How to design your website

womanmouse The reason I recommend beginners choose a web host before designing their website pages is this: many web hosts now offer website builders and templates that are perfect for beginners with limited design and HTML skills. If you have access to them, go ahead and use them! Doing so will save you money up front. You can always pay for a more professional design after you get your website going.

When designing your website, you have many options:

Designing your own website using HTML skills you already have
Designing your own website using premade templates
Designing your own website using a site builder or HTML editor
Utilizing a content management system (example: WordPress, Joomla)
Hiring a web designer to create your website

Designing your own website using HTML skills you already have
Already know how to design a website? Excellent. You are one step ahead of the game and will save yourself huge amounts of time and money in the future.

If you do not having any knowledge of HTML, I recommend you gain some. Even if you opt to hire a web designer for your initial design, learning even basic HTML will save you money on maintenance fees in the future. Learning HTML does not have to be overwhelming. Many local community colleges and parks and recreation departments offer free and low-cost classes to get you started. In addition to taking classes, the internet is full of HTML self-help websites that will get you learning HTML fast.

My favorites include:

Design your own website using premade templates

This is a popular option for many beginners. Templates are usually affordable (sometimes free when provided by your web host) and templates are typically professional looking. Editing templates can be slightly complex however depending upon the design you choose. If you have access to an HTML editor, you will put it to good use (I recommend some good editors further down). When using a template from your web host, they will typically provide you with an online editor to manage the template and create pages. Even you decide to not use your web hosts site builder, I always encourage beginners to at least test it out. There is no better way to learn design than playing around with an editor. So give it a shot.

You can find templates online, just Google website templates, but my favorites are TemplateMonster (professional, but pricey) and Basic Website Templates (low-cost, CSS friendly templates).

Designing your own website using a site builder or HTML editor
If your web host does not offer templates or a site-builder, you can always use a third-party program to design and manage your website. Software pricing will vary, anywhere from free to hundreds of dollars. For beginners, I always recommend starting out with either a free, or low-cost program. I am not in the practice of promoting high end products that you may never get the feel for. So save your money. Once you get the hang of things, you can always upgrade to a “better” program if you want to.

I recommend giving either of these programs a test drive:

CoffeeCup HTML Editor (free version available)
Evrsoft 1st Page 2000

There are of course popular programs like Microsoft FrontPage and Dreamweaver, but these programs are very costly for beginners starting out. If you can find an older used version on ebay, in the newspaper, or on Craigslist, go for it. If money is no object, I would go for Dreamweaver as it creates cleaner HTML code. But don’t count out FrontPage, it’s much easier for beginners to use. Many of my design clients use it.

Utilizing a content management system
One of the easiest ways to get yourself online is to use a content management script like WordPress, Joomla or Drupal. These systems use templates and online admin areas where you just type and click to create pages. It cannot get any easier than this. Many web hosts now include these type of scripts right in your control panel.Simply click and they install the script for you. Just login and get started!

If you are creating a blog, my favorite system is WordPress but you can use Movable Type, TypePad, or Live Journal to name a few others. Even if you are NOT planning on running a blog, using WordPress is an easy way to create a regular website. Just use the “create pages” section to design your web pages.

Installing WordPress is super easy, even if your web host does not offer the service for you. Go to www.wordpress.org and click on the “Download” link. Once downloaded, you will need to unzip (or extract) the file and save it to your computer. Using Notepad or Wordpad, open the wp-conf.php file and edit the information about your web host and MySQL database. Using an FTP program, upload the script to your web hosting account. Now type in your URL into your browser (example: www.yourdomain.com/wp-admin/install.php) and follow the directions on the screen. And that’s it – your website is now ready to add content to. It’s very easy, but if you run into trouble, the script comes with more detailed instructions. I also have written some free tutorials on how to install WordPress here.

Hiring a web designer to create your website
If you find you absolutely cannot create your own website, or simply decide you don’t want to – hire a web designer to handle the design for you. Google web designer and thousands of results will appear. The BEST way to find a good web designer is to ask around for recommendations. You can also visit websites you like, usually a link to the web designer will be located near the bottom.

Not all web designers are created equal. Take a look at their portfolio to see what they are capable of. Ask for testimonials and/or references from previous clients. Carefully review their charges, including deposits, which may or may not be refundable should you become unhappy with your designers services. Find out how long the design process will take and when you can expect to have your website completed.

Regardless of which route you choose, the design process usually takes the longest.