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Article Title: 'Creating Your Own Website' Author Name: Dallas
Franklin Contact Email Address:
mailto:dallas@sellwritingonline.com Category: Website/Marketing
Word Count: 930 Copyright Date: ©2002 Dallas Franklin

'Creating Your Own Website' By: Dallas Franklin

A lot of thought and care needs to go into your Website before
you actually begin construction. First you must decide on a name
for it.

Choosing a Website Name

Don't take this task lightly. You want to have a name that
people will easily remember. Often people will use their names,
which is good if you're well known. But if you aren't famous
yet, chances are searchers aren't going to put your name in the
search bar. That is unless they're specifically looking for you.

Most traffic to your site will come via search engines. Think
like someone who's looking for something on the Internet. What
search words will they use? How can I incorporate this into my
Website name?

It's best to choose names that aren't hyphenated or underscored.
This way the search engine will pick up all the words you've
chosen, or any of them. When you break up the words it lessens
the chance of being located.

Registering your Website Name

Probably the most reliable and well known places to register
your Website Name is at:

http://www.register.com

You can get a two year registered Website Name for approximately
$35 per year. Register.com also has a search box so you can
enter any combinations of names you're looking at registering.
If it's been taken already, they'll let you know. There are
other places online where you can find it cheaper and you just
have to use your own good judgment if you choose one of these.
They're usually offered to anyone who buys their Web Hosting
program.

Choosing a Web Host

This can seem like a daunting chore! There are literally
thousands of Web Hosting sites available to you. Some are great,
some are bad and some are somewhere in between.

Be careful about joining a Web Host that locks you into a year's
lease. Many Web Hosting companies will lure you in by offering
you great savings when bought in increments like one year. If
you purchase their package then remember if you aren't satisfied
with their service you're stuck with them legally.

Luckily my last Web Host, who shall remain nameless, was on a
month-to-month basis. Since it was my first paid hosting I
didn't know if this was the norm or not in getting bad service
and frustrations galore. I began talking to others who were
paying for their hosting services and soon learned I was paying
a lot of money for little service.

Now I'm with a new Web Host and things couldn't be better! It's
even cheaper than the other Web Host! I get prompt replies to
any emails I query. And I know my Web site won't haven't
countless down time nor will I have to worry about anyone
accessing the many pages of my site. Here's one I recommend:

http://www.100megswebhosting.com

This alone will give you a source of relief. When you send
others to your site you want them to see it and possibly make a
purchase. If they aren't able to because of server troubles,
it's unlikely they'll return.

Creating Your Website

Surf other Web sites to give you an idea of what kind of display
you want to show. Once you know how it should look you have 3
choices.

1.Hire someone to do the site for you. You can go professional
if you have the funds, but you can also get the professional
look without paying out a lot of money. Many people know how to
do html coding so there might be someone you know that would do
it for you at a reasonable rate. Or you might be able to do some
other kind of agreement like advertising.

2.Buy any book that guides you with the basics of html. Check
out your local bookstore. There are many Web Design books out
there and looking through them in the store will help you decide
if you can handle it. It's not really that difficult to learn
and one becomes proficient in it from repetition. They're always
loaded with pictures that help guide you along.

3.Check out Web sites online that help you create different
html coding. From the basics to the more advanced, you'll find
many good articles and codes here: http://www.htmlgoodies.com If
you're looking for a specific table or display you can always
click 'View' on your browser toolbar and then 'Source' to see
the html coding used to get this effect. Many people do this
now.

When designing your Website, always beware of using too many
graphics especially if they're big files. You should decrease
the size if you have the software to do so, and also make sure
you give the dimensions in your html coding to further help with
the quick downloading of your page.

It's also best to have a side column with links to each of your
pages. This gives for easy navigation without visitors having to
constantly use the 'back' button. It's user friendly and shows a
well-organized and professional Web site.

Be shy about using various fonts and colors too. It's fine on a
personal Web site but on a professional one you want to keep
consistency and make it easy on the eyes. Stick to Times Roman
or Arial for best results.

Now you're ready to show the world what you have to offer. If
you follow these simple guidelines you're on the right path. And
when visitors are beating a path to your Web site, it's because
they love what you offer and, you're doing some excellent
marketing. That's a whole new article!

©2002 Dallas Franklin
******************
Dallas Franklin, Writer
and Creator of the writing site designed for Writers.
SellWritingOnline.com delivers while you discover how to sell
your writing online. Visit us at: http://sellwritingonline.com
Or subscribe to the Free SWO Newsletter delivered every Saturday
at: mailto:sellwritingonline-subscribe@topica.com Contact Dallas
at: mailto:dallas@sellwritingonline.com

******************

About the Author
Dallas Franklin, Writer and Creator of the writing site designed for Writers. SellWritingOnline.com delivers while you discover how to sell your writing online.