THE GOODiES >> WEBSiTE TiPS

Over the years, I've had a few individuals contact me through MSN or e-mail, asking my help and advice on how to make a webpage. In hopes of answering those questions, I have put together the following list of tips and suggestions. Hopefully this will help you out if this is your first webpage, and make the entire process less enraging. :)

01 Take the time and learn HTML.
This is first, and foremost. It's always nice to have a program do all of the work for you, but why take the easy way out? You can do much more with HTML, and it can be much more fun. There are hundreds of great HTML tutorial sites out there, with excellent tutorials that are well-written and easy to understand. I learned from the best, Lissa Explains It All. Take it slow, step-by-step, and don't rush yourself. Learning and experimenting is half the fun.

02 Make your own graphics.
Download or purchase a graphics program, such as Paint Shop Pro. Sit down one afternoon on the weekend or something, and learn the tips and tricks for tools and how to create certain effects and whatnot. Let your imagination run wild, and create something you're really proud of. There's nothing more hurtful and irritating for a webdesigner than finding out someone has stolen your work, so just don't do it. Stealing is wrong, and not to mention against the law. Avoid the drama, and do it yourself.

03 Have a nice design.
Make sure your layout and design are pleasing to the eye. Clashing colours, huge graphics that take hours to load, and things like that are never pleasing, and will drive visitors away. Also, if you have background music, make sure your visitors can turn it off.

04 Formulate a plan, and keep it "you."
Make sure you have an idea for your website, and know what you want to do with it. Don't just throw it up there, with a sloppy layout, no content and tons of coding errors. What kind of things do you want on your website? What kind of site will it be? I've always thought it a good idea to write all of your ideas down in a little notebook, and keep it handy. Add your own personal creative flare to what you do. If you have an idea, don't be afraid to use it. Develop it, see where it takes you. There's no limits to what you can do with site design.

05 Be original!
This is one of the most important things when it comes to site design. This site is made by you, what's the sense in having someone else's ideas make up your page? If you like certain colours, use them. If you think a certain type of music is better than another, say that. This is your project, and it belongs to no one else - who cares what they think?

06 Keep it interesting.
At the same time, make sure it's interesting, and pleasing to the eye. No one will come back to your site, if you only have one page of content that never changes, and you've had the same layout since before even you can't remember. It's okay to have something general, but use your imagination and make it unique to you. And update! I can't stress that enough. Change your content once and a while, add new things as they come to you, change it around and spice it up. If your website doesn't require a lot of content, like a blog site, change your layouts frequently and write about intriguing things.

07 Don't be a hit whore!
Try to avoid this at all costs. There are productive and efficient ways to get your site out there. Then there is being, what I call, a "hit whore." Being a hit whore is annoying and it just makes people want to kick you in the head.

Good: Joining button rotations, top site lists, fanlistings, cliques, and so on are really good ways to get people to your site. Signing guestbooks, tagboards and blogs with unique and friendly messages also works. None of that "Hey, nice site, visit mine!" stuff. That gets repetitive and annoying. Make sure you have something to say.
Bad: Spamming! Spamming forums, tagboards, guestbooks, other people's sites and so on is just going to annoy the webmaster and get you banned from the site.

08 Update.
In order to keep people coming to your site, and to grow as a designer, you have to update. Don't just let your site sit there and collect rubbish. Work hard, keep it current. It takes time, but you'll get better and your site will turn into something to be proud of. Have fun with it! Post new blogs, content and layouts on a regular basis, and you'll find that soon enough, you'll have yourself a regular batch of visitors, and some new friends.

09 Last but not least...
... Enjoy yourself!

If you have any questions or comments about this, or need help, it would be my pleasure to help you (or at least attempt to). Please don't be afraid to e-mail me.

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