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[B968]Building A Website Tutorial

by Michael Cottier, Mic

Okay, let's face it, with the abundance of software and information on the internet anybody can make a website. You can even pay for a web site designer to build and maintain one for you, or simply pay someone to create a template for you to use as a layout for your site. Either way, it is actually very simple to create a website, but to make a website that actually works and helps your business grow; now that's the trick.

I have seen websites so terrible looking that they made me want to puke, but yet I look at their traffic ranks and there they are, sitting pretty up in the top one percent of the web. How do they do it? That is where many online entrepreneurs and business owners fail; they think that all you need is a pretty website when in fact it is so much more. Building a good looking website that doesn’t make money or get traffic is like making a paper airplane. Sure it is an airplane, but it won't stay up in the air long without an engine. That is what traffic is to a website, the engine that makes it go.

Without traffic you can’t make money, without money you can’t grow your website, without growing your site you are setting yourself up to fail. The internet is fast paced, instantaneous, so that means you must have a website that looks good, stays updated and displays properly on everybody's computer. Like I said before, you can pay someone to do this but why not do it yourself? With the right tools you can make a successful website that gets visitors, looks great to the eyes and correctly displays on every type of computer that can browse the net. Let's talk about the tools that will help you do this, and how to use them correctly.

First and foremost is your site design tool or web development application. If you are extensive in HTML, CSS and designing sites, then programs like Dreamweaver is probably what you already use or are thinking about getting. I urge you not though, since websites that are simple make more money and perform better on the search engines. You may be thinking that you can make a simple site on Dreamweaver, and you are right, but the way I see it is why use such a complex program to make something so simple? The best website creation tool that will create a simple looking and easy to navigate site is Site Build It, from the company Site Sell.

The next most important tool you will need is a keyword research website or software. There are some websites out their that provide free keyword research but none actually give you all the information you need to properly determine if a keyword is profitable or just a waste of time. Site Build It comes with a built in keyword research tool that shows you the "Demand" and "Supply" of each keyword. Those two pieces of information are critical to making a successful website, and in my opinion, no other tool out there comes close to accurately calculating these numbers than Site Build It does.

The last thing that you need to know to succeed online is how to talk to your visitors. Basically that means what you should type, how to sound, and if you are selling something then you need to know how to properly pre-sell your visitors. Without this knowledge you won't make that many sales which means you will make less money.

I will end this article with some words of internet wisdom that's key to your success online. Be persistent and never stop improving your site, this is very important because if you keep growing your site everyday with new information, then people will keep coming back to it. This is so important because after a few years go by, your site will be getting more traffic then ever and it won't stop, even if you aren't trying to get visitors anymore! Now that is what I call a successful website.

Are you thinking of hosting your ownwebsite? Before taking the plunge do pause to do your homework. Aseasy as it sounds, having an website that generates business can onlybe possible if you have already looked into the following importantissues ?

Any venture must essentially have agoal or a purpose. Is the primary purpose of your website sales orinformation? Who is your target audience? Who will be the people thatwill visit your site? Who will be the majority of your visitors?

Once you arrive at answers to thesequestions you can then decide on the theme of your website. Yourchoice of theme can be made easier by jotting down a list of thingsyou are well versed in or are interested about. Next, some researchwill tell you if your theme is in high demand. Having done all thisyou need to either develop a product or service that fits the themeof your site or find a product or service to sell that fits withinthe theme of your site.

Next you need to decide on what kind ofmaterial your site could provide to meet your goals and attract yourtarget audience? You could offer some kind of freebie or a kind ofopt-in list for marketing purposes, an e-book or even a specialreport. The idea is to obtain the email addresses of your visitorswho will gradually become your ?warm market? of people that youcan market your offers to, from time to time.

To make your site operational you needa domain name. Your domain name must be registered in your personalname or your business name. To ensure that your site is optimallyviewed you need Search Engine Optimization for your site. A shoppingcart could increase the convenience of your viewers if you are anonline seller of goods and services and of course you would needemail configuration.

Once all that is done get down to asearch of hosting companies who will host your site. If you areserious about your business you should graduate to being a paid host.Many customers perceive free web space to be unprofessional and ifyou are bent on good business why tarnish your image in the firstplace?

Your page layout should beuser-friendly and incorporating a search form on each page can be auseful navigational tool for those visitors who know exactly whatthey want to find. A word of caution needs to be mentioned howeverabout the use of latest technologies. If you are using latesttechnologies on the first page of your site then you areautomatically excluding those users who cannot or will not upgradetheir systems.

If you warn them of plug-ins andspecial requirements early on you give them the option to decide ifit is worthwhile for them to download your site. As far as browserchoice is concerned it would be wise to check out the look of yoursite on Internet Explorer, Netscape or Mozilla Fire Fox. It would befoolish to assume that your users will switch to your preferredbrowser of choice. Moreover, if you design your website for a 1024 x768 screen resolution while your users have monitors with smallerscreen resolutions they will have to scroll to see your website inits entirety. Thus, the best option for you would be to check yoursite in as many screen resolutions that you can possibly have accessto. You could go a step further to do some research on more commonlyused screen sizes.

Having taken so much of troublewouldn't you like to promote your site? Go ahead, write freearticles for reprint on various websites, buy advertising on variouswebsites, trade links with other relevant websites and your site maysoon become the most talked about in Internet circles.

Finally, remember that the customer isking. So what is it that will keep them coming back to your site?Your site could soon have a motley fan following because you take thetrouble of listening to your customers and also go a step further tomake changes to your site based on their valuable suggestions.

Article Source : Early Child Care And Development

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Both Michael Cottier & Debdulal are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Michael Cottier has sinced written about articles on various topics from Home Businesses, Web Development and Toys. Site Build It is the all in one web site development package that allows anyone to make a great website that will be getting ready-to-buy visitors in no time. It comes with a step by step guide that will teach how to make a successful website, and you can. Michael Cottier's top article generates over 12100 views. to your Favourites.

Debdulal has sinced written about articles on various topics from Web Development, Site Promotion and Dental Practice. This informative article is written by Debdulal Dey. He is a content writer and regularly writes for . Debdulal's top article generates over 18100 views. to your Favourites.