Start A Website

OK, so you've decided to start a website. Now it's time to build your first page. You've got some ideas about what you want to say and you even have a few pictures that you think will look good on the page. But, how do you do it?

Creating a site is difficult because website pages have to be written in HTML language in order for computers around the world to reproduce whatever you have designed, exactly the way you have designed it. It's like a code that tells a computer what you want the page to look like. (It wouldn't be very good if you produced a flashy new page with headings and pictures and tables but no other computer could interpret your layout, so it just showed the words in plain text and that was it!)

So how do you write in HTML?

Well you could go off and learn how to write the code first and then start writing your masterpiece, but that may take quite a while. (You should actually be familiar with some of the basic code no matter what program you end up using. It will help.)

Another option would be to use a program like Microsoft's Front Page to start a website, where you can pretty much design your page and then ask the program to translate it into HTML. Or, you could do what I did and use Site Build It's Block Builder system. (Do you want to put a headline on your page? Put it in a headline block. Do you want to add a picture? Put it in a graphics block. Do you want to add some words? Put them in a text block.) You enter the content and it looks after the programming.

So, I built my first page and my first website Funny Email For Everyone using Block Builder but I also learned some basic HTML along the way because it does come in handy at times even if you aren't building your own pages. That's because, on occassion, you will be asked to copy and paste code into a page in order to add something to it like a link to another site. Knowing a little code will help you troubleshoot any problems you may have if it doesn't work properly.

Use code writing programs.

My second website (this one) was built using Arachnophilia however. "Say what?" (It's a program that helps you write and "build" website pages.) If you are going to start a website, there are many such programs available to you on the Internet but I chose this one because:

1. It's totally FREE!
2. It's easy to master.
3. It's basically "bug free" because it has been around a long time and is therefore very stable.
4. It doesn't suffer from "code bloat". (That's what could happen when you use a program like Frontpage that translates everything. You may end up with way more code on a page then you really need and this could slow down somebody trying to navigate around your site.)

I started with a template however, that I purchased and then just modified in Arachnophilia.

Now that I think back, I remember that I actually did start a website a few years back through Front Page. It was a small, personal site and it wasn't too bad. So, choose your poison! Pick your program. Some cost money. Some don't.

A word of advice.

Don't spend too much money on a program without doing a thorough search for people who may be having problems with it first. I highly recommend Site Build It for newcomers to the site building game and Arachnophilia for people who have a flair for learning code and have some basic HTML experience already.

What are you going to write about?

As in any good book or story, the beginning should quickly get to the point and create some interest in the reader. When you start a website the same is true, so start a website with "flair". In fact, it may even be more important for a webpage because people who "surf" the Internet are quite quick to click away from your site if they don't quickly understand what it is about and how it might help them solve a problem or answer a question that they might have.

So write and rewrite your first page until you are convinced that someone reading it for the first time will know what it is about instantly. Then, they may become interested in it - or not! Believe it or not, you are actually helping the Internet community by being very clear about what your site is about. Then, if someone goes there and sees that it isn't what they want, they will click away and continue looking elsewhere. You won't make any money from them but you will be saving them some time in their search and we all will thank you for that.

(Have you ever ended up at a site where you were looking for something and then wasted a lot of time trying to find it, only to discover that the site really doesn't have the info you're looking for? If you have then you know what I mean.)

Be clear and concise.

So, start a website about something you are passionate about and start it with a flair by making your "Home Page" informative and readable. From there on, creating a site that is sought after by many people will depend on your content. I'll talk more about content on another page. For now, you've lots to do just getting your first page right.

Good luck.