Basic Steps to Building and Launching a Website - Experience Not Required

Basic Steps to Building and Launching a Website - Experience Not Required

If you're reading this article, then the thought of building your own website has crossed your

mind. Many people never make the move because the thought of dealing with HTML code, JavaScript and who knows what else, is too intimidating. Well, we're here to tell you: fear not, because we did it. And if we can do it, you can do it!

Before building our website, www.TheDailymumbler.com, our only knowledge of HTML was how to spell it. Our interest was not building websites, but rather making original, humorous videos. However, we didn't want to rely solely on YouTube or similar sites for exposure. So we decided to take the plunge.

Our first step was to find a web-building program. Fortunately our search led us to a program called Web Page Maker, which requires absolutely no knowledge of HTML code. (Please note that we have no affiliation with Web Page Maker) We found the software to be reliable, easy to use, and they have very good customer service. This program automatically converts everything (text, images, etc.) to HTML code for you. As you're inserting your content, you're seeing it as it will appear on the internet.

The next step was to determine the actual layout of our content on the website. As mentioned above, our website consists of humorous videos; it is not an e-commerce site. Since our videos primarily are divided into two categories, general humor and news/politics, determining the layout for our site wasn't particularly difficult. We opted to use a format of three main pages. The first is a home page, where we introduce ourselves and provide a featured video from each category. The second page is dedicated exclusively to general humor videos, and likewise the third page features only news/political videos. One thing we learned is to make your site as navigation-friendly as possible. For example, even though we only have three main pages on the site, each video opens up on a separate page. Therefore, we inserted a navigation bar at the top of every page that allows visitors to return to any of the three main pages.

Next, we determined that we wanted advertising on our site. If this is something you're planning to do, you have to take that into consideration when laying out your content. Be sure to leave enough room on any page on which you plan to feature ads. When inserting advertisements, we would suggest resisting the temptation of putting as many ads on a page as you can fit. In our opinion, it makes a page look cluttered, and you run the risk of drowning out your content. While there are many advertising/affiliate programs available, we chose to use Google AdSense,

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adBrite and Amazon Associates. All three programs are free and very easy to use, but your site needs to be accepted before you can begin using the service. Advertising can help brighten up your site, and provides a more professional look.

Additionally, we would strongly suggest that you include a "Terms of Use/Privacy Policy" on your site. Terms of Use is especially important in establishing age appropriateness of individuals using the site, as well as letting people know the rules and regulations you expect them to abide by. A Privacy Policy is important, even if you are not using the site for e-commerce. (e.g. obtaining credit card information, etc.) People have a right to know how you intend to use any information they provide to you, including e-mail addresses. Providing this information will enhance your credibility. On our site, we provide a link to our Terms of Use/Privacy Policy on the bottom of every page. Also, make sure to provide a method for people to contact you if they should have any questions about your site or product. We also provide this at the bottom of every page.

Finally, you will need a web host provider so that your now beautifully designed website can actually be seen on the internet. There are many excellent web host providers available. After some fairly exhaustive research, we chose "inmotion hosting". (As with Web Page Maker, we have no affiliation with this company.) In choosing a web host provider, we suggest you try to find one that offers different levels of service. That way you'll avoid paying for more services than you initially need, and still leave room for expansion at some point in the future. Before choosing a web host provider, research each of them and check customer reviews, particularly with regard to the level of support they offer. In the beginning you will probably have a lot of questions and you want to make sure you don't have to wait days before you get an answer.

We hope this article helps to point you in the right direction. If you have any questions, please feel free to visit our site, http://www.thedailymumbler.com, and click on the "contact us" link. Best of luck with your website.

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