Even if you decide to use Recipe 2 or 3 , I recommend you continue with this lesson and the rest of the tutorial to at least get an good idea of what an outside design firm does and what you should expect. You can skim through this lesson but please don't skip Lesson 5 that tells you what you must do or have done by your representative to get your site noticed. What good would it do you to have a gorgeous site that nobody knows about ?

Sometimes we all need a little push to get into the water. Learning a coding language (HTML) might seem a little scary to someone new, but after a completing a few simple tutorials and a few hours of practice using it, I am sure that anyone can soon have their first home page up and running. I'm telling you it's not that bad. If a dumb accountant like me can do it, so can You. The decision is all yours.

Let's review the different Types of Editors you can use to make webpages.

Web Page Software (Editor)
An editor is the software that allows you to create your webpages. Some are fancier than others and provide a lot of helpful features such as a tutorial on how to use the software, spell checkers, routines for creating tables-lists-menus, and ready made scripts that perform special tasks on your website. Some even have an FTP program built in that you can use to publish your site.

There are many good free as well as pay for web editors available. A word of caution. If you purchase (pay for) a web editor, especially a relatively expensive one, you need to realize that this is an additional cost of making your own site and that you could have used this money as part of the payment to have your website totally designed for you. The free editors are excellent so I recommend saving a few bucks and using them.

Simple Text Editors
You really don't even need a fancy editor to create your web pages if you learn some basic HTML. Believe it or not you probably already have a tool on your computer that provides you with the capability of making web pages. Windows provides Notepad as a utility. Another very good simple text editor is Note Tab Light.
These editors don't require much time at all to learn how to use.

"Real" HTML Editors
"Real Editors" like simple editors are editors where you need to know about the codes (HTML) and how to use them to make your pages look the way you want and contain the information and pictures you want displayed on your pages. You will have to invest some time in order to learn how to use the software. The basic difference between Simple Editors and "Real" HTML Editors is that the "Real" HTML Editors provide you with a bunch of fancy features that help you create your web pages. These editors require a little more of your time in order to learn how to use them.

WYSIWG Editors
WYSIWYG is an acronym for "what you see is what you get". This type of editor conceals the codes ( you don't need to know the codes (HTML) or how to use them) that are automatically generated that make the pages appear the way you want them to. You just concentrate on the page design and the text and images you want to display. A WYSIWYG editor does not always make it easy to make corrections.

Most hosting services providers also have web site wizards (WYSIWYG Editors) that help you create your site without knowing any HTML.

Even the simpler WYSIWYG editors will require you to invest some time in order to learn how to use the software.

Combo Editors
Combo Editors provide you with WYSIWYG capabilities and also allow you to enter your own HTML code. They try to provide you with the best of both worlds.

Of course you need to invest some time to learn how to use them.

Even though, YOU can create websites without learning about all the dirty details. I still recommend that you learn a little HTML. It's not that hard.

Just looking for a very basic and simple editor ? Get the free version of NoteTab the ultimate free Notepad replacement and a handy HTML editor.

Other good free editors:

EZ Pad     Arachnophilia     1st Page     Web Dwarf-WYSIWYG Easy HTML     AceHTML     Selida-WYSIWYG and HTML (Combo Editor)

All the free editors I've listed are good ediitors. It's nice to have bells and whistles with the editors, but too many are just as bad as not enough. Since learning how to use an editor requires time, I've attempted to list the editors in the order of ease of use. I recommend you check out these editors in the following order:

• EZ Pad
• Easy HTML
• 1st Page
• AceHTML
• Web Dwarf
• Arachnopholia
• Selida

I use Arachnophilia mainly because it was the first free editor I ran across and like a special chair I'm now comfortable with it.

Learn HTML

Let's use an analogy to begin our discussion of HTML. We'll use a device that many businesses have used- the good old dictaphone. This device is used to dictate letters and reports that a secretary turns into a nice looking finished product.

Not only do you dictate the textual part of your letter or report but you also dictate how you want the report or letter to look by using commands such as:

• New sentence
• New paragraph
• Make a table with five columns and six rows and put this information in the table
• Underline this word
• Make this in all capital letters
• Make this text bold
• Make this text bigger than normal

This is actually all you're doing when you create a webpage. HTML is the commands (codes) you use in order to display your text and pictures on your page how and where you want them.

Your path to learning a little HTML

I'm going to start you out with a very quick introduction to HTML and let you get your feet wet. This site also has a webpage wizard to also introduce you to what a WYSIWYG ("Wizard") editor does for you without you actually knowing any HTML.

Quick Overview of HTML HTML for the Conceptually Challenged Home Page Builder Home Page Builder Help

You now have your feet wet so let's wade a little deeper into the water. Don't worry I'm not going to drown you. I recommend you follow up with Joe Barta's Site He provides a great free beginning tutorial and sample lessons of his more advanced tutorials. If you find the tutorials and other information on his site useful you can gain full access to all the information contained on his site for a small one time membership fee. Joe's free beginning HTML tutorial PageTutor.

If you want to learn from the convenience of your own computer download his beginning tutorial and learn at your own pace Download Joe's Tutorial.

You should be up to your knees in the water if you've gotten this far. Different mentors (teachers) and authors all have their own unique methods and ways of presenting information. It's always a good idea to check out other sources of information to help you clear up any "muddy water" (areas you don't quite understand) that you may have waded into.

Having completed Joe's lessons, I recommend you continue with your HTML education by taking some of Web Monkey's excellent tutorials Web Monkey-Beginners

It's also nice to have a "cheat sheet" Bare Bones HTML Guide to help you to remember what the commands are and what they do.

I also recommend you download a very nice free e-book on how to create web pages written by a self taught webmaster ? Download Momp's Basic HTML and do a little studying at your own pace.

I used these sites to educate myself. I'm still no expert but they did help me attain the status of the old cartoon character Yogi Bear-smarter than the average bear.

By now I've gotten you deep enough into the water that you can decide if actually making your own web site (pages) is your cup of tea.

If it is ! You'll find additional links to ebooks and tutorials on my reference page that will benefit you if you decide to continue your education and create your own site.

Content, Content and More Content Now that we have the basic skills and knowledge we come to the most important task in building a website whether you do it yourself or have someone do it for you. What do we put on our pages. This is where your site ends up without good content !

In an earlier lesson we touched on some tasks that you need to do to get your information organized and get some ideas about what you want to include on your website.

• Check out what competitors and other sites in your line of business have and surf other sites to get ideas-bookmark and write down what features you like about the sites that you've visited.
• Determine what you want to do with your site and who you're trying to reach with a website (your audience).
• Decide whether you need just a nice basic site or a fancy site with an online catalogue with ordering and payment features.
• If you already have an established business gather up information about your business such as your company logo, sales brochures, flyers, company catalogues, newspaper-tv-radio ads, yellow page listing, key employees and customers.
• Decide what pictures (images) you'd like to have on your website such as a pictures of your products, staff, and office buildings or manufacturing facilities.

More Planning

I know that your anxious to jump right in and start cranking out your web pages but just like when you take a vacation it's nice to have a map to get to your destination in the most efficient manner. You must plan in order to build a website that has a professional appearance and that will be recognized by the Search Engines.

Planning the Look
From your review of other sites you may already have an idea of what you want your website to look like.

Get out you paper and pencil and go back to the sites that impressed you. Using the sites as a guide diagram the layout of the pages that you want for your website with notations as to where you want to place your text and pictures.

You want every page of your website to have a consistent appearance. Decide on what type of menu you want to use to navigate your site. Use the same menu at the same place on all your pages

Make notes of where you need to use tables. Make a list of key words that visitors searching for your site would use to find your site. Have a keyword list for each page.

Content

You are now ready to start adding the content to your pages. Pages should contain from 250 to 500 words. Headings should be used to introduce the main idea of a paragraph. Whatever the content of a webpage its appearance should be clean and easy to read. Use whitespace between short paragraphs. Avoid long paragraphs.

Place your keywords in your title, meta tags, main heading and sub headings, early in your first paragraph, throughout the page's body , in your closing paragraph, in your alt tags and in your hyperlinks.

Your Homepage
Your homer usually named index.html is the most important page of your website. Most of your visitors will enter your site at your home page. Don't expect your visitors to be patient with you. If they don't immediately see they'rea well laid out site with the information they want the're gone.

Build your home page to load fast. Avoid large images on your site whenever possible. Make the home page easy to read. Use short paragraphs, bulleted lists, and highlight key words (don't overdo).

Writing to Sell

If you're selling a product or service you need to tell your visitor what your service or product can do for them and why you're the outfit to get it from. Companies pay ad agencies big bucks to write their ads. Writing to sell a service or product is an art. Get a copy of what many call the "Bible" of online selling Make Your Site Sell (MYSS). Of course it's written by the Doc who I introduced you to in an earlier lesson.

A super site to learn what not to do is Web Pages That Suck.
According to the site's author Vincent Flanders:
The purpose of this web site is to help people design effective and aesthetically pleasing web pages. My methodology is somewhat different. I believe that if someone is exposed to bad web page design they'll be less likely to use these techniques in the pages they create. People often commit the same mistakes over and over and over and over -- you get the point. By pointing out these mistakes, and being told that they are mistakes, you can avoid them when you design your web pages.

An excellent book and article about web design that is worth your time:
Everything you need to know about Web design my father taught me in 1964.
The Yale Web Style Guide has been online and free for years.

Common Pages Included On A Website

• Home Page
• Products & Services
• Pricing Information
• About Our Company
• About Our Staff
• Company News
• References & Testimonials
• FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
• Contact Information

Don't just create pages for the sake of having more pages ! I've run across many nicely designed and content rich one page sites. Also, many surfers only view the sites main page (home).

Some Tools To Improve Your Site

Now that you've waded in the water a while and feel a little more comfortable, you need to fill up your website "tool box" with other tools that enhance and add user interaction to your site.

• Web Page Templates
  A template is a webpage that already contains all the special instructions (HTML codes) for displaying the page and contains instructions that tell you where to insert your text and images. It's a guide that allows you to create webpages without knowing about special codes (HTML).

  Resources for finding nice templates to use as guides and examples for developing your web pages are found on my reference page.

• Logos, Images, and Graphics
  Just like a good glass of wine sets off a good meal, good graphics add a little touch to a web site. I've had a difficult time finding nice clip art and graphics. Finding nice free clip art is even more of a challenge. You're probably better off paying a little for your art work.

  My reference page provides links to sites that will at least get you started in finding and getting some nice art work.

• Scripts
  Scripts are nothing more than small programs that perform specific tasks such as maintaining links to others, running a bulletin board or chat room, telling a friend about your site, or maintaining subscriptions to your news letter. You do not have to learn any programming to be able to use scripts on your site.

  They are the tools that provide methods for making your site interactive. Instead of your site just displaying information about your business and products visitors can even order and pay for your goods and services online.

  My reference page provides links to sites that provide free scripts that you can use to add "special" features to your site.

• Special capabilites shopping carts and credit cards

  A shopping cart is a script program that allows web site visitors to buy goods and services offered at a website. This allows site visitors to pick products that they want (put them in their cart) and wait to check out (pay for them) until they are done shopping at the site. Let's use an example we're all familiar with to clarify. We're all familiar with our local grocery store. We pick up a shopping cart and browse the aisles putting products in our cart. When were done we go to the checkout counter and pay for our groceries. In the old days we could only pay with cash or a personal check. Nowadays many allow us to pay with credit cards. Just like the grocery store, online shopping carts allow visitors to collect the items that they want to buy in their "shopping cart" and wait until they are done shopping to check-out. In addition to the shopping cart software you will also need the capability of processing credit cards or other online methods of payment. When you see the term E-commerce it is referring to web hosting packages that provide the tools necessary for you to sell products and allow your visitors to pay for the products online.

  You can use tools supplied by a hosting service provider if they provide this tool or you use an outside service that charges a small processing fee that will enable to you to setup a shopping cart and receive credit card payments for your goods or services.

  Whether you need these capabilities depends on whether you want to sell goods and services online or just advertise and provide good useful information about your business online.

  If you want to sell and receive payment online you definitely need this option.

  See my reference page for links to sites where you can obtain information and set up your shopping cart.

• Sticky Content
  Why will people visit your site ? The only reason is that you are providing something they want or need. Just like a retail business has to have location, location, location in order to be successful your site must have content,content, and more content. Bye the way, the content better be good or they won't be back.

  Sticky means that your visitors have a reason that they want to come back and continually visit your site. Some examples of some sticky content are news feeds , tips of the day, stock market quotes, business news, weather, tutorials, free ebooks, monthly specials, etc.

  Just like a retail store owner is glad to see a new face walk in, he's even happier when that new face becomes a familiar face. Why ? The more times that a customer is exposed to your products or services the better the chance you have that they will actually buy something. The same reasoning applies to your website. Very few people buy anything the first time that they visit your site. Remember on the internet since that can't see you or your bricks & mortar store loaded with all sorts of good stuff you need to gain their trust before they will buy.

  My reference page provides links to some sites where you can get some free "sticky" content for your site.

I know you've already been told about the Doc in an earlier lesson but the services he provides are so good he deserves an encore. For a toolbox loaded with all the needed tools You definitely need to check out Sitesell's Site Build It (SBI) -How will Site Build It (SBI) help me ? For the answer to this question, take the Quick Tour Slide Show. Still have doubts ? See what actual users have to say. Testimonials If you want to build your own site Sitesell is the place to be.

In A Nutshell
Yes, You can build your own website. It's not that hard once you get by the mystique. Your main consideration is how much time and effort you're willing to invest. Remember your time is a valuable commodity and is definitely not free.

If you're wanting or just needing a nice basic professional website and have some time available I recommend you go ahead and build your own site. For complex sites that need catalogues or shopping carts you're probably better off hiring a professional design firm.