Getting started in website building means determining what you want to do for websites first. You can work on programming, layout, graphics, or content. Many people work on more than one of those areas to be able to serve more of their customers’ needs. Once you have decided which of the parts of website building are most appealing to you, the time comes for you to make a clear assessment of your strengths and weaknesses.
What do You Know about Website Building?
Determine what you know about website building. Are you aware of how sites are put together? Can you read the code of a site and determine what makes the site look the way it does? Are popular website terms, such as “search engine optimization” and “social networking” popular to you? Figuring out what you know – and what you still need to learn – will get you started on the road to working in website design.
How Will You Hone Your Skills?
Once you know where you are lacking in knowledge, plot a way to get caught up in that area. In the easiest circumstances, taking a course may be the answer. Perhaps you want to be able to design Flash sites or you are interested in using editors to design sites. Purchasing a book or taking a weekend seminar may be the first step to getting started.
Most people will need to hone their skills by doing what they want to learn, however. Think of creative ways to begin learning the skills you need. Perhaps you want to design graphics for sites, but you have limited experience. Offer to design a logo for a friend’s website or begin playing with photo collages you can turn into examples to show clients.
If you are a writer but do not understand what Web 2.0 means for you, then research social networking. Sign up for accounts with the major social networking sites and begin to use them. Find a local business and offer to help them start a corporate blog, using the experience to learn about how blogging works.
When Will You Get Started?
Once you have a firm grasp on how you will fill in the gaps between what you know and what you need to know, begin working on learning. Contact companies who hire out contractors for web design and answer ads. There is no need to become an expert before you begin to find work. Be honest if you are just starting out and offer good deals to people in exchange for the chance to work on a site.
Unlike other industries, website building is still in its infancy. There are some formalized training programs, but many people working in all phases of web development got where they are through learning on their own. There are no barriers to entry in this field the way there are in others, and you can use that to your advantage. With hard work and a thirst for knowledge, you can make a go of building websites without the expense and time needed for a formal educational program.
Website building involves four main areas: programming, layout, graphics, and writing. Though people working in each area believe they are the most important, all four areas are necessary for a quality site that will bring visitors back. Though you can start a website building project from anywhere, starting with the content makes the most sense because the other areas rely on the type of content being included.
Content For Your Website
When you are considering a new website, first find out what you want to talk about on the site. Knowing not just the big topic but the types of articles or blog posts you will have on the site is important. You can begin by making a list using basic keyword research methods. Know what people are searching for related to the broader topic you want to cover and then begin to jot down some ideas for articles. You may have a chaotic grouping of article titles at first, and that is okay.
Take a day’s break from the article list. When you come back to it, begin to put the article titles into topical headings. Let’s say you wanted to design a site geared to interracial couples with children. As you begin to assign titles to topics, you may have “dealing with family,” “dealing with strangers,” “teaching cultural differences,” and other topics. Use this basic content organization to move to the layout of the site.
Layout For Your Website
The easiest way for a beginner in website building to work on site layout is to sketch it on a piece of paper. Draw out what you envision when you see the site you are planning. Don’t focus on how to make the site; instead consider only what you want the site to look like. Think through the layout and navigation. If visitors cannot find their way around your site, then they will not want to return. Be sure you consider how people will get from one topic to the next, back to the homepage, to your newsletter sign-up area, and through the whole site.
Graphics for Your Website
When you are working on website building, graphics are important to make the site look right. Once you know the layout, you can begin to see what you will need for graphics. You probably will need a header logo, but you also may need cute graphics, such as a “new” button for recently-added content, or buttons for a menu bar. Work on graphics using the layout menu as your guide.
Programming for Your Website
Now that you know what you want on the site, you can plan the programming. Some sites will work better as blog-style, which means you can find all types of blogging platforms that allow simple programming customization. Other website building projects will require heavier programming skills as you may want a customized navigation and design. Put together the content, layout, and graphics plans to help you get a sense of how to begin programming your site. Following this process in order will lead you to a logical layout that allows you to build your site from the ground up.
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