Websites

The Mechanics of Making a Website

If you’ve ever done something as simple as type a letter in Microsoft Word and saved it to your computer’s hard drive, then you shouldn’t have problems setting up and designing a website.  It’s pretty much the same thing, with a few more steps.

A website is basically a collection of connected (hyperlinked) web pages stored on a fast computer (server) connected to the internet.  You do the editing on YOUR computer , then save the pages to your hard drive and server.  This is called uploading or “FTP-ing” your website pages to the server (FTP stands for file transfer protocol).  Don’t worry, FTP-ing your website simply involves clicking an arrow (after a one-time set-up); that’s it, you’re done.

Web design involves a programming language called HTML.  I won’t go into the details, but basically it involves using “tags” (code) that browser software installed on your computer (Internet Explorer and Firefox are the two major ones) recognize so that they can perform certain functions, and show the website on the computer screen as intended by the web designer.  For example, <b>text</b> are the HTML tags that can make text appear bold; i.e. text

You use an application called an HTML editor to do the web design.  The HTML editors these days are very user-friendly, (some are free!) allowing you to design on a WYSIWYG basis.  This stands for “what you see is what you get”.  So you use the editor to type text, insert images, tables, links, and so on.  The editor does the coding behind the scenes, and all you see is an identical representation of what you are creating.  Save, and upload to your server and your website is live.

Here’s what goes into making a website:

STEP 1. Come up with a good, available domain name (the letters you type into the browser to get to it) and buy it.  This shouldn’t cost more than $8.00 a year (yes, it’s not a one-time payment—that’s the way things are set up on the internet).

You need to go to a domain name registrar like GoDaddy.com and Network Solutions.  You’ll type into a search box the domain name you want.  Be warned that many are already taken.  If you choose one that is taken already, a warning sign will pop up, and you’ll need to suggest another name.

Side note:  You probably heard of the term website URL.  A URL is the actual address of the website; i.e.

Domain Name:      phoenix-spa.com
URL:                           http://www.phoenix-spa.com

Consider using your main keyword in your business’ domain name.   Don’t be too caught up in using your formal business name in your domain name.   In most cases, people will click a link to reach your website; i.e., they will not type in your website name in the search box or be forced to memorize it.

For example, a business owner of a spa in Phoenix, Arizona named  his business Spa Sensation.  But the owner could choose the domain:

phoenixspa.com or
spaphoenix.com

This is a very basic SEO technique.  Google will give your website points over your competitors for a search term (keyword) if your website URL is the actual keyword.  I’m not saying that doing this will put your website to the number 1 spot if someone types in “phoenix spa,” it just helps your aggregate score.  There are many other factors that go into ranking high in Google that I will get into later.

Side Note:  You might find your first choice domain name not available as a .com, but available as a .net, .info, or .biz.   I recommend you try to get a .com domain, so choose another name if this happens.

Once you find one that’s available, you will be give different options before you get to the payment page.  You’ll be asked if you wish to buy 1 or 3 years for the name, if you want to get hosting (most registrars offer hosting), if you want to get email accounts, web design applications, domain certificates, and so on.  It can be a bit annoying having to click through all those pages just to check out, but go on ahead so you can see what the process is like.

STEP 2. Find a good hosting service, and purchase a hosting plan.  This is where your website files will be physically stored.  I recommend 1&1 or Bluehost; they have excellent reliability, good customer service, and great pricing.  This should run you less than $100 a year.  Once you purchase a hosting plan, you will be emailed your username and login password to your account.  Save this info; you’ll need it to set up your website in your HTML editor (web design application).

Your webhost should also send you your nameserver info.

STEP 3.  In the domain registrar’s interface, transfer (also referred to as “point”) your domain name to your webhost’s domain name servers (DNS).  It should be under a tab named Name Servers.  A nameserver address looks something like this:  NS1.bluehost.com.  This is just telling the internet where to look when someone searches for your URL.

NOTE:  most webhosting services will have a domain search tool built in.  You can have your domain parked with your webhost or with an outside registrar like GoDaddy or Network Solutions.  So what this means is that you can eliminate STEP 1 and start the process with your web host.  I tend to prefer GoDaddy.  Either way is fine.

At this point, what you have done is basically made a “reservation” for your website, just like a reservation at a restaurant.  This reservation is a section of hard drive space on your web host server dedicated to storing your website files that are yet to be built.

STEP 4. Get an HTML editor and set up your site.  This application is where you physically create and edit your web pages and upload to your webhost server.  The most popular one is Dreamweaver CS3 (which I personally use and recommend).  There are also FREE HTML editors on the web (see Appendix A).

Set up your website folder in Dreamweaver.  You’ll first need to create a folder on your desktop (your Desktop is where I recommend you store your website files, for easy access and visibility) and name it something.  This is called your local root folder.  It will contain all the pages of your website (HTML pages).

Set up your site in Dreamweaver:  Click SiteNew Site, and fill out the fields in Local Info and Remote Info pages.  In the Local Info, under local root folder, browse to your local root folder you set up in the previous step.   In the Remote Info page enter the FTP log in information provided to you:  ftp address of your site, path to your root folder, and login and password).  This will allow ONE-CLICK updates (FTP-ing) to your site.  Fill out the rest of the fields, until you finish.

STEP 5.  Have a web designer construct the framework of your site:  theme (colors, layout), header, logo and other graphics; pages, navigation.  Obviously, you will have meetings to discuss layout and content, and go back and for with edits until you reach a final version.  Have the designer give you all the files (HTML pages) on a CD.  Copy these files to your local root folder on your desktop.  Refresh Dreamweaver, and you should now see all your website files.  Click SiteSynchronizeEntire Site. Dreamweaver will now upload your website files to your webhost, and your website will be live.

At this point, you can edit each page at will simply by double-clicking its filename in Dreamweaver local view, making the necessary changes, click Save, and click the Upload icon (Up Arrow).  Congratulations, you now know how to FTP and edit on the fly!

Of course, there will be a learning curve in all this, but the more you fiddle with your HTML editor and peruse through your webhost interface, the more comfortable you will be with the whole process.  And trust me, it really isn’t all that difficult; nor does it take up a lot of time.