------- Clearing Up the Confusion E-Zine ------- Vol 1, Issue 17 Autumn has been a bit reluctant to arrive here in Michigan. The weather today was pleasant at least. For mid-Summer. In Texas. Well, maybe the cooler temperatures will be here tomorrow. In the meantime I thought we should delve a little further into some of the techniques we've talked about over the last few weeks. For this issue we'll be talking about your website. What do you need to have a basic site and what are some of your alternatives? ---------------------------------------------------------------- In This Issue... ---------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Article: Sitting on the Web 2. Blog Posts 3. Shameless Self-Promotion 4. The Fine Print ---------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Article: Sitting on the Web ---------------------------------------------------------------- One of the most basic means of creating a presence on the web is your website. At its simplest, a website is one or more pages of information which are located on a computer connected to the Internet. That information is represented in a special language called HTML. HTML is just a series of instructions which describe how the information is supposed to look when one of your visitors points their web browser (Firefox, Internet Explorer, etc) at your site. Of course, that's like saying a Van Gogh is a bunch of colored paints on a canvas. If you want to set up a website, you'll have to answer certain questions. The answers to those questions will give you some idea as to what you can expect of the final product and how much the site will likely cost to construct and maintain. 1. Is this a personal or business site? A personal site can get away with being a little more casual in its design and will often (but not always) have fewer pages of information than a business site. 2. How many pages of information do you want to present? Most professional designers will charge more for a greater number of individual pages. Oh, and just because you *can* fit everything on one page on the web, I wouldn't recommend it. It not only looks bad, but your designer will undoubtedly figure out your ploy. 3. Will this be a custom-built or template site? Obviously a custom-built site gives you a lot more control over how everything looks and works. Unfortunately, unless you are skilled at graphical layout, site organization, and the use of HTML editors such as Dreamweaver or FrontPage, creating a professional-looking custom-built site requires, well, a professional. Of course, template sites don't necessarily have to look cheap and amateurish. Check out sites such as Open Source Web Design (http://www.oswd.org/) for some ideas of what you can do with templates. One caution: Even the best template probably won't look as good as a site which has been specifically designed for the task. 4. Do you want to do it yourself or have it professionally designed? This is sort of the continuation of #3. If you are just setting up a simple, personal site without any fancy bells and whistles and you are technically skilled (or are at least willing to put in the time necessary to learn the technologies you need), then you should be able to manage taking the DIY route. If, on the other hand, the site requires a professional look or you just don't have the time or inclination to build a site, then you are far better off going with a reputable web designer. They will know what works in a site and the best way to organize the information so that your visitors will be able to locate what they need. 5. What special features will it require? Do you want to tie your blog into the site? Will it have so many pages that it needs a search facility? Will your visitors need to fill out a form for any reason and submit the information online? Basically all of these point to features which include more than just pictures and text. If you want or need such features, then you'll either need to possess web programming expertise yourself or be able to hire such an expert (either separately or through the offices of you web designer). 6. What special services will your site require? If you have any concerns regarding how your site ranks on the various search services, then you'll want to talk with a search engine optimization expert. Are you planning on using Google Adwords (the service which controls the "sponsored" search results at the top and side of your Google searches)? You'll probably want to talk to someone who is knowledgeable in search engine marketing. 7. Do you want to maintain the site or have someone do it for you? The work isn't done just because you've unveiled your new site. "New" becomes "obsolete" in very short order on the Web. Someone must be responsible for updating your site with new information on a regular basis. There are tools, such as content management systems like Drupal or Joomla, which can help you with this, but they usually require an expert to install and set up. What you need in the maintenance area is usually determined by how much (how many pages) and how often you are planning to change the site. If you decide to do it yourself, be sure to allot enough time to keep things up to date. If, however, you think you are unlikely to maintain it, you would probably be best advised to make use of a professional web designer for maintenance. I hope this short primer is enough to get you thinking about your current or next site and helps you decide how you want to approach this project. If you had to answer other questions in order to develop your site, I'd love to hear about them. Please drop me a line at gpeters@cyberdatasolns.com and tell me all about it. Copyright 2007, Greg Peters ---------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Blog Posts ---------------------------------------------------------------- Links to posts on the "Clearing Up the Confusion" Blog from the last year: Saturday, October 06, 2007 -- Looking at Things from All Sides http://clearing-confusion.blogspot.com/2007/10/looking-at-things-from-all-sides.html Friday, May 25, 2007 -- Building a Web Tool http://clearing-confusion.blogspot.com/2007/05/building-web-tool.html ---------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Shameless Self-Promotion ---------------------------------------------------------------- The "Clearing Up the Confusion" E-Zine is a production of Greg Peters, owner, chief cook, and bottlewasher of Cyber Data Solutions. CDS has been helping website designers develop better web presence for their clients for more than a decade. Visit us on the Web at www.cyberdatasolns.com to see how we can help your webmaster. ---------------------------------------------------------------- 4. The Fine Print ---------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: You can subscribe to the "Clearing Up The Confusion" E-zine at: http://www.cyberdatasolns.com/ezine Questions: If you have any questions, concerns or comments regarding the Clearing Up the Confusion E-zine, please email Greg Peters at: gpeters@cyberdatasolns.com This content may be forwarded in full, with copyright and contact information intact, without specific permission, when used only in a not for-profit format. If any other use is desired, permission in writing from Greg Peters is required, with notification to the original author. We never send the "Clearing Up the Confusion" E-zine uninvited, and we NEVER share, sell or rent our mailing list to anyone. Your privacy is safe with us.