The most common question we hear from customers is,
“I want to build a web site, but how do I get started?”
Following is a step-by-step guide to getting online with a web site…
Define the Website
Before you set out to build your website, take some time to define a scope for your project. Here are some questions to get you started:
Why do you want a website?
What are your primary online business goals for this website? (increase sales, marketing/branding awareness, reduce customer service calls….)
What type of information will your website display?
Who is your target audience?
What is the primary “action” you want a visitor to your site to take? (purchase, sign-up for an email club, search for information, call you on the phone, complete a survey…..)
List some websites you like / dislike and describe what you like or don’t like.
What is my budget and how much time can I spend building my initial website up?
What is my budget and how much time can I spend on ongoing maintenance, improvements, and marketing of my website?
Design the Website
In the design phase, you begin to outline what the actual website will look like. There are several steps to take during the design phase.
Create a Site Map
A Site map is an outline of your website. Put together a draft site map for your website. For example, a basic 5-page website might include the following site map:
Home page
Our Services
Request a Brochure
About Us
Contact Us
Make a Draft of Your Content
“Content” is any element used to make up your website… text (also called copy), photos, graphics, videos, forms.
What will you say on each of the web pages identified in your site map? What images or photos will you display on each page? Will you create forms for users to contact you or submit a brochure request?
Create a draft document that contains all the “content” for each page. Do you have photos available to use? Do you need to display a chart or graph to visually balance your text? Are there facts you need to gather or perform additional research?
Insider Tip:
You can use software such as Adobe Fireworks or Photoshop to resize, crop, or enhance your photos. You can also create basic graphics.
As you create your content document, you may decide to revise your site map by adding or removing web pages. That’s fine. It’s all part of the process.
Decide on the Overall Look & Feel
Once you have a solid site map and good working draft of your content document, you can start to establish your visual design requirements.
Are there particular colors you want to use on your website? (ie pastels, vibrant colors, colors that complement your logo)
What type of feeling / impression do you want to convey to site visitors? (ie professional, informal, fun, cutting edge, creative)
What type of graphical assets will you need and how will you get these? (ie rotating flash banner, how-to video, photo galleries)
Finalize the Site navigation
Using your site map as a guideline, start to determine what type of site navigation you will use. If you only have a few pages, you may want your navigation to be across the top of your site. If you have a lot of page or several levels of pages, you may want the site navigation to be along the left side of the page. If you want your site to be more creative or non-traditional, you can use a more creative layout for your navigation.
Sketch Out the Pages
Sketch out what you want your web pages to look like. Your pages should be consistent so site visitors can easily navigate your website.
Insider Tip:
Save the home page for last. If you spend time on your lower-level pages first, and finalize what info appears where, your home page will likely come together with greater ease. Just remember… the home page provides visitors with a first impression. So you want to make sure the home page fits within the goals you identified during the define phase.
Name your website
Decide what you want to call your website. The name of your website is called the Domain Name. Once you decide, you will have to check to see if the website name is available. You can search for availability using a site such as GoDaddy.com.
Enter a domain name below to check availability:
Once you have found a good domain name, register it. To learn more about domain names, visit our Domain Names section.
Insider Tip: You may want to wait to register your domain name when you select a web hosting provider. Web hosts will often register you domain name for free when you sign up for their service.
Develop the Website
Now that you have a solid design plan for you website, it’s time to start building your website. At this point, you should ask yourself if you want to build the site yourself or hire someone else to do it for you.
There are several options for building the website yourself.
If your website is fairly simple, you can use a Site Builder Tool that does not require any technical knowledge. Some choices for Website Builder tools include:
All of these Site Builder tools come free with a hosting subscription. So you can choose your hosting provider based on which Site builder tool you like best. Read more detailed descriptions of each of these Site Builder Tools in the Easy Website Builder Tools section.
If you know (or want to learn) HTML, you can build a website using software such as Dreamweaver. Dreamweaver provides a WYSIWYG (What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get). You’ll want to select a web host such as Go Daddy or Network Solutions to host your website.
Learn all about web hosts in the “Web Hosting” section.
Deploy the Website
Once you have built your website, make sure you test it thoroughly before releasing it to the public. Some things to look out for when testing your website include:
Spelling mistakes
Broken Links
Missing images
When your website has been tested, follow the instructions of your web host on how to deploy the website.
Congratulations on building your website!
For more information on how to improve your website, visit our Suggested Reading page.
How To Build Your Own Website
The most common question we hear from customers is,
“I want to build a web site, but how do I get started?”
Following is a step-by-step guide to getting online with a web site…
Define the Website
Before you set out to build your website, take some time to define a scope for your project. Here are some questions to get you started:
Design the Website
In the design phase, you begin to outline what the actual website will look like. There are several steps to take during the design phase.
Create a Site Map
A Site map is an outline of your website. Put together a draft site map for your website. For example, a basic 5-page website might include the following site map:
Make a Draft of Your Content
“Content” is any element used to make up your website… text (also called copy), photos, graphics, videos, forms.
What will you say on each of the web pages identified in your site map? What images or photos will you display on each page? Will you create forms for users to contact you or submit a brochure request?
Create a draft document that contains all the “content” for each page. Do you have photos available to use? Do you need to display a chart or graph to visually balance your text? Are there facts you need to gather or perform additional research?
As you create your content document, you may decide to revise your site map by adding or removing web pages. That’s fine. It’s all part of the process.
Decide on the Overall Look & Feel
Once you have a solid site map and good working draft of your content document, you can start to establish your visual design requirements.
Finalize the Site navigation
Using your site map as a guideline, start to determine what type of site navigation you will use. If you only have a few pages, you may want your navigation to be across the top of your site. If you have a lot of page or several levels of pages, you may want the site navigation to be along the left side of the page. If you want your site to be more creative or non-traditional, you can use a more creative layout for your navigation.
Sketch Out the Pages
Sketch out what you want your web pages to look like. Your pages should be consistent so site visitors can easily navigate your website.
Name your website
Decide what you want to call your website. The name of your website is called the Domain Name. Once you decide, you will have to check to see if the website name is available. You can search for availability using a site such as GoDaddy.com.
Enter a domain name below to check availability:
Once you have found a good domain name, register it. To learn more about domain names, visit our Domain Names section.
Develop the Website
Now that you have a solid design plan for you website, it’s time to start building your website. At this point, you should ask yourself if you want to build the site yourself or hire someone else to do it for you.
There are several options for building the website yourself.
If your website is fairly simple, you can use a Site Builder Tool that does not require any technical knowledge. Some choices for Website Builder tools include:
Network Solutions: Image Cafe Website Creator
Yahoo!: Site Solutions
GoDaddy: Website Tonight
All of these Site Builder tools come free with a hosting subscription. So you can choose your hosting provider based on which Site builder tool you like best. Read more detailed descriptions of each of these Site Builder Tools in the Easy Website Builder Tools section.
If you know (or want to learn) HTML, you can build a website using software such as Dreamweaver. Dreamweaver provides a WYSIWYG (What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get). You’ll want to select a web host such as Go Daddy or Network Solutions to host your website.
Learn all about web hosts in the “Web Hosting” section.
Deploy the Website
Once you have built your website, make sure you test it thoroughly before releasing it to the public. Some things to look out for when testing your website include:
When your website has been tested, follow the instructions of your web host on how to deploy the website.
Congratulations on building your website!
For more information on how to improve your website, visit our Suggested Reading page.