site and do things that drive your visitors away without meaning to. When you are making a website: Do keep it simple. Don't cram your website full of clutter. Unless it's a how-to site like this one, the less text, the better. Do make it eye pleasing. No crazy fonts or colors. The standard fonts for web sites are Arial, Verdana and Times New Roman. Whatever font you decide on, use it throughout your site. Don't alternate fonts. Don’t use a Flash introduction. Web designers love this, but most people click off as soon as they see it loading. The object is to get people to see your website, not drive them away. Don’t put music or sound files on your site. It startles people when they are surfing and suddenly hear music blare out. Their immediate reaction is to back track immediately. If you want to include music then give people the option of "click here" to listen to it. Let them decide if they want to hear it or not. Don’t put a lot of slow-loading graphics on your page. No matter how pretty the graphics are, people aren’t going to stick around and wait for them to load. You can optimize your images for free at NetMechanic.com. What this means is that you load the image onto Net Mechanic's web page and they will condense the size of the image for you, then let you pick the image you like from the results. Usually you can reduce the size by 50% or more without there being a noticeable change in quality. Do make sure visitors to your site can tell at a glance what your website is about. For example, if you sell widgets, make sure that’s evident right up front. Most people will leave in the first five seconds if they don’t think your website offers them what they are looking for. They aren’t going to take the time to scroll around to see if you have what they need. Making it immediately clear to them what your website is about is super important. Don’t use pop-ups on your website. Visitors find these really annoying. The less you annoy a visitor, the more likely he or she is to stay. If you are going to use one of the web hosts with web builders I recommend for making a website, then click here to find out ways you can Get Traffic to your website. If you are using your own software or want to use another web host, click here to find out how to choose a good web host. --->
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