Google Sites
Wow, even Google is jumping on the Web site bandwagon! Google Sites is a new service that allows you to create your very own Web site. Plus, if you have your own domain, it lets you put your site on there too. Let’s check it out, shall we?!
To get started with Google Sites, head on over to http://sites.google.com. If you have a… Continue reading
FileZilla
Are you a Webmaster? If so, you’re going to love this FTP program! It’s one of the best I’ve ever come across. Let’s check it out, shall we?!
In case you’re not sure, FTP is a handy way to upload your files and Web pages onto your Web server (where you store all of your files on the Web). Webmasters (people who run Web sites) use an FTP to… Continue reading
Web Site Week – Day 5
Come along with me as I finish up Web Site Week with some final thoughts!
Yes, today is the last day of Web Site Week, but don’t worry, we are going to end it with a bang! Today, we’ll be discussing some more ways you can increase your site’s overall stickiness and also how to get more hits. To review, if your Web site… Continue reading
Web Site Week – Day 4
Here we go with day number four!
You’ve seen those animated banners floating around the Internet, haven’t you? You know, the ones that flash multiple images and tell you to click them. It seems that practically every Web site you look at has them. Here’s an example of one:
So, how would you like to make one for your Web site? They’re just… Continue reading
Web Site Week – Day 2
Welcome to day 2 of Web Site Week! Today, we’ll be discussing Web site stickiness and ways to get more hits on your site. If you didn’t understand a word of that last sentence, that’s okay! By the end of this week, you will be a Web site wizard!
First off, Web site stickiness means making your Web site so interesting… Continue reading
Web Site Week – Day 1
I have some great news! Throughout all of this week, I will be showing you tips on how you can make your own Web site as good as it can be. Now, many of you are probably thinking, “But I don’t have a Web site.” No worries! I am going to solve that problem for you today. You are going to learn how to… Continue reading
Web Site Week – Day 3
Web Site Week rolls on with day number three! Web site owners are always trying to find ways to make their site better for their visitors. They also want to know what their visitors think of their site, so most designers include an e-mail address as the main way to contact them. But, there are a couple reasons why you shouldn’t post your e-mail… Continue reading
Web Design Workshop: Recycle for Speed
While designing your website, you may have noticed that you are using the same graphic images over and over throughout the site. This doesn’t mean that you are being creatively redundant. It just means that the design throughout your site is consistent. That’s good news for viewers of your site.
Using the same graphic multiple times in your site will decrease the… Continue reading
Let’s go over some basic definitions.
I’m sure you’ve come across words and acronyms on the Internet whose meanings you don’t know. You may even see them every day but find your eyes glazing over with indifference to their definitions. If you plan on building your own website, then it would be helpful to know what some of this stuff means. For example, do you know what the underlined… Continue reading
Web Design Tip – This is the End…
…my only friend, the end. Sorry – I slipped into a Doors song there for a moment. The end I mean is a footer.
A footer is separate from the main body of information and is located at the bottom of a page. Footers are commonly seen in printed material and word processing documents. They are usually the same from… Continue reading
Rollover
A rollover, also called a mouseover, is an element on a web page that changes when you place your mouse over it. Rollovers are typically graphic or text elements that indicate a link or some other type of active area on a site.
I like rollovers on a site. I think they can be cool and fun and they let me know when part of the… Continue reading
In a Previous tip, I went on and on about the perils of having music play automatically when you design your website. Now, of course, I’m being inundated with questions about how to put music on your site. I should have seen that coming. Okay. I’ll tell you, as long as you promise to give the viewer the choice to listen to it or not.
First, let’s… Continue reading
Did you hear that? Why is this site taking so long to load? What the heck is going on?
If you have asked those questions, then most likely you have visited a website that includes music as a part of its design. The owner of the website probably loves that song and wants to share it with everyone. If you have a favorite song and want to have it play… Continue reading
A web site, no matter if it is two pages or 200, should have a consistent design throughout the site. Things like font selection, color scheme, and the use of graphics should all look like they are coming from the same place.
Consistent site design adds a coherency to the site, which lets the user know that yes, they are still on the same site. I’ve been to quite… Continue reading
Don’t have a web page editing program? Don’t know HTML? No sweat. Anyone can write an email—so why not use Outlook Express to design your web page.
Huh?
That’s right. If you can make a rich text email you can save it as a web page. It won’t be the fanciest site on the net, but at least you’ll have something up.
*Before we get started, you… Continue reading
Previously we talked about breaking your website design into smaller pieces so it can be reassembled into your web page building program. Let’s talk about backgrounds today.
My design had a simple white background, which is easy to work with. You just set the background color to white in your web page building program and that’s it. But what do you do if you have a colored background element… Continue reading
Web Design Workshop: Free Web Hosting
Yes, it’s out there. If you want to put up a personal page you don’t need to go through all the trouble of buying a domain name and paying for space. The only trade off is that your site will have banner ads, pop-ups, and/or ads on the side column (“free” is a relative term on the internet).
Some services allow you… Continue reading
Is the design for your main page ready? Good. Now let’s break it apart.
Really. Now that you’ve completed the design for the main page of your site in a graphic program it must be broken down into smaller pieces and reassembled in a web page building program. This is done so the page loads faster on the user’s end.
Remember the straw analogy from last week?… Continue reading
Here are a few things to think about when designing your site.
The design is where you can express the personality of your site. It’s your site and you can make it look however you want. Some people will try to tell you that your site has to look a certain way. For example, you may hear that the navigation bar has to be at the top of… Continue reading
So, you would like to design your own website, huh? Well good for you 
Whether it’s a personal site or a business site that you are creating you will need a Domain Name
A Domain Name is a unique name that identifies an Internet Site. Without getting into a bunch of technical jargon it’s basically just the address for your site. For example, the Domain Name for WorldStart is… Continue reading
Okay, so you bought your domain name. You’re happy, you’re excited, you’re…. wait, well now what do you do with it? Now that you have a domain name you need to put it some place. Let me tell you where 
Buying a domain name does not automatically put your web site out there on the Internet. You can’t build your website, leave it on your computer in your house… Continue reading
Before you jump right in to build your website, take a few moments to arrange it in an orderly, logical way. I don’t know about you, but I hate it when I go to a website and all the information, and I mean all of it, is on the main page.
I realize that people are excited about their information and they want it all up front. However putting… Continue reading
Let’s go over some basics—definitions that is.
I’m sure you’ve come across words and acronyms on the Internet that you don’t know the meaning to. You may even see them every day but find your eyes glazing over with indifference to their definitions. If you plan on building your own website then it would be helpful to know what some of this stuff means. For example, do you… Continue reading
What’s a Favicon, and can I get one?
This one goes out to all you webmasters out there! (Yes, you are a webmaster even if all you have is a one-page site that lists your favorite food, your pet’s name, and the greatest place you ever went on vacation!)
Have you ever bookmarked a site and then tried to find it again later in the sea of bookmarks that spills… Continue reading
