Creating Websites

Even if you do not want to create your own Website you should consider the following: A lot of my
students come to my class disgruntled because they paid a lot of money for someone to create a
Website for them. The Web designer is gone and they cannot change the Website and no one
can find their site on the Web.

Best advice I can give anyone: You don't need to be a programmer to build a great Web site. Web
sites can be created through, for instance, Yahoo! Small Business, which uses a  fairly intuitive
program called Yahoo! Sitebuilder. You can also buy a domain and have an e-mail account.
Yahoo! Sitebuilder is downloaded onto your computer from the Internet. You then use the
program to create your Website and then publish to the Web with a click of the 'Publish' button.
You can easily place metatags and manage your site. There are many Web hosting sites like this.
If you pick one, make sure it is reputable. If you want to create a free Web site I recommend
Tripod. This is the program I teach in my Build and Maintain Your Own Website class. I tried at
least 12 free Web hosting software programs and believe this is one of the better programs
available. It not only allows you to create a fast and fairly decent Website, but allows you to insert
metatags and submit to search engines easily. If you are looking for advanced features, like a
database or query tools, I recommend you create your Website and then hire someone to do that
specific portion of the Website for you (or take a class and learn how yourself.)

You need to do the following to have a successful Website:
  • You maintain all passwords, write this into the contract if you hire someone to do this for you
  • Know what program was used to create your Web site and have a licensed copy of this
    program for yourself so that you can make changes later on or hire someone to make
    changes for you
  • Maintain a backup of all Web files and original documents. Run backups and put them on
    disks that you maintain every month or whenever your Web site gets a major update. Write
    this into the contract if you hire someone to do this for you
  • Know the Web address and company used to publish your site. Have phone numbers and
    contacts and passwords written down
  • Change/ update your Web site regularly. No one knows for sure how search engines rank
    Web sites but everyone assumes the following: the more you change your Web site the
    better ranking you may get
  • Make sure you put metatags (search words) into your Web pages. If someone is creating
    this for you make sure you see the list of search words they create and have them show
    you that they have put these metatags on your site. You should take an active interest in
    this. Having a Website is only half of having a Web presence. The other half is having
    people find you on the Internet
  • Submit your Website to search engines after the Web site is completely finished and
    metatags and title are in place
  • Finally, if you also hire someone to create a logo for you, make sure you get a high
    resolution copy of it. Write this into the contract. Have backup copies of this for print and
    Web. Print should be in TIFF format, 800dpi or higher. Web should be 72JPEG

Web rankings myth and the real unknown--no one knows exactly how a Website is ranked

Most experts will tell you the following:
  • Make sure you have thoughtful descriptive metatags placed inside your Web site and that
    your Web site has a title. Most user friendly Web site software programs tell you where to
    put this information. It's not a big hassle to do this. You just need to make sure you do it or
    that it is done for you. Hiring someone to do this? Have them show you on the Website
    where this is located. Don't take for granted that they put the metatags and title into your
    Website. See it for yourself. If you have a change in your business change those metatags
    to reflect what it is you do Metatags and be changed and should be changed.
  • Change/ update your Website regularly--it is believed Web sites can get better rankings if
    you do this.
  • Never put up 'Page Under Construction' for any reason at all, and certainly don't submit to
    search engines until your Website is completely finished.
  • Make sure to submit your Website to search engines. You don't have to pay big bucks for
    this, you just need to know how to do it. Paying a lot of money for a company to submit your
    Website to search engines on a regular basis may have its benefits but you can do this
    yourself and you don't have to pay big bucks for it.
  • If you pay someone to create a site for have them give you the list of search engines they
    submit to. If they can't do this, don't hire them.
  • Submit your site to directories. A lot of them are free. For instance if you are a
    photographer, you can submit to photography directories. It's another avenue for you to get
    business.
  • Have something to say--a bunch of pictures won't give you a good listing on search engines.
  • Finally, have a lot of links to other Websites. Search engines like that too and your ranking
    may go up.
Call us at (703) 360-8609 or e-mail micha@digitaltiff.com
Serving Northern Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C.
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