Are you getting ready to start a new web project? Or are you planning to create new pages for your current website? If so this article is for you. Here are seven quick steps to help you get started on the right foot.
The first thing you will want to do if you are starting a new website is decide what you want to your site to do and then construct a blueprint.
OK. Is your blueprint ready! Great! Let’s get this show on the road.
STEP ONE - Create A Template For Your Website
The very first thing you want to do is establish the look and feel of your site so you can keep it consistent on all the webpages. Just imagine the headache of building 30 pages of content and then remembering something you should have included in your design or realizing that the look and feel just doesn’t fit
the theme of your site. Ouch!
So, save yourself that headache and look at a few websites that are similar to what you want to do. You could even visit websites that offer ready-made-templates for you to use.
STEP TWO - Outline The Items That Will Change On Each Page
Go through your webpage template and make note of the things that will change on each page. You will use this as your building checklist.
STEP THREE - Create Your Storyboard
Take your ideas from the previous step and create your storyboard in a text editor. Here are some ideas to get you started.
Filename: Write the name you intend to give this file ( e.g., my-first-page.html) The best thing you can do here is to give it the same name as the keyword you are targeting for this particular page.
Title: This is what will appear at the very top of your visitor’s browser. This should be between 60 to 80 characters long. Do not forget to weave your main keyword into the title at least once.
Keywords: These are the keywords that will appear in your meta-tag description. Type your main keyword first and then add in about four more similar keywords or phrases. Try to keep this under a hundred characters.
Description: Type a description of what this page is about in way that will grab a potential visitor’s attention. Keep this about 150 characters long. Do not forget to weave in your keyword here.
Body: This is where you will actually type the content for this particular page. Try to weave your keyword in naturally once every couple of paragraphs if possible. Add links to the web pages you want you visitors to see. Decide where your graphics will go as well as any ads you will place on your page to make money.
wrap-up: This is where you put your call to action for whatever you want your visitor to do...whether that be to click on your affiliate link...buy your product...or sign up for your e-zine. Do not forget to add a link back to your home page.
STEP FOUR - Create Your New Page
Now that you know what your page will look like and what is going to be on it…go ahead and open your favorite HTML editor. Open your template for this site as well as the document you just created in the previous step.
STEP FIVE - Copy And Paste
All you have to do now is simply copy the text you created in your storyboard and paste it into your webpage template. Once you are done and are satisfied with how it looks you are ready for…
STEP SIX – Save The File And…
STEP SEVEN – Upload The File to Your Host
Presto! You are well on your way to building yourself a successful website. Now all you have to do is market it, and get those visitors to come ‘clicking’ in by the droves.
Article by Onlyforwebmaster.com
Visit http://www.onlyforwebmaster.com/website-design/ for more website design articles, over 100 webmaster tips, and more!
If you have seen the Kevin Costner movie "Field of Dreams" you would think that having designed and built your website, all you have to do is to sit back and watch the visitors arrive in their droves. But of course, it's not that easy is it? However, if you follow this four-step plan you will begin to see those visitors arrive, if not in spectacular numbers:
1. Announcing your website's presence
With the majority of traffic being generated through the top search engines (Google, Yahoo, AOL, MNS etc.) the starting point is to let them know that your website exists. This is achieved by submitting a request through their "Add/Submit URL" facilities. You can do this individually or you could think about using software to submit a batch request to most of the search engines that now exist. It you look for "search engine submission software" you will find an abundance of free and paid-for services, but I would advise against parting with your hard-earned cash at this stage.
2. Achieving a high a search engine ranking
You will probably already understand the concept that when that the search engines deliver results from your key word entry, the websites are ranked according to both the relevance and popularity. So let's examine what is meant by these terms:
Relevance - you will read a lot about making sure your website contains material that intrinsically carries value. If for instance, your website is about tropical fish, then make sure it is packed with facts about the subject and don't be shy about it. Make sure your website content carries the key words that the tropical fish fraternity will search for. If not, you can be sure your website will be consigned to appear on page13,563 of the search results. You guessed it, no one will ever see your masterpiece!
Popularity - the principal way in which the Search Engines determine the level of a website's popularity is to take into consideration the number and quality of links from other websites. The ranking algorithms used by the Search Engines are closely guarded secrets, but his is widely recognized that popularity is determined as follows:
- by the absolute numbers of links; - they are not weighted according to the ranking or popularity of the website they are coming from; - whether the link itself is from a website in a related sector (i.e. an aquarium wholesaler linking to a tropical fish retailer).
3. Generating Direct Traffic
This is probably the most difficult and time-consuming strategy to generate visitors. So is it worth it? I would definitely recommend it if you are offering a niche product or service or you're trying to generate leads in your local market. You can do this in a variety of ways. For instance:
- by distributing 'fliers' - testing the market with highly targeted advertisements - taking every opportunity to include your website's address on e-mail, letter headed paper etc - by word of mouth
4. "Pay-Per-Click" advertising
More and more businesses are turning to sponsored links as a means of guaranteeing prominence in the Search Engines. Google's Adwords programme is by far the market leader in pay-per-click advertising and generates millions of dollars in revenue every day. However, unless you have particularly 'deep pockets', you should make sure you don't rely exclusively on pay-per-click traffic to your website and you should try to organically improve your visibility in the free search engine results as well.
About the Author
Nigel Robinson is a marketing manager with www.fetcher.co.uk the UK's rapidly growing products and services directory. |
