Posts Tagged learning curve
What it Takes to Create a Website
Many people think that building a website consists of one skill when in fact, it consists of many skills. Though there are many website builders out there such as WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, and many more that can build you a great looking website in just a few clicks. However, if you like to stand out from the crowd then you need to invest the time it takes to learn some of the skills it takes to create a website.
1.) Take the time to learn a little PHP. If you are using the WordPress publishing platform then a little PHP knowledge will go along way and save you a lot of time when setting up your website. WordPress also has some great support forums that will have you coding PHP in no time.
2.) HTML is a must if you want to have any kind of control over your website. Fortunately, HTML is pretty easy to learn. Jut look for a real time HTML editor and get some practice in and you will learn it in no time.
3.) CSS is a great way to add some style to your website incredibly fast and easy. There are many great free tools online to help you learn CSS very fast. My favorite tool for learning CSS is an add-on for the Firefox browser called Firebug. With Firebug you can live edit any web page and watch what happens in real time.
4.) Graphic design is a very good skill to have. Nothing is more frustrating than not being able to create your own art work and get something to look how you want it to look. You don’t need to spend any money on some great graphic design software either, just download Gimp, it’s free and it’s a very effective tool. Though Gimp can have a slight learning curve to get the hang of it so I highly recommend watching some video tutorials on how to use it.
5.) Learn your control panel of your hosting provider. Often times people sign up for hosting and they have no idea where to start. It’s extremely important that you learn how to use your control panel at your web hosting provider so you are able to complete necessary tasks. Most web hosts have great tutorials on getting started with their control panel so be sure to watch as many of them as you can.
6.) Search engine optimization (SEO) is an often over looked aspect when creating a website. I highly recommend going offline to learn this one as there is just too much bad information on the Internet. I highly recommend Search Engine Optimization, 3rd Edition, by Peter Kent. It’s a great book and will teach you all you need to know about SEO.
The skills listed above are only a fraction of what is used on a complex website. However, taking the time to learn a little bit about each of the six skills I listed above will put you ahead of many of the websites out there today.
How to Create a Website
When building a website there can be a very large learning curve. In fact, the learning curve of building a website is large enough that many people simply give up. In this article I want to give the most honest, most effective, and best money saving way of building a website.
First, let’s start out by talking about just how many affiliates are pushing garbage down your throat. I was recently doing some keyword research and trying to figure out what keywords people are typing into Google to learn how to create a website. So, I found about four keyword phrases that people are using to search for this topic. I then performed a search on these keyword phrases to find that all of the websites in the top rankings in Google for these keywords are nothing but money hungry affiliates.
I would like to explain that some of the affiliates do have good intentions and are selling good products. However, many of them are selling garbage that will not benefit anyone. Why do I say this? Well, because of the keywords they are ranking for. Many of the products these affiliates are selling would be hard for even an advanced web designer to navigate and create a website with. Not only are they trying to sell you products that are nearly impossible to use, but they are selling them at ridiculous prices. The only people benefiting from these products are the people selling them.
That said, let’s move on to the positive side. There are honest people out there, and you can be honest and sell a product at the same time.
To create a website you will need hosting, no matter what anyone says, you need hosting from a reputable hosting company. It does not do you or your customers any good if your website is terribly slow and is no where to be found on a regular basis. A good hosting provider only costs about $85.00 per year. Not bad at all right!
You will also have to get a domain name. Many hosting companies offer a free domain name for life when you sign up for their hosting account. By getting the free domain name with your hosting account it will save you about $10.00 per year.
That’s really it, your grand total to own a website is about $85.00 a year when you choose a hosting provider that gives you a free domain name. Also, many of the top hosting companies like Bluehost, Hostmonster, and Justhost offer incredible website builders for free that can be installed in only one click. Take for example Bluehost, they have over 25 website builders you can install. Now, do you want to buy from the affiliate marketer that is offering the “Greatest website builder in the world” or do you want plenty of choices and your own chance to figure out what will work for your website plans.
As for exact instructions on how to create a website, I highly recommend watching video tutorials so that you can follow along.