Creating Web Sites
Last modified 1/21/07
Create the pages for the site
There are several ways to create a web site including:
Web design company
There are many web design companies to choose from. Not all of them are
created equal, of course. Some have better graphics designers, some excel
at creating larger sites. If you need an e-commerce or any kind of database
driven site, look for someone who specializes in this kind of work. Other
specialties include designers who work with Shockwave, Real Audio or Video,
Flash and Java.
It's a good idea to sit down with several different possible designers
and discuss your ideas and some possible ways to organize and deliver
your content. Make sure to see other sites they have designed that are
similar to yours. Get bids and proposals from them and then choose the
one you feel is most capable of delivering your agreed upon vision within
the time and budget you have to work with.
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Independent contractor
There are a lot of independent web site contractors, developers or webmasters
looking for work these days. Many more are being trained and the competition
and complexity of developing web sites is increasing constantly. You may
already know someone who can work with you. You can contact
the webmaster of this site for a proposal.
It's a good idea to sit down with several different possible contractors
and discuss your ideas and some possible ways to organize and deliver
your content. Then choose the one you feel is most capable of delivering
your agreed upon vision within the time and budget you have to work with.
[Create the pages menu]
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Knowledgeable friends and relatives
Friends and relatives may be the least expensive choice for simple web
sites. If your site will be large or complex (including e-commerce) and
your friend or relative is not very experienced, it would be wiser to
look for more professional help. If the site is to be very simple, or
your friend/relative is very talented, then go ahead and consider using
them. Before committing yourself, you may also want to talk to some other
resources, to get their estimates of time and money to to do kind of site
you have in mind.
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Free web site generators
If you're planning a pretty simple site and don't care about a lot of
customization, you might look into one of the free services available.
Most of these insist on putting some kind of advertising on your web site
though. Also you won't be able to have your own domain name. On the plus
side, setting up and maintaining such a web site is pretty easy and fast.
Before committing yourself, shop around and explore as many choices as
possible.
Here are some of the inexpensive or free services you can check out:
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ISPs, Web Hosts and Malls
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and web hosting services both should
be able to create a web site for you. Their prices and creativity may
vary widely however. Once again, it would be a good idea to get several
bids and proposals from various vendors before deciding on one. Electronic
malls are collections of web sites hosted on a single server that are
promoted with a common directory. They usually sell you a package that
includes setting up your web site and maintaining it for a monthly fee.
Again, if your planning a simple site without a lot of customization,
this choice may be acceptable. Before committing yourself, shop around
and explore as many choices as possible.
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Building it yourself by hand
Creating a web site is really not that difficult if you're at all interested
in learning how. You can pick up a book on the subject or even get all
the information you need, right on the Internet. The only software you
really need is a text editor and a browser. You can start with a pretty
simple site and add to it to your heart's content. Of course you may want
to hire someone to help you with the writing or to create some graphics
for you, but you'll have the proud experience of creating something you
can share with the world.
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Building it yourself with tools
Another way to build a web site by yourself (possibly with the help of
writers and graphic artists) is to buy one of the many web site creation
tools (or HTML editors) that are on the market. Some of these can be found
on shareware
sites for nearly free. The best ones of course, will do lots more for
you, for lots more money. If you're going to build a very large site,
many sites or plan to go into the business of web development, then buying
one of these programs will make your work much easier.
Web site creation tools fall into two categories. WYSIWYG (What You See
Is What You Get) editors and HTML editors. WYSIWYG editors are much more
graphical. You don't really need to deal with HTML at all, although it's
better if you know enough HTML to make minor changes if necessary. HTML
editors let you take much more control of the HTML. Some site designers
prefer this because they feel WYSIWYG editors generate cumbersome HTML
that causes pages to load too slowly.
Here are some of the more popular programs you can check out:
HTML editors:
WYSIWYG editors:
[Create the pages menu]
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Links to Great Sites About Web Site Development
More HTML & Web Technology Resources
This page based on an article written by Garth Catterall-Heart in 2000 and last ©2007.
For more about Garth see PhotosByGarth.com and Productivity-Software.com which offers
Time, expense and inventory tracking applications and Rental property management software
for self-employed professionals. Your free trial for Mac and Windows includes customer support.
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