Tutorial 3: How To Create A Website

11 STEPS TO A SUCCESSFUL WEBSITE

In this tutorial, I have decided to show how to create a website. We know there are many different types of websites, but what is the process of getting that professional, or artistic, or educational page?  

1st: Plan Your Web Presence

Your first step is to plan, plan, plan! You need to decide what your mission is and who your customers will be. Then you need to pick a domain name. This takes some consideration. Dont overlook this step. You want it to be convenient for people to find you.  Are you going to use your business name, an abbreviation, .com, or .net? These are just some of the questions you need to ask yourself. A place to find "domain hosts" that could meet your needs and budget are: hostingreview.com, godaddy.com, microsoft office live, or 5hosts.com. Make a rough draft of how you want your page or pages to look like - text, images, and other graphic elements. Finally, you need to set a budget and decide who is going to do what.

2nd: Choose DIY Or Go With A Pro

Do you feel like you have the creative ability to create your own webpage? If so, then go for it! But if not there are plenty of Web Design Professionals out there willing to help you out. 

3rd: Select The Tools For Making Your Home On The Web

First you need to find a web hosting. This is necessary because a web host with accept your site, secure all your files, and make your page avaliable at all times. Some places you can start is: Web Hosting Review, Hosting Review, or ConsumerSearch. Then you need a FTP, File Transfer Protocol, so you can upload files to your website. You can download this for free at: FTP Navigator, FileZilla, or CoffeeCup Free FTP. If you have images on your page and dont hire a professional to take care of your photos and graphics then you will need to upload a digital photo and graphics editor. You can find free ones to download, but if you want to a more sophisticated, professional program you could use Adobe Photoshop.

4th: Make Key Design Decisions

     This is where all your hard work from step 1 comes into play. Knowing who your target customers are will help guide you through the design process. Also, knowing if you will have any special needs that you will be accomendating will be helpful. Some general design principles are: keep it clean, never use dark text on a dark background, make your text as concise and straightforward as possible, choose your colors carefully, and don't be afraid to browse other successful websites for ideas.

5th: Learn The Code

This is the step for learning the basic language of the HTML. This will help you understand your webpages framework and give you control of everything on your page.

6th: Identify The Best Software For Words And Images

Now you need to decide what design software and other tools you are going to use. The two most common types of design software are: WYSIWYS and HTML. There are some better softwares that use both of these. However, if you are sticking to a more ridged budget set in step 1 then are may want to look at: Microsoft Office Live Basics, CoffeeCup HTML Editor, or Web Studio.

7th: Take Control Over The Look, Feel, And Function

This is mainly if you have an e-commerce site, because storefront and shopping carts can limit your choices. If you run into this problem the best thing to do is a hire a pro to get the look and feel you desire, and have your website function as you want.

8th: Optimize Your Site For Search Engines

You may have the best products and services on the Web, but it doesn't mean a thing if potential customers can't find your site. This is best accomplished by getting your website noticed by ranking high in search engines like google, yahoo, and MSN. This will probably be the most challenging step and also the most rewarding. This is best accomplished by having your web page contain keywords and phrases that you think potential customers will search with.

9th: Put All The Parts Together

By now, you have spent tons of time planning and assembling everything together and now you will receive the benefits of seeing it all come together and watching your site do its stuff. However, there are a few more steps you need to do to make sure all your work wasnt in vain. First use a test site. Then get reviews on your site. Try testing it on different platforms and browers, and track bugs and fix any problems as soon as you can.

10th: Take You Website Live

You have worked hard - planning, designing, coding, testing, and re-testing. And now you are ready to publish your site to the web. To take your webpage to the next level there are a few recommendations. You can register your search engine with google, yahoo, or MSN. You can buy ad placements or do a pay-per-click. Also, you could start a blog. None of this is necessary, it is just extras if you have any budget let over and want to get your website out there even the faster.

11th: Constantly Tend To Your Website

The care and feeding of your new business is as important as any of the other steps. Reasons for tending to your webpage is to keep things secure, manage your existing content, add new content and links, to be constantly promoting your website, and to keep up with your ads.

Click on this link to watch a video about how to create a website with WebSite Tonight:
 http://www.securepaynet.net/shared/Video/show_me_popup.aspx?app_hdr=99&ci=15389&show_vid=wst&prog_id=zappyhost

Work Cited

http://www.2createawebsite.com/

http://www.startupnation.com/steps/66/3767/1/1/plan-web-presence.htm

http://www.startupnation.com/steps/66/3770/4/1/web-site-design.htm

http://www.securepaynet.net/shared/Video/show_me_popup.aspx?app_hdr=99&ci=15389&show_vid=wst&prog_id=zappyhost

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Website

http://www.quackit.com/create-a-website/

http://www.startupnation.com/steps/66/3769/3/1/web-creation-tools.htm

http://www.startupnation.com/steps/66/3772/5/1/learn-html-code.htm

http://www.startupnation.com/steps/66/3773/6/1/best-web-software-graphics-word.htm

http://www.thesitewizard.com/gettingstarted/startwebsite.shtml
http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&biw=909&bih=781&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=1&q=domain+name&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=

http://www.startupnation.com/steps/66/3774/7/1/shopping-cart-storefront-software.htm

http://www.startupnation.com/steps/66/3775/8/1/search-engine-optimization.htm

http://www.make-a-web-site.com/

http://www.startupnation.com/steps/66/3778/9/1/website-testing-quality-assurance.htm

http://www.startupnation.com/steps/66/3779/10/1/launch-website-live.htm

http://www.4creatingawebsite.com/

http://www.startupnation.com/steps/66/3780/11/1/website-maintenance.htm
http://4freephotos.com/Business-category-13.html?order=uploadedDESC

DATABASE PROJECT

Wow!! This was a very interesting project. It had its hang ups, but nothing that's wasn't overcomable. Basically, everything I learned was new! Which is of course why I am taking this class. I liked this project; however, and now I have expanded my skills into a new field of operation.


As I mentioned already, this was my first time working with Access; therefore, I feel that this entire project could be enhanced if I had a more thorough knowledge of the system. I would be able to navigate through the site more comfortablly. I wouldnt have to always second quess myself either. It would look a little better too if I knew how to embellish it some and make it look more professional. Another thing I wish to learn about access is how to work more with formulas and how to group and sort items.

Presentation - World Food Programme

I really enjoyed doing this project. It was a lot of work, but I learned alot about an organization I knew nothing about and that was the World Food Programme,WFP. I chose to do it on the WFP so I could learn more about them and also because they are the worlds largest humanitarian agency. I have done some traveling and you really can't understand the need until you see it first hand yourself and the impact it makes. There is nothing more heart rending than seeing a hungry child whos eyes are filled with sadness and hopelessness. We are so blessed to live in America, yet amongst all our blessings there are still 1 out of 8 children under the age of 12 who go to bed hungry every night in the US. I hope one day to possibly intern with the WFP to help make a difference. I would hate to have lived my life knowing I could have done something but didnt.

This was my first presentation ever, so I do feel that it could be improved all the way around. I was so nervous about my project that I changed it quit a few times before getting something I thought was good. I had everyone in my family view it too so they could give me their opinions. Viewing others presentations made me want to do even better on my own presentation. I liked critiquing others presentations, because it helped me see better of what to do and what not to do and it gave me ideas for future presentations.

I made my presentation in PowerPoint. I learned how to put a youtube video into my presentation and also how to edit it as well. I also learned how to publish my presentation to the web. I download like 5 new apps to my computer while doing this project, so I would be able to do what I needed to do.

One thing I was not able to do according to the Presentation Evaluation Rubric was 'say it', because I do not own a computer mic. So, I wanted to make sure that I followed all the other guidelines carefully. I made sure to not use clutter, so you could clearly understand my slides. I used photos to express my points and added music to set the mood and so there would be no dead space. I also asked questions to spark curiosity and have a link in my presentation where the viewer can go to be proactive with the cause I am presenting. I have an edited video in my presentation as well to help add definition and bring my point out even better.

This is the link to my presentation. I hope you enjoy it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdt-V_xSlSg