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WEB BASICS 101
EVERYTHING HAS TO START SOMEPLACE
Planning Your Web Site
The reasons for starting a website can be many but always are quite simple and can be boiled down to a few key objectives. You have something to say, sell or show and you want people to find out about it. That's pretty much what the internet is about and how the web has become such a big part of our daily lives. We visit websites to get information on our bank account, the latest specials at the neighborhood grocery, schedules for upcoming local events, finding the best prices on parts or products, and checking to see "what the doctor REALLY was talking about" during our last visit.
Whether you plan to build your site on your own - or have it built by a professional designer - an important element to every successful site is "content" - making sure that there is something of interest for your site visitors. Having a good site navigation ("this link will get you to that page") pretty much goes hand-in-hand with content. Being "user-friendly" is always important. Planning your website ahead of time (whether it's a new site or rebuilding an existing one) is always worth the time, struggle and aggravation involved.
Keep in mind that most people have a low tolerance for pain when it comes to finding what they are looking for. In most cases, you have a few short seconds (not minutes) to assure your site visitor that you have something of interest on your site. If it takes too long to make that happen - they will go somewhere else. It can be a juggler's nightmare in the early stages of developing a site to establish exactly how to attract someone's attention to your site. Getting your visitor to where they want to be is the ultimate goal of every site owner. Getting them to where you want them to go... is usually your ulterior motive.
So, where does the work on a successful website really start?
In most cases, it starts with an idea. Whether you are a weekend flea market craftsperson, a small business owner or a reluctant (or enthusiastic) member of organization that has been assigned (or volunteered for) the task of getting something on the web - you've heard (or know) that having a website can be an advantage. It is relatively inexpensive (with prices ranging from free to a few hundred dollars) and the exposure for your craft, business, or organization is almost unlimited. "Getting on the net" just makes sense.
Getting started with your website should be simple. Your initial concerns should be basic:
: 1) Decide what your website is going to accomplish
: 2) Design a rough layout of the key pages of the site
: 3) Gather the materials (words, articles, photographs and graphics) you will include on the site.
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When I start work on a site concept I stay with the basics. I lay five pieces of regular (8-1/2" x 11") paper on a table and simply start working ideas on each of those pages. Each of these pieces of paper represents a key page of a website. Starting with the first sheet of paper - usually the home page of the site - include the name of your site, and some ideas about what you want the page to look like. Add some wording - an introduction or an explanation of what the site is about and contact information: address, phone, email. In the early stage of the game - keep it simple. If you're not sure about exact wording - simply draw a box as a placeholder with a note about what will be going into that area once you get back to it.
From there, simply take each of the remaining pages - label the top of each and start adding content, or your ideas for what will or should be on that particular page. Keep in mind the "pain threshold and tolerance" of your potential site visitors. Having pages that need to be endlessly scrolled down will get tedious for most people. If you have numerous articles or larger blocks of content, limit yourself to a brief description and have a link to the full article or story. This way, if someone wants to read a full article they know how to find it. If your site visitor is not interested in that particular article they won't be wasting time. If you have more "content" for a key page than fits on that particular page - simply add another page (or as many "sub-pages") as needed.
A general rule of thumb for any key page of a web site is to keep page "wording" to two paragraphs. Adding appropriate graphics or photos to a page will help keep (or get) a person's attention on a page. Again, simply draw a box (or placeholder) for any content (wording) or photos/graphics you may want to include later if they are not available at the time.
Using a rough layout to start your site offers the opportunity to get a vision of what it will eventually look like. Don't worry about the small things. Simply work your ideas out on paper. Ask friends, family, work colleagues or associates what they think of your website idea and initial layout concept. Keep an open mind. You will be surprised how often some of your best ideas may come from someone else.
James Slupatchuk
Owner/WebPublisher
NewMilfordWebDesign.com
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