Build Your Site In 9 Steps
Article written by Boris Mordkovich of Echo Web

So, you are thinking of doing a site? Great! But do you want to know how to create a site where visitors will say WOW! Read On.

1. Think of a topic, idea.

What do you want to make your site about? When you do this, also think as a visitor and why would you come to your site? You have to offer something that people want and need. When you'll be clear about what you want to do, proceed to the next step.

2. You got an idea of your future site, right.

Is that enough for a site? The answer is NO. Now you have to think of a layout, colors, and content. Colors are very important, because if you'll mix the wrong ones, it might be hard for visitor to read your content, which is the heart of your site, and then he'll leave, because he knows that there are hundreds of sites like this on the web. It's recommended to draw your content on a sheet of paper or in an image file, before you begin your development process.

3. Find a host.

If you don't want to spend any money, there are lost of sites that will host your site for free. Although most of them place a banner or a pop up on your page, which sometimes might look unprofessional. After all, it's completely free. But if you run a business, you should get your own http://www.you.com domain. It costs only 70 dollars for two years, so it's not really that expensive, and it really worth it. To register visit Internic.

4. Start writing your first page.

You HAVE to know at least basics of HTML to create a quality site. You don't need to remember all the tags and formats but you've got to know what HTML is and how it works. Although there are hundreds WYSIWYG ( What You See Is What You Get) editors that will help you to easily create pages, you'll be able to create a better site with knowing the basic knowledge of HTML, as you use the convenience of an editor.

To learn the basics please visit our HTML tutorial section. Knowing basic HTML is the only way you'll truly be able to fix the errors in your site, and trust me you'll have plenty. Everybody does.

Always save your very 1st page as one of the following:
index.html
index.htm
default.html
default.htm

When saving your site files..... ONLY USE ONE EXTENSION, throughout your site files. You can use .html or .htm, but remember use the same extension with all of your pages to your site. Never mix extensions on the same site.

5. Take a look at your page.

Never forget the following factors: 1. Does it loads fast? 2. Does your site have an easy navigation? 3. Is you grammar and spelling is correct? 4. Do you have something that people need or find useful? These are few of the most important factors in each site. A lot of people forget about them, and their site becomes... a shame. Even though your page is one the web, it doesn't mean that you can spell wrong or provide poor content.

6. Redo your page!

90% of people after they look at their first draft find many mistakes. Redo your page and then look at it again. Follow the step 5, closely. It would also be very useful if you would show your page to some friends or family. They can notice something, that you didn't find. After you do it ask yourself: Do I like what I see?

7. Start creating all other pages.

Don't get confused with them, follow the principle of a tree. It's recommended that all of your pages should follow some basic pattern or format, so that they follow a basic structure and theme through out the entire web site. Continuity is key.

Always save your pages that follow, with their own unique page name. Each page after your index or default page must be named individually and include the very same file extension as your index or default page.

For example purposes here, we will use the following examples:

Page 1 -   index.html
Page 2 -   silly page.html
Page 3 -   photos.html
Page 4 -   happiness.html

8. Take a look at your site.

Repeat step 5. Looks good? Your happy with it? Great. Now, upload it to your host. Now it's the time for you to start promoting your site. Promote, promote, promote. Otherwise, how are people going to be able to find it? You can't just post in on the world wide web and expect the masses to come to your site. There's a lot of promoting leg work that must take place, as well.

9. You finished with all 8 steps.

Now you are waiting for visitors to come. Does it means that you are done with the web site? That you can forget about it? Once again, NO. The web site is a cycle. It's not a newspaper which you publish once and then forget it. People will start coming to your site for a while after you have promoted it, but the point is to keep them coming back. How to do that? Update your site at least once in two weeks and always have something useful and interesting on your site.