Questions and Answers

Your Questions and Answers May 29 2009

Creating a Website

Question- how to create a website?Send me the basic details so that i can make my own site with your help.

Answer-I cover the basic requirements in Starting a Website. You should also take a look at the course.

I will be doing a series of case studies were I will go through the process of creating a few example business sites from scratch and they will appear in the newsletter.

Keywords

Question-what are keywords?

Answer- Keywords are the words used by searchers at the search engines. If you think of how you go about finding something on the Internet what is the first step? For many they go to Google and type in a search query. The words that make up this query are the Keywords. e.g. if I was looking for a cement mixer I would go to google and type

Cement mixer
Petrol Cement mixer
Electric Cement mixer
100l Cement mixer
second hand Cement mixer
etc

All these are keywords. By knowing what keywords searchers are using you can tailor your PPC (pay per click) campaigns and optimise your web pages and website.

Domain Names

Question-why to register a domain name? and where to register a domain name?
Answer-If you want your own website or email address then you need to get a domain name. The domain name is your online identity.

You can of course use someone else's domain name. Google, Yahoo and MSN all provide free email services and you get to use their domain name as part of your email address. So you have an email address of :myemailaddress@gmail.com.

The problem is it isn't yours and if Google decide to charge for it in the future or they might just stop doing it all together.

If this sounds alarmist you may have heard of geocities. This was a free hosting service bought by Yahoo for $3.6bilion back in 1999 and used by millions to host personal and business sites all using the Geocities Domain name and guess what they are closing!

So all those sites are going to have to move and all of the links pointing to those sites will become worthless.

To Register a domain name I recommend you use your hosting provider and I use Blue Host and One and One-UK depending on my target audience.

Take a look at Website Hosting and Location

Wedding site

Question-how to make a wed site?
Answer- I did a little case study on this a while ago as part of WordPress series. You can find it here.

http://www.build-your-website.co.uk/wedding-site/index.htm

I didn't get much feedback so I never really finished it. So if you read it let me know what you think and what more you need to know using the contact form on the site. Or if you are reading this in the blog (website version) then you can use the comment box.

Don't forget past Questions and Answers are here

Cleaning Business Website

Question- I want to build a website for ,y cleaning business. Would a website help build up my business? Is it easy to set up?

Thank You,

Mindy

Answer- A properly built, promoted and maintained website will help any business. However just putting up a website and leaving it is all but worthless.

To do it properly requires that you spend time and effort on it. If you email me with more info I will do the site for you as a case study.

Website Building Course

Question-

Hi,

I am after a free course that shows me step by step how to make my own website.

Thank you

Answer-You will find one here http://www.build-your-website.co.uk/course/

Making Money

Question- how to built your own website for making money

Answer- There are two approaches to Making money from a site. The one is to concentrate your efforts on what makes money and build a site around it. For most people this is extremely difficult as they don't know what makes money online.

But say you did. Then say it was selling vitamins. Do you know anything about them are you interested in them can you handle the technology. You will need a store, shipping etc.

The other approach is to choose something you like/are interested in and build a site around that. For example say you are interested in Health. You can build a site around that and because you are interested in it you will find it much easier to work on and later when you have built up the content and got the visitors you start to monetize it.

This is the way I prefer to do it. You can find more here http://www.build-your-website.co.uk/money/ and here http://www.niche-website-guide.com/

Connect Video Camera

Question- how do you connect a video camra to the computer ?

Answer- I'm not an expert on this but I connect mine ( I use a flip) with a usb cable and transfer the video over that way.

Free Website

Question- I just want a website No-one has to pay it is just that me and my friend have a club at school and we wanted to make a website for it it will be a dream come true but i am not sure how to do it

Answer- Create one using the free WordPress hosting at www.wordpress.com. I have a 10 part short course on it here ( don't worry that my theme is wedding site its just an example) http://www.build-your-website.co.uk/wedding-site/index.htm

Web Languages

Question- how many languages are there for making websites?

Answer- There is really only one and it is HTML. This has been upgraded to XHTML but the differences are really trivial see HTML/XHTML.

However since writing that article the Web standard body has announced that there will be an HTML version 5 see HTML 5 After All.

The other languages like php and javascript are used in addition to HTML on some sites and are called scripting languages see starting Scripting for more details.

However if all you want to do is to restrict content to people who sign up then WordPress and Joomla offer that ability without buying a membership script.

Website Location

Question- where do u make a website?

Answer- Most websites start on your own PC. You create the site there and then copy it to the web server using an FTP client. This means that you don't need to get a web host until you have had chance to build your site (at least a few main pages).

The starting a website videos cover this issue.

However if you use Wordpress as your platform then the site is created direct on the web server and not on your PC and so you will need an host an domain name from the start.

Content Management System or DreamWeaver

Question-What is the best program to design a website?

Dreamweaver or Content Manager System?

Ideally the website will be stylish but simple and easily updateable

Answer- This is really good question but unfortunately there is no simple answer. However a few pointers-

DreamWeaver is for web professionals and is the choice of almost all professional designers. If you aren't a professional designer and don't want to be then I wouldn't use it.

How Long Does it Take To Build a Website

Question-How long does it take to build a website and host it.

Answer- It all depends on the Website. The pages for a simple 5 page site can be built half and hour but the home page will need Keyword research and the home page content optimised for the search engines.

This can take a day maybe 2 if there is doubt over the right keywords to target which happens in a competitive niche.

If you purchase hosting space you can usually access it and upload you pages immediately. However the site needs a domain name and that takes 2 days after registration to be active on the Internet. After which the site will be reachable across the Internet.

First Steps in making a Website

Question-what is first step on making web site?

Answer- For me It is deciding on the site's purpose. Once you know what you want the site to do you can then choose the best approach to building it.

Take a look a Website Design Considerations for more details on approaches.

Membership

Question- Can I make a website that includes other members signing up on my web site ?

Answer- Yes there are membership site scripts available like amember, member start pro and easy member pro. that are used for paid membership sites.

However if all you want to do is to restrict content to people who sign up then WordPress and Joomla offer that ability without buying a membership script.

wedsite

Question- Can I make a wedsite

Answer- Yes and has this is a very popular type of site I did a case study on it a little while ago and have a whole section devoted to it (not yet finished). You can find the details here.

Acknowledgements for Graphics

Question- How can I add Acknowledgements for Graphics

Answer- Many graphic sites offer the images for free but with conditions. Usually the condition is that you acknowledge the source.

Some require that you use a link e.g. photo from joe at joeblogssphotosite.com others just words like photo from joe at joeblogssphotosite.com .

You can see an example on this blog post http://ez-onlinemoney.com/blog/internet-marketing/top-5-most-profitable-internet-marketing-business-models/
look at the bottom for the name joel telling it is linked to flickr.

Can Blogging Software Being Used to Build a Website?

Question-

Can blogging software build a professional looking website, as opposed to a blog?
I read somewhere, I think it was on a forum, that a guy builds all his WEBSITES using Wordpress. He did not say he builds BLOGS, but actual websites.

He said it was much easier and cheaper than buying applications such as Dreamweaver etc, and then having to learn them. He also said that changing the content was much easier.

Answer:

Yes It is ideal for building small to medium size sites and it is covered in Building websites with Wordpress. If you are unsure as to the difference between a blog and a website then take a look at Blog vs Website or A Website and a Blog

Online Gallery

Question-

I wish to create an online gallery selling paintings. how is the vat worked out and to whom do i pay it ? and will my website require a monthly rental fee ?

Answer:

In the UK you don't need until you exceed £67,000 (see Vat Site). You will need to pay a hosting fee which varies according to host and the package you choose. As you are UK based then I would choose a UK host.

I use 1and1 UK and they have a staring package of £2 per month for the beginner Linux package. if you need to upgrade you can do so very easily at anytime.

Ecommerce Site

Question-

can i build an e-commerce site by myself and be able to update the site when required?

Answer:

Yes and most hosting packages include shopping cart software ( they may charge extra). However I have to confess I haven't built one myself.

As you are starting I would recommend you start using paypal and selling only a few items then move to a shopping cart at a later date. See selling online.

Domains and Webmasters

Question-

what are domains...how i can register a domain....and what is the role of webmaster in making a website?

Answer:

A domain is like an address or telephone number. If you don't have a telephone number no one can phone you and without an address no one can send you letters.

A domain is a subset of the internet addressing system which is used to uniquely identify computers on the internet.

A domain can be used to identify individual computers and for email addresses.

e.g

www.ibm.com identifies a computer called www in the ibm.com domain

and sales@ibm.com identifies a mailbox in the ibm.com domain.

You can register a domain name with a domain registrar and their are many companies that can do this. I recommend that you use a hosting provider to register your domain name. See Website Hosting and Domain Names and domain names for more details.

A webmaster is responsible normally for maintaining and monitoring the site. Doing jobs like adding web pages, scripts, forms and producing performance reports etc. Here is webmaster job desciption that shows more detail.

How Can I Change My Website?

You have an existing website that was created by someone else and you need to make changes? The person who created the website for you should have given you the login name and password to access the control panel for the website. Once you are logged into the control panel you can find out all you need to know about your site including the ftp access logon names and passwords.

What is Source Mode when Editing Web Pages?

Source mode or code as it is sometimes called gives you access to the HTML code. In normal edit mode of web page editors the HTML code is hidden and the text appears just like it does when typing into a word processor. As a example here are two screenshots of part of this page in normal edit mode and then in source mode.

Normal edit mode

Source or Code Mode

How Do I Connect My Website to The Internet?

This question crops up a lot in many different guises. The website is on the local PC and you want it displayed on the internet. I covered it last week in How do I get my Website seen by others

I Want a xxxx Template

Many people look for very specific templates like a horse template, dog template etc. Most template sites offer a good selection of very specific templates, but I find most of them too complex for beginners to use. I prefer to use a simple template and use simple images to set the theme, in particular the header image. See website templates for more details and a free basic template.

How to start a website like Facebook or bebo

I personally don't know how, and certainly don't have the resources for those type of sites. So if you are new to website making I don't think this type of site is the right one to start with.

How To make money from a Website

There are two methods I use and they are affiliate programs and Google Adsense. Of course they are not the only methods but they will get you started.

How do I get my Website Seen by Others

There are two aspects to this. This first is to publish your site on the web, and for this you need a domain name and host. After that your site will be visible on the web but no one will probably visit it until you start promoting it. Most people use search engines to find websites and hence it is crucial that you get your site listed in the search engines. However a search engine listing is not enough .. it is just the start. Your site needs to be found when people search and for that to happen you need to optimise your site for the search engines (SEO). The goal being to appear on the first page of the SERPs (Search Engine Results Page) for your selected search terms (keywords).

How much does a website Cost?

If you make the website yourself then the only things you will need to pay for are the domain name and the hosting service. Most Hosting providers provide 1 free domain name and so you usually don't have to pay for that. The hosting costs are typically $7 per month and domain names cost around $10 per year, so a website typically costs around $100 per year. See Website hosting for more details

Can I make A free Website

Yes you can but only recommend it for Personal/hobby sites. The two tools/providers I recommend you use are www.blogger.com and www.wordpress.com. I find WordPress better in that although it is a blogging platform it can be configured to look like a standard website. You can find out more about configuring WordPress as a website in the building websites with Wordpress section.

How Do I start?

As with any new skill having the right start is critical to success. Without knowing where to start its very easy to start totally in the wrong place and get completely discouraged. I cover the basic requirements in Starting a Website.

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