Web Design And Development

Website Design For Dummies

Website Design for Dummies

I am going to take you step by step through the processes involved in building, publishing and hosting your own web site. You don't have to be a techno, a website design for dummies is quite easy to achieve.

It is much easier and less expensive to build , publish and get your websit design for dummies hosted than I am sure you would have thought. I even have for you a beaut website building program for you to use which is completely free.

But first lets answer a couple of questions, like what is a web site ? , and how is it found out there on the World Wide Web?

A graphic design website , can give details of a business entity, a colour catalogue of products, a website building design can belong to an organisation, or a design ideas website can be a personal site maybe talking about a hobby or a passion. A software design can consist of a single page, or a design development can be hundreds of pages all linked together. A website design for dummies can consist of text, pictures, graphics, music and other multi -media such a Flash™ and Shockwave™ movies. A website design for dummies can be static, or a design development website can be interactive.

I am a great believer in the KISS (keep it simple sweetie!) principle, and in this discussion will be looking at fairly basic, static web sites that may also have some pictures and some simple graphics. That's right, "website design for dummies ".

The Internet, or the World Wide Web has been in existence for less than twenty years, but already there are tens of millions of web sites in existence. So, where are these sites and how do we find them? In particular, how are we going to find yours after it is published? As a part of your website design for dummies , you will be clicking on links, and going back and forth from this document to other sites. So, if you are not already connected, please do so now. When people browse the World Wide Web, they do not connect to your computer to view your web site. Your website software design will be hosted by a powerful computer somewhere in the world that can serve your website design for dummies to a viewer anywhere in the world when it is requested.

Your website will have a unique address, called its Domain name. It may look something like this: www.ianmckenziesdomains.biz The full address is written as http://www.ianmckenziesdomains.biz. (The http stands for hypertext transfer protocol, but that part is often left out these days.) The first part of the domain name is of course an acronym for the World Wide Web. The part between the two dots (full stops), is the part that you choose yourself (provided it is available). And the third part, the suffix at the end could be com , net , info , name or even several others. For example: www.ianmckenziesdomains.com www.ianmckenziesdomains.net www.ianmckenzie.name

You have probably noticed that when you type web addresses into a word document, the computer automatically hyper-links them. If you choose to click on (or type in) any of the above links, you should go straight to the unique web site which has that particular address. But it is time to take you step by step through the process of building and publishing your own website design for dummies .

STEP 1

The first thing that you will need to do in your website design ideas , is to get a Domain Name . Think of what you might like in the middle part of the address, maybe write down a couple of alternatives, and then type your choice in the box on the website design home page www.ianmckenziesdomains.biz

There you will see a box into which you can type in what you want. The standard extension (suffix at the end of the name) is com , but there are several others that you can choose from. Then hit the search tab, and a search of the ICANN register of domain names will be completed in a few seconds. If no one else has purchased that name already, a new screen will advise you that the name is available for purchase. If the name is already taken, it will offer you other suggestions close to the name you have chosen. You now need to either purchase that domain name, or do another search. You are now on your way to having a website design for dummies . The best value is to register for a two year period, as this gives you even greater savings.

STEP 2

After purchasing your domain name, as a part of your website design for dummies project, you will then need to purchase a hosting account. Click on the Web Hosting tab under the header at the top of the page. It will take you to a new page which lists three plans, the Economy plan, the Deluxe Plan and the Premium Plan. As a website design for dummies , the Economy plan should more than meet all of your requirements for your first basic web site. I have web sites in excess of twenty pages that are hosted under the Economy plan. Choose whether you want to host the site for two years or one year. (monthly hosting is also available, but it will cost more per month than the one year and two year plans). You will also be given the option of Linux or Windows operating systems. I suggest you choose Windows for your first website design for dummies .

Having purchased from Ian McKenzie s Domains, for your website design for dummies , you would have set up an account. At any time you can go back to the web site and click on the My Account tab in the purple strip under the header and get your account information, such as domain names you have purchased, setting up email accounts and so on. With the knowledge of website design for dummies , you may be designing several sites, so it may be an idea to Bookmark the home page as one of your favourites, so you can go back to it often.

With a hosting account, you are also entitled to other freebies such as email account tied to your domain name, so make sure you go back to the site after building your own web site to follow -up on all of these things. After purchasing your domain name and your web site hosting plan, it can take up to 24 hours for it to be available for you to use, so now is the time to start on your web site building.

STEP 3

Building your Web Site A few years ago, to build and publish a web site, you needed a fairly good knowledge of a computer language called HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language). However, in recent years software designers have made things much easier by having software that uses WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get). There is still a place for HTML, but you are able to design beaut Web Sites without the requirement of having any knowledge of it. Yes, it really is a case now of website design for dummies . Software programs that have been used by commercial Web Site builders, include Dreamweaver™ and NetObjects Fusion ™ .

These programs really are great, but they cost a few hundred dollars each. That is a fair investment for someone who just wants to build one website design for dummies . But, if you do plan to design several, I would highly recommend NetObjects Fusion™. Until recently people who wanted a good web site design program without having to pay heaps, I would refer to the Coffee Cup software ™. They have a suite of 24 different programs all related to web design, and their web site claims that there have been over 21 million downloads of their software. The cheapie program which I have recommended till now (it still is good), was the Coffee Cup Visual Site Designer™. It cost only $49, which is far less than you would pay for NetObjects Fusion™ and Dreamweaver™.

I have come across some beaut software for building web sites, which is in the public domain area. That means, it is FREE. Yes that s right FREE. Now, not only is this software free, it is also very good. In fact I would prefer to use it to FrontPage™ and Coffee Cup™.

The software is called Nvu, and you can download from links at www.websitesonwww.com

It is completely Free Website building software for your website building design .

After downloading the software, if you need help, then there are heaps of web sites and forums that are linked to the software, where help can be obtained. So, it is time to download the software and start building your website design for dummies .

STEP 4

I know it can be dangerous to make assumptions. But, if you are reading this, then I assume you have successfully completed steps one, two and three, and you have successfully published your web site. If you have not, and you are having trouble with the software you have downloaded, then I suggest you click on the software help tab, and it will lead you to user groups and web sites where you can obtain extra help. If the problem you are experiencing is in connection with your Domain name or Hosting account purchase, then go back to the Ian McKenzie's Domains web site for help. There is a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) section that may have your answers. Alternatively, there is a 24/7 help desk that you can email with your enquiry. Telephoning is also an option for you.

Cheers

Ian McKenzie

Article Published: Monday 29th January 2007