You can save yourself a lot of money by
designing your own website. But, you need to do your research, and know
what you're getting into. Just because you have an eye for graphic
design doesn't mean that you have the patience or time to design your
own website, much less make it function properly.
START SMALL
You may not want to hear this, but it's really important to start small. Limit yourself to just one or two pages, at first, and make sure everything works. There are a couple of things you can do to get started that will help you learn your way around.
You may not want to hear this, but it's really important to start small. Limit yourself to just one or two pages, at first, and make sure everything works. There are a couple of things you can do to get started that will help you learn your way around.
1. BASIC TEXT: Stick
with basic text, at first. Learn how to do your basic entries onto the
website using your web editor, and make sure you validate everything you
do. Go back in a couple of days and edit a few things, to make sure you
have mastered the process.
2. BASIC IMAGES: Don't start with GIFS
or music heavy videos at the beginning. Just use a simple image. Move
it around on the page, or between pages, and get familiar with resizing
it and framing it. And, once you've done this, validate it so that it
won't freeze up someone's computer.
START GROWING
Once you have your basic one or two pages done, you can start to beef up your site a little bit. Web design doesn't happen all at once.
Once you have your basic one or two pages done, you can start to beef up your site a little bit. Web design doesn't happen all at once.
Most
web hosts have a variety of templates you can use to put your site
together. These are good for starters. AS you grow, build off of your
template, and add one thing at a time. For instance, if your home page
is pretty comprehensive, you may want to start adding navigation tabs.
Your
navigation tabs should be titled simply, with headings for things your
customers would be looking for. For example, besides a "Home" tab, you
should have a "Services" tab. When the visitor clicks on this tab, he
should be taken to a page that clearly outlines all of the services you
perform.
From there, as you grow your website, you can have each
of these services linked to another page on your website that goes into
great deal of detail about the service. For example, if you own a hair
salon, your services tab may list:
• Hair cuts
• Hair cuts and style
• Bridal hair
• Prom hair
• Extensions
• Perms
• Hair cuts and style
• Bridal hair
• Prom hair
• Extensions
• Perms
As you advance on your site, each of these entries
could be a link to another page with more detail. "Extensions" could go
into detail about clip-in, glue-in, and clamp-in extensions, and the
difference between human hair and synthetic extensions.
KEEP IT SIMPLE
However, remember to keep it simple. If you have all kinds of moving graphics on each page, and a lot of music, it will take forever for each page to load. Rather than being "dynamic" and "modern", your site will be slow and frustrating.
However, remember to keep it simple. If you have all kinds of moving graphics on each page, and a lot of music, it will take forever for each page to load. Rather than being "dynamic" and "modern", your site will be slow and frustrating.
Keep it simple, and as you become more familiar with the space available from your host, you can beef it up.
Seton Duddy uses his master web design skills in developing websites for clients at business web design firm.
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