|
1.
|
Make
up your mind what you want to include in your website
and make a list
Then
make a sort of map (site map) of the pages.
usually
it starts with
|
|
|
HOME
|
the "visitors card",
best if it just that with a picture or Logo and the
title of the website, This first page should have a
certain dramatic aspect, so people get curious and go
ahead
|
|
ABOUT US
|
here you present yourself.
You don't have to go into details really, but it's nice
for the visitor if he gets an idea, who you are, where
you live ( country) why you created the website and
so on
|
|
|
MY
HOBBY/
OUR
DOGS
|
or whatever you made
the Website for.
|
|
|
PHOTOS
and more
|
Here you can have several
pages and call them what you like
The next 3 pages are
usually at the end
|
|
|
GUESTBOOK
|
Look in the Net for
a free webbased guestbook.
|
|
|
CONTACT
|
Here
you state your name:"This website belongs to:"
and your Mail addy
in
some countries it is also necessary to put your address.
|
|
|
LINKS
|
Here
you can put your favourite links.
It
is always good to have a link page, so you can exchange
links with others, which in turn helps to win visitors
to your site.
Don't
forget to disclaim all responsibility for the contents
of the linked sites
|
|
|
|
|
|
2.
|
Now
you need a Web editor to start with.
If
you're not familiar with HTML you need a WYSIWYG (What
You
See
Is
What
You
Get)
Editor.
There
are many on the market, free ones and very costly programs
as well.
The
cheapest and also an easy way is to use your WORD
program.
It
is a bit heavy on the HTML side, OK, but a good way
to try to create your 1st website without spending a
lot of money. You probably know
your ways around with WORD and so it's quite easy.
Didn't
know the web editor in WORDS? You'll find it if you
click on FILE >NEW then a choice is opening, click
on the tab for websites and there you'll find the Website
Assistent.
Many
people use Frontpage, as it is one of the cheaper programs.
It has it's limitations.
I
personally don't care to much for this.
A
very good Web Editor in my eyes is NAMO, in the medium
price range. If your're not set to have the utmost last
edition, you can find the older version on Ebay etc .
quite cheap, and it has all the ingredients to make
a successful website.
In
the top range of course is the DREAMWEAVER, Expensive
and not for beginners
Try
to avoid making a website with frames, as most browsers
pluck them apart in listing!
|
|
3.
|
You
also need a Photo program, where you can size down your
pictures and make them ready for the web.
|
|
4.
|
Now
the creative sequel starts.
Make
up you mind which colours you want to use. It is better
to use the same Background Colour throughout the website,
than having a different one on each page; this makes
the site erratic.
You could use f.ex. different backgrounds but in
the same colour.
You
can either use a ready made Web Set from my Website
or make your own choice of Backgrounds, Buttons and
more.
To
download: For Backgrounds: right click
then save as background
for
Buttons etc: right click then save picture as...
Also
make up your mind, where your navigation should be,
either left or right or on top of the page
accordingly
you have to set your page.
The
best method thing is to work with (invisible
tables),
see EXAMPLES 1 and 2
If
you want to use a elaborate patterned background, where
writing wouldn't show well, look how you can do it in
Example 3
|
|
5.
|
If
you want to have a title in a special font, create it
as a graphic, otherwise it will show to others in one
of the standard web fonts.
For
your texts you can use Arial, Century Gothic, Times
New Roman, Tahoma and Verdana,
Comic
Sans should also work.
|
|
6.
|
Now
it is time to prepare your buttons.
If
you take the ready made ones from a Web Set, the work
is done. If you want to make your
own
you
do that in your photo program. Look for the longest
word having to figure on the
button and
try
out font and font size accordingly. Take a font that
is easy to read. Save the
buttons as gif, as saving
in jpg tends to make letters blurry.
|
|
7.
|
Now go ahead and create
your pages.
|
|
8.
|
In
between think of a domain name, look around in the internet
for domains at a good price.
You
should be able to get a .com domain for less than 10 US$ p.
year.
In some Hosting packages you get a free domain, but
watch out if the hosting is more expensive that others.
|
|
9.
|
You
also need a host server, where to you can upload your
website and from where it reaches the Internet. There
are many hosting packages on the market at all price
levels.
See
that you get at least 10-15 MB webspace and try to avoid
limited bandwidth. FTP upload should be possible
|
|
10.
|
Finally
you'll have to look for a FTP program, which you get
for free in the internet.
That
is the means to upload your website.
Remember:
choose your file names so that they have no é,à ö ä'
and whatever else there is, just straight letters, otherwise
the file will not be accepted for the Internet
|
|
|
Finally I have listed a
few useful links for you:
|
|
http://bravenet.com/
|
A
Canadian company, where you can get domains and hosting
at a good price.
They have free counters, guestbooks,
clip art and many, many other free features for your
website.
|
|
www.namo.com
|
for
a glimpse at the Namo web editor. You can even download
a trial version.
To
save money buy the edition before the newest f.ex
at Ebay, it
only
costs you a fraction of the price and you have more
than enough features to create a wonderful website
|
|
Adobe
|
My
favourite Photo program is Adobe Photoshop Elements.
In my opinion
it's
more versatile than Adobe Photoshop and gives you possibilities
unlimited to touch up your photos. Here also you can
buy the "before last" edition on Ebay or such
at a friendly price
|
|
Cool
Web Scroll Bars
|
a free programm from
Harmony Hollow. You can color your Scrollbars exactly
to match your website
|
|
Guestbooks
|
Try ibooks for
your Guestbook, it's free and very adaptable to match
your webdesign, almost without ads.
|
|
Counter
|
A good address for a
highly adaptable visitor's counter
|
