Trying to build a website is a daunting task. Looking at other websites and seeing all the cool moving parts and fabulous artwork, it can be very intimidating for a beginner. But is must be known, building a website for dummies is actually not that difficult. Years of software innovation have focused in making the process simpler and simpler. It used to be that a web designer would need to be fluent in HTML and be able to work in it the entire time. This obviously made building a website for dummies a long and arduous project. Nowadays, however, it can be learned in a relatively short amount of time.
The first and most vital thing you must do is get an applicable software for web design. Older softwares were very involved, but today’s web design software is highly advanced and very visual. Most have what is called ‘What you see is what you get’ interface. This means that most functions can be made as simply as Microsoft Office applications. Many features can be implemented using simple drag and drop functions. Some more advanced features are even made easy through little ‘set-up wizards’ that will ask what you want to do in simple plain language. Such complex things as Facebook or Twitter live feeds can be implemented graphically. So what software should be used? That is largely up to the consumer, but some recommendations are WebPlus, WebEasy or Adobe’s design programs. These all allow for deep and complex web design, while still making building a website for dummies easy and quick.
The next thing to do when building a website for dummies is get a clear and defined idea. It is often helpful to do three things before beginning to build your website. The first is to play around with the software and learn what it can do. This means looking up videos on the basics. Try to make a few sample projects that will teach the basics. Bruce Lee once said “If you want to learn to swim jump into the water.” It is not enough to simply watch the program but to understand all of its functions.
Next go to other sites to get ideas. This means going to a wide variety of sites. Visit possible competitor sites, or sites that serve a similar purpose to yours. This means especially finding the most successful of these websites and seeing how well their site works. Also visit your own favorite sites, or sites you know have a good design. Figure out why you like these sites and their design. This will help you figure out what is convenient and makes content easy to find, and what is messy, over complicated and frustrating. And finally draw the site out on paper. Plan where things will go and where they will take you. Plan out many pages, especially ones that people will use frequently. Be sure to make the site memorable but keep in mind that functionality is the most important thing to a site’s success.
Finally it is time to actually start building a website for dummies. This means that all your ideas should start coming together. Any drawings you made should now be brought to life. Find out how to execute the ideas you have. Find feedback for yourself and even your competitors. If you can implement functions that your competitors do not you could start to receive traffic that they are losing from not implementing such functions into their own site. While learning from other sites is important also keep in mind that your site should be unique. This means implementing features that will keep traffic coming back. Do not rush the work and ensure that the site actually works the way you want. Have friends go through it with no extra knowledge and see if they can work it easily. This is essentially what should be considered when building a website for dummies.
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