Quick learn how to build a website
Websites are clearly no longer an alternative. The online community has grown so large that you simply cannot avoid the digital realm, no matter how hard you try. But how do you build a website? You know there’s code, but that’s about it.
So here it is, “Building a Newbie Site”:
Follow these steps and you’ll have a functional and attractive site at almost no cost to you.
Step 1:
Visit GoDaddy.com. Everything is quite simple. Just run a search for a domain you had your eye on. They will tell you if it is available or not. DO NOT choose an abstract domain name. Make sure the name you select tells people what you offer. In this sense, you will get more visitors who are there BECAUSE they know what they want.
Step 2:
Buy the Domain. This will cost you around $10. You will also need hosting and GoDaddy will provide it for an additional $60 a year. So now you have a website AND hosting and all you paid was $70 per year.
Step 3:
Download Filezilla. You can find it in any online search engine and it is ALWAYS free. This software allows you to upload and download files from your hosting server. It is by this method that you will add and update your files that essentially make your website look and act the way it does. Once open, near the top of that program, it will prompt you for information which will in turn allow it to connect to your host to view and modify your files:
Host: ftp://(your site).com
Username: GoDaddy Login Information
Password: GoDaddy login information
Port: 21
If for any reason the information above doesn’t work, just give GoDaddy a call and they’ll be happy to guide you. They are both knowledgeable and helpful in this regard.
So now you have a website. There’s nothing on it, but it’s yours anyway. The next step is to create some code. You will want to connect through Filezilla. If you’ve done it once, you can simply click “quick connect” each time you do it. It’s really very simple.
In the right hand corner, once connected to your hosting account, you will see a list of files and folders, along with a list of whatever is on YOUR computer (on the left). Just extract “index.html” from the right and drop it on the left. You are now copying it to your desktop.
Step 4:
Download a text editor. Notepad will work, but to get tips, line numbers, and useful information about your code, you’ll need Aptana or Dream Weaver. None of these are free that I know of. Another option is TextPad. This is free. It lacks some cool features, but it gets the job done and is actually a decent program. This can be downloaded by searching for “Text Pad” in any search engine (Google!).
You will now open “index.html” which is located on your desktop. Open this file with your chosen text editor.
Step 5: DELETE EVERYTHING.
Now you will write some code. Every website is MAINLY made up of html. This is the foundational terrain from which each site is built. You will need to write the following code EXACTLY as it appears below.
Just enter your description and keywords instead of the ones seen above. You’ll want to select terms that you think others might type in when searching for the services you provide. This can be a very simple step, but in truth, it can also be very complex. To get the most out of your keywords and description, you’ll want to do some research based on recent surveys and other information online. There are many keyword browsers that will do this for you, and they are usually free.
Another reason you’ll want to get your keywords and description right the first time is for SEO (search engine optimization). SEO will take into account each and every one of your online success. Basically, just because you have a website online does NOT mean that others will see it.
Thanks to SEO, Google can find and display your listing to people searching for the terms that apply to your site. There are MANY search engines online today, the most prominent being Yahoo, Bing, MSN, and Google. They are all important, but Google is the most used, which makes them the gatekeepers. The problem is that Google has an extremely detailed list of demands before your site is indexed (meaning that Google Spider Bots will crawl your site, allowing Google to know that you exist and therefore show your site to others).
If you don’t meet Google’s requirements, you may be unlisted, sandboxed, or even banned indefinitely. If things don’t work out the first time, there is very little you can do to get answers or even express your desire for a second chance.
It is through this ruthless policy that Google sifts out the slackers and lists only the sites that have shown the due respect that Google requests (Sort of). But enough of that. The bottom line is that SEO can be a simple undertaking, but you’ll want to read more on the subject to stay away from its bad side.
The code above is written like this so that once it gets thick and full of text, it’s easy to read and figure out later.
What you type inside the open and close “title” tags will be seen in the websites tab when it opens. Anything you type inside the opening and closing “body” tags will be considered the meat of your site, or the content.
You’ll find that you can’t just write ANYTHING on your “body” and make it look nice. Without additional code, your lines, font, color, and spacing will ALL be FOR NOT. The web simply doesn’t recognize your efforts unless you take the time to write code that explains what you want to happen.
But, for the sake of time, let’s go ahead and write the following inside its body tag:
This is a test.
Now your body should look like this:
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