Jumping Into the World Wide Web of Designing. Review on Building a Website

For a newbie, web-design and the whole package(HTML, JavaScript, PHP, CSS, et al) can be quite scary in a negative way. I personally didn't feel like that when I was introduced to HTML via an NIIT book of my mother, at the age of around 9 years. However, I know the feeling as I am trying to expand my knowledge to rising programming languages such as PHP and JavaScript.

Anyhow, with the correct environment, web-design can become your cup of tea.

The first decision you gotta make is if you want to get into REAL web-design(HTML) or if you want to be a pretender(WYSIWYG - What You See Is What You Get). Notice the definite bias against one side - I'm just overall against WYSIWYG because it doesn't allow you to learn anything about Web-Design unless you are really inquisitive and intelligent.

If you choose HTML(a good choice, my friend) the first thing you need to do is to find a good source to learn the language. While HTML can seem to be quite a complex language, believe me when I say it is the simplest programming language you're gonna get on your plate. If you really have it in you to become a web-designer, you will be drawn into the language instead of be pushed away from it.

Anyhow, as I have said earlier, I learnt HTML through an NIIT book. If you are planning to learn HTML through a book(I guess my best suggestion) it is important that you find a really basic book. My book was extremely simple to follow with theory being interspersed with actually performing the actions. There are a number of websites that offer HTML tutorials(in fact I too may soon make one:P) and you can find this by simply searching for'Learn HTML' in Yahoo! or any other search engine.

Once you've mastered the basics of HTML, you can go on to actually designing your website. I'll give a few important steps and useful tips to make sure that your website is both satisfactory to you and your audience.

Step 1

Make absolutely sure that you absolutely know absolutely what your goal is. Notice the stress on this step - it deserves this because the last thing you want is to make a half a website before wondering if it was really what you wanted to do. I don't mean making elaborate plans(I was never a planning person - I just jumped in!) but at least know in your head what you're gonna do. And also KNOW WHO YOUR AUDIENCE IS.

Step 2

Choose a color theme. This is the second thing you should choose because it is the one thing that is going to stand out to your audience. I personally don't suggest using dark backgrounds(unless it goes with the theme of your site) or tiled background images. In fact, I don't suggest using image backgrounds because it becomes difficult to read the text. If you must use an image background, make sure that it's faded and slightly opaque.

Step 3

Plan your layout. This is the third most important thing because you must make sure that your layout is eye-appealing and efficient. Plan out where your navigation bar will be, where your content will be displayed, where banners(if you plan to have them) will go.

Step 4

Content. Maybe this should be a little higher on the list since it is in fact what the visitors are hunting after. But the fact is that they can get content anywhere. You must make sure that your website provides the content in the best way. However, put great importance on content and ensure that your website doesn't have ANY spelling errors, dead links or other such drawbacks.

Now for the tips.

Tip 1: Stick to ONE color theme and ONE design. There's nothing I hate more than having to locate all objects on the page again because the design changed. Make sure all your pages are formatted in the same method.

Tip 2: Make sure important objects on your website are easily found(navigation bar, contact info, content location).

Tip 3: In HTML, make sure all your required tags are closed as it can lead you to save hours of debugging. I suggest using a color-coded HTML Editor.

Tip 4: Have interactive features such as a Guestbook, Poll, etc. Make sure they're presented well. If you are planning to become really advanced, you can build a community(like MouthShut - except I don't really no).

Tip 5: Take a personalized approach towards the visitors - make them feel at home.

Tip 6: Always take feedback from your visitors(whether it is positive or negative) and implement it on your website.

That's all I have to say for now. If you have any questions, simply mail me at: sohummisra@mumbaikids.net Also, if you wanna check out my websites, they're located here:

https://mumbaikids.net/

And here are my favorite programs/services when I make a website:

HTML Editor: CuteHTML(globalscape.com)

FTP Software: WS_FTP(ipswitch.com)

Image Editing: Fireworks MX/PhotoShop 7.0

Script Sources: HotScripts.com

Preferred Script Language: PHP

That's about all I have to say for now! This maybe a lot to take in one day. If you would like more info on HTML or Web-Design, email me at the aforementioned address and I'll be sure to keep you updated(if I ever make a web-design website).

~ the antipop~

https://mumbaikids.net/