So You Want
To Design Your Own Web Site? As appealing as this may
sound in terms of how much money you will save. You
need to consider a few things before getting started.
1. You must, at the very least, be able to write simple
HTML.
Then under the above heading here are just a few of
the most important things you will have to consider.
A. Your page must validate properly, according
to W3C, standards at: http://validator.w3.org/ (Read
about what the W3C is: http://www.w3.org/Consortium/)
If your page doesn't pass this validation, then you
must learn how to make it do so, by following their
guidelines for each error. Many people pooh, pooh this
as not important. But trust me, this is the most important
step. Because it assures all visitors, no matter what
type of operating system, browser, level of computer
system, etc. they are using, will be able to see and
use your site as you intended. I didn't always know
this and so am having to do a lot of back tracking on
my site to fix things. It would be much easier just
to do it as you create the site. Trust me on that one.
B. Your site must be uniform in looks and working
ability across at least the most common browsers.
I challenge anyone that has designed or attempted
to design their own website to compare what it looks
like in both an I.E. Browser and a mozilla type Browser
such as FireFox. You will not only be amazed at the
differences but also unfortunately will be very frustrated
before you are through trying to figure out how to
get one thing to work in one that won't in the other
and visa versa! These are the two most common type
browsers and the only two I compare my sites in, because
quite frankly I would go stark raving mad if I tried
any others! Luckily these two types of browsers are the ones most
others are based on. So if you can get your site working
in both you should not run onto any problems with
any others out there. If you do then just do a search
for the problem and you should find trouble shooting
help for your particular problem.
C. Another area, of making your site uniform, is
the different size monitors and resolutions used.
This can be reached fairly, satisfactory by changing
the resolution on your own computer and comparing
your web site pages.
D. Then you must also consider page speed, when down
loading it over the Internet, as well. Ensuring you
take all steps to optimize both the amount of text
on the pages and the size of the images. So that the
majority of people with various connection speeds
can download your site's pages in a reasonable amount
of time.
2. If you want your site to have at least simple interaction,
such as contacting you via a form or filling out a survey,
etc., you will need to learn how to create forms. These
are fairly simple and can be learned on the resources
listed in the next paragraph about learning basic HTML.
As you advance, in your learning process, you can even
delve into other more complicated options for making your
site interactive, such as Java Script, CGI and Perl, PHP
and more...
I am not saying designing your own web site cannot
be done. With the right determination and a little learning
just about any one can do it. That is exactly what I
had to do as a beginner and continue to do today, eight
years later. Most of us cannot afford to hire a designer
who's going rate is between $45.00-$100.00 or more an
hour. Just be prepared to do your home work and learn
what you don't already know. There are many fabulous
sites for learning HTML. Starting with the W3C's own
documentation on HyperText Markup Language (HTML): http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/
and one of the most popular sites for HTML help: http://www.htmlgoodies.com/
------------ About the Author ------------
Debbie Ducker is the owner of: DuckerPromotion.com And
editor of the "Ducker Promotion Free Internet Marketing
Ezine".
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