Windows XP :: Guidelines for Creating a Successful Web Site ::
Getting Started with Web Publishing This article presents some basic information to help you get started with setting up your own Web site. You discover the basic steps for creating a Web site, what you should include on every Web site (and on every page in the site), how to effectively organize the pages in your site, and where to find space for your Web site. In addition, this article presents recommendations and guidelines for creating a successful Web site. Guidelines for Creating a Successful Web SiteWhen you’re planning the content, design, and layout of your Web site, keep the following guidelines in mind so that you create a Web site that people will want to visit over and over again: - Offer something useful on every page. Too many Web sites are filled with fluff pages that don’t have any useful content. Avoid creating pages that are just steps along the way to truly useful information. Instead, strive to include something useful on every Web site page. - Check the competition. Find out what other Web sites similar to yours have to offer. Don’t create a “me, too” Web site that offers nothing but information that is already available elsewhere. Instead, strive for unique information that people can find only on your Web site. - Make it look good. No matter how good the information at your Web site is, people will stay away if your site looks as if you spent no more than five minutes on design and layout. Yes, substance is more important than style. But an ugly Web site turns people away, whereas an attractive Web site draws people in. - Proof it carefully. If every third word in your Web site is misspelled, people will assume that the information on your Web site is as unreliable as your spelling. If your HTML editor has a spell-check feature, use it and proof your work carefully before you post it to the Web. In fact, you may want to consider having someone else proofread it for you; a fresh pair of eyes can catch things that you may have overlooked. - Provide links to other sites. Some of the best pages on the Internet are links to other Web sites that have information about a particular topic. In fact, many of the pages I have bookmarked for my own use are pages of links to topics as diverse as hobby electronics, softball, and backpacking. The time you spend creating a directory of links to other sites with information similar or complementary to your own will be well spent. - Keep it current. Internet users won’t frequent your site if it contains out-of-date information. Make sure that you frequently update your Web pages with current information. Obviously, some Web pages need to be changed more than others. For example, if you maintain a Web page that lists the team standings for a soccer league, you have to update the page after every game. On the other hand, a page that features medieval verse romances doesn’t need to be updated often. - Publicize it. Few people will stumble across your Web site by accident. If you want people to visit your Web site, you have to publicize it. Make sure that your site is listed in the major search engines, such as Yahoo! and Lycos. You can also promote your site by putting its address on all your advertisements, correspondence, business cards, e-mail, and so on. Basic Steps for Creating a Web SiteAlthough you don’t have to be obsessively methodical about creating a Web site, it’s a good idea to at least follow the three basic steps described in this section. Step 1: Planning your Web site Start by making a plan for your Web site. If all you want to do is create a simple, one-page “Here I Am” personal Web site, you don’t really need to make a plan. But for a more elaborate Web site, you should plan the content of the site before you start creating actual pages. One good way to plan a Web site is to sketch a simple diagram on paper showing the various pages that you want to create, with arrows showing the links between the pages. Alternatively, you can create an outline that represents your entire site. You can be as detailed or as vague as you want. Step 2: Creating your Web pages You can take several different approaches to creating the pages that will comprise your Web site. If the mere thought of “programming” gives you hives, you can use a simple Web page editor to create your Web pages. Both Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator come with basic Web page editors that enable you to create simple Web pages without any programming. You can also purchase inexpensive programs for creating complete Web sites. One of the best-known Web site development programs is Microsoft FrontPage 2003. Step 3: Publishing your Web pages After your Web pages are complete, it’s time to publish them on the Internet. First, you have to find a Web server that will host your Web pages. The section “Finding Space for Your Web Site,” later in this article, gives you ideas for finding a Web server. Next, you copy your Web pages to the Web server. Finally, you can publicize your Web site by cataloging it in the major search services. What to Include on Every Web Site Although every Web site is different, you can find certain common elements on most Web sites. The following sections describe the items you should consider including on your Web site. Home page Every Web site should include a home page that serves as an entry point into the site. The home page is the first page that most users see when they visit your site (unless you include a cover page, as described in the next section). As a result, devote considerable time and energy to making sure that your home page makes a good first impression. Place an attractive title at the top of the page. Remember that most users have to scroll down to see your entire home page. They see just the top of the page first, so you want to make sure that the title is immediately visible. After the title, include a site menu that enables users to access the content available on your Web site. You can create a simple text menu or a fancy graphics-based menu in which the user can click different parts of the image to go to different pages. However, if you use this type of menu, called an image map, be sure to provide a text menu as an alternative for users who don’t want to wait for the image map to download or who have turned off graphic downloads altogether. Avoid placing a huge amount of graphics on your home page. Your home page is the first page on your Web site most users see. If it takes more than 10 seconds for your page to load, users may lose patience and skip your page altogether. Site map If your site has a lot of pages, you may want to include a site map. A site map is a detailed menu that provides links to every page on the site. By using the site map, a user can bypass intermediate menus and go directly to the pages that interest him or her. Contact information Be sure that your site includes information about how to contact you or your company. You can easily include your e-mail address as a link right on the home page. When the user clicks this link, most Web browsers fire up the user’s e-mail program and stand ready to compose a message with your e-mail address already filled in the To: field. If you want to include complete contact information, such as your address and phone number, or if you want to list contact information for several individuals, you may want to place the contact information on a separate page that users can access from the home page. FAQ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) pages are among the most popular sources of information on the Internet. You can organize your own FAQ page on any topic you want. Just come up with a list of questions and provide the answers. Or solicit answers from readers of your page. Related links At some sites, the most popular page is the links page, which provides a list of links to related sites. As the compiler of your own links page, you can do something that search engines such as Yahoo! cannot: You can pick and choose the links you want to include, and you can provide your own commentary about the information contained on each site. What to Include on Every Page Although every Web page should contain unique and useful information, all Web pages must contain the following three elements. Title Place a title at the top of every page. The title should identify not just the specific contents of the page, but also the Web site itself. A specific title is important because some users may not enter your site through your home page. Instead, they may go directly to one of the content pages in your site. Navigation links All the pages of your Web site need a consistent set of navigation links. At the minimum, provide a link to your home page on every page in your site. In addition, you may want to include links to the next and previous pages if your pages have a logical sequential organization. Author and copyright information Every page should also include author credits and a copyright notice. Because users can enter your site by going directly to any page, placing the authorship and copyright notices on only the home page is not sufficient. Organizing the Content The following sections describe several popular ways to organize the information on your Web site. Sequential organization In sequential organization, you simply organize your pages so that they follow one after another, like the pages in a book. On each page, provide navigation links that enable the user to go to thenext page, go to the previous page, or return directly to the first page. On each page, provide a navigation link that returns the user to the menu. You can include more than one level of menu pages. However, don’t overdo the menus. Most users are frustrated by Web sites that have unnecessary menus, in which each menu has only two or three choices. When a menu has more than a dozen choices, however, consider splitting the menu into two or more separate menus. |
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