So you want to build a web site, eh?

I have a simple 4 step process to help you build a web site and get it published. I call it the PDTP or Plan, Develop, Test and Publish approach.

1. Plan your site:
Most web sites still have a number of predictable pages that people are familiar with. These are what one might call the standard pages:

a. Index often called the home page saved as index.html and required by most server file management systems. This is the lead page and contains basic information including a site navigation method. This page is critical to get your readers to go further into your site.
b. About The about page provides back ground information on you or your business. Don't forget people get bored easy, keep it short.
c. Contact Page You may use a separate page for contact information providing email, company pictures, phone numbers and logos.
d. Links Links may come in many flavors. These can be links to other pages, ordering forms, samples/photos and even other related sites.
e. Other I wouldn't really call a page other this is just a catch category for other pages you may want to have like, education, experience, resumes, etc.
Think about the content for each page and draw it out on paper or use a software product to map out the pages and layout your content. The first site is usually the hardest.

2. Develop your site:
To develop your site, create each page with content from your plan. You may be using a number of techniques ranging from simple HTML(HyperText MarkUp Language) pages to CSS,(Cascading Style Sheets) with or without embedded sound and video depending upon your level of knowledge and expertise.

3. Test your site:
With the right software you can test your pages for your site to see if they work together. At least view each page using multiple browsers. That is, do not rely on Internet Explorer alone. You can download free copies of Netscape, Opera, and FireFox to make sure that everyone can see your pages the way you intended them to display.

4. Publish your site:
Sounds easy enough, right? Well it can be. You need a place to host your site. You can find these host sites for free or low cost. Most of them offer you some form of FTP file transfer software to use. Free hosting usually requires that you advertise the host and some of their sponsors on your site. So it isn't really 100% free, but it is free enough. Host sites also offer other goodies. Some of them will allow you to build your site using their lay outs and you can upload your pages or use theirs. Be careful host sites must limit the space you use especially for free sites. If your free site takes off then you may want to consider a pay site with no advertising, more space and more features. Some host sites I think you may like to try are:
http://www.bravehost.com
http://www.tripod.com
http://www.web1000.com

Note: Many other host sites are available. You want to make sure the host site supports your needs. Not all hosts let you link to other sites and some do not support "Flash" files, video or sound files. All sites I have seen limit the space you can use. I look for host sites that will accommodate your web page requirements.

You are done. Now give your site address to your friends and let them give you some feed back. Once you are happy with the results then you will have to advertise your site. Site advertising is another topic for another day. Don't forget to update your site as needed.

Learn more about this author, David Stauch.
Click here to send author comments or questions.

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