We all have something to say to this world. And if in the recent past only a select few had the opportunity to speak out publicly, now anyone can do it. It is enough to create your own website - and now you already have a platform in order to convey your thoughts to the listener.
What is a site?
The word "site" refers to a place on the Internet where electronic documents of various formats are stored, united by a single domain name or IP address. If you try to explain what a site is simpler, you can imagine the Internet as a library, and the site as a book in it, which is always stored on the same shelf, in a specific place.
This permanent shelf space allows bookstore employees to easily find the right copy and give it to the visitor.
The difference between a book and a website is that the entire content of the web page is electronic files, and their format is more diverse than the content of paper pages. For example, a book cannot contain video material or hyperlinks that can point us to another book on a topic. And in everything else, our comparison is quite correct. An example of a book on a shelf in a library fully explains what a web page on the Internet is.
Website creation. Where to start?
Now that we already imagine what a site is, we can begin work on its creation.
What do you need to do first? Understand with certainty what you want to say to the world. It will be a business card site or an official site, forum or social blog. In other words, set a specific goal. Ask yourself why you need this Internet resource, and do not limit yourself to an answer like “to make money”. It’s the same as if the question “What is the meaning of life?” answer: "And here!"
You can simply sit down at your desk or computer and make a list of problems that you would like to solve using your own web resource. Believe me, the most necessary sites on the Internet began that way.
For example, you are well versed in the topic of parenting. And you already have experience writing good comments on various social networks on this subject. And even it turns out to take great photos of their and neighboring children. This may be enough to create a site.
But if you do not set a specific goal, for example, to ensure that visitors to your web page order a photograph of your children with the subsequent design of a unique photo book with the kindest and funniest captions for each shot, then you will not be able to create the necessary site structure. And even more so you can’t earn with it.
So, we begin by defining the specific goal that we want to achieve with our web page.
Step two: determine the target audience
The target audience is the circle of people to whom the information from your site will be addressed. Agree that different people need different topics for discussion. And the teenage cynic is not at all interested in the same thing that worries a retired grandmother. People differ in age, gender, social status, spiritual needs, finally. Trying to provide information that would be equally interesting to everyone is a thankless task. Therefore, before creating your site, you need to clearly determine who will be destined for everything that you are going to post on it.
In our example, with a resource telling you that you are ready to delight the audience with beautiful photo books with magnificent funny texts, it is definitely determined that our site is intended for parents who are ready to make such a wonderful gift for themselves and their loved ones. This approach will help us determine the style and aesthetics of the page.
Step three: think through the design
This is obvious: the official website of a rock band should look a little different than the one that quiet retirees who don’t dwell on their grandchildren will read. The difference can be in many details: the color scheme of the main page, the style of text and illustrations, the number of pages and the level of hypertext links that provide navigation.
Of course, the most important thing is to think about the exact design of the main page to solve your super-task. After all, it is precisely on it that potential readers of your blog will go by the links posted by you on other Internet resources. And what is the site that you created, it should be clear to them at first sight. If the main (home) page is unable to state the theme and focus of your resource, the visitor will leave to look for others, since the Internet has it. Therefore, it makes sense to spend some time in order to think over the details of the "appearance" of your future offspring before creating your site.
Have you thought it through? Then the fourth step: decide who will make the site
Actually, there are exactly two answers to this simple question: either "someone" or "myself."
In the first case, you will have to stock up some money to pay the selected agency or individual for the development of the project site and its implementation. Plus for coins, we advise you to have a lot of patience in order to be able to tell the developer in detail about your plans, ideas and dreams, and put up with the fact that he will understand and realize half of what you describe a little differently. Be prepared for the fact that you will need money, patience and humility more than once.
The process of creating a site on your own looks somewhat different. No matter how lumpy this first pancake may turn out, anyway, like any first-born, it will be magnificent in your eyes.
And to bring it to perfection will require only time and desire. Well, a minimum of knowledge that is quickly acquired due to the abundance of information on the Internet. You can always find answers to pressing questions such as "what is a site" on the Web, how to prepare it correctly and what to submit with.
Suppose you decide to make a site yourself
The procedure may be as follows:
- Choose a domain name and hosting. Both together will denote the address of the site. That is, if we return to our example with a book in the library, then the host is the number of the shelf where the book is located, and the domain name is the name of the desired literary work. The name, that is, the domain name, must be speaking and memorable. And hosting, you can choose any of the available. If you are serious about business, then it is better to look for it, with the advice of experienced users. By the way, now there is the opportunity to find a very decent free hosting with good service.
- Then you need to decide on the CMS or, as they say on the Web, the "engine" of the site. CMS (Content Management System) is an information system or computer program for managing the content of your site. They are also free, and this is the best option for a beginner. In addition, to choose if you are taking the first steps in website building, you need an engine with a simple, intuitive interface and quite promoted. The latter is almost necessary, because you will definitely need "technical support" in the form of various forums and groups in social networks. Based on these conditions, for an inexperienced user, you can recommend CMS Joomla or WordPress.
- We select a site theme, or in other words a template. There are a great many of them, and between us, this choice is not easy. Look for a free option and try on the test subdomains of your web page. At the same time, take care of your offspring’s abilities to provide information easily and joyfully - what is called site usability. A fascinating process between us, since creating a website for free and launching it to the masses is creativity with a satisfying result.
And then we fill the site with content ...
In addition to creativity - to fill the site with content, you still have to do a lot of routine and somewhat uninteresting work. The point is that you need to make a lot of efforts to make those who are interested in finding out about your site on the Internet. Yes, having sorted out the internal capabilities of your engine, write articles, post them on your website, take photos and videos, make all so that even a person who accidentally peeks at you for a light remains for a long time and then returns. Are you looking for friends and like-minded people on the Web? Do you know how many labors it takes to find a true friend ?! So work hard.
... and we optimize it for search engines
The thing is that even the most wonderful articles written competently and in a beautiful style, search engine robots may not see. And you will have to learn to write in such a way as to get into the algorithm of their concepts about what is good and important in this life and what is not. This trick is to learn how to write in such a way that both people are interested and machines, and is called internal website optimization.
You simply will have to learn how to compose the semantic core of your resource, select and organically insert keywords and phrases into the text, by which your grateful readers and viewers will find you later.
And besides this, the site needs to be made to work
The first thing to do is to carry out now external optimization. That is, your resource will need to be registered in various search engines and directories in order to speed up its indexing and increase its place in search results. What does this mean? Speaking the slang of an advanced Internet user, the resource must be untwisted. That is, to conduct a good, well-planned advertising campaign. So that the site, the definition of its subject and the direction of content become known to the world.
The second is to gently scream about him in all the social networks and forums available to you. And only after that you can closely engage in the monetization of your work.
Lyric Postscript
If after reading this article you have lost the desire to make your site and you have the desire to search for faster income on the Internet, then remember the simple truth ...
To make a beautiful resource for someone is a creative, satisfying job. And a possible quick income is, to put it mildly, not serious. Fast money is almost always a scam that gives nothing to either the mind or the heart. So decide.