Web Sites Do-It-Yourself For Dummies

From Web Sites Do-It-Yourself For Dummies by Janine Warner

You can plan, design, build, and upload a Web site all by yourself. Of course, you wouldn’t turn down a bit of help here and there. Knowing what to plan for, how to include those attention-getting graphics, and where to browse for useful Web sites is all part of the package in Web Sites Do-It-Yourself For Dummies.

How to Prepare to Build a Web Site

If you're going to design a Web site using the do-it-yourself model, you need to lay some groundwork first before you jump into the Web site design process. This prep work is such an important part of creating a site that you can’t afford to gloss over it. The following steps summarize the process; keep them handy during the planning phase:

Define the goals and objectives of your site.
Create a content list.
Create a task list.
Set a timeline.
Establish a budget.
Determine how to handle maintenance and updates.
Assemble a team.

How to Choose Image Files for Your Web Site

No matter how great the content on your Web pages, it seems that images attract the most attention. The keys to optimizing images so they download quickly from your Web pages are

Cropping and resizing images to display well on a computer screen
Choosing the best format:
- GIF or PNG for line art and images with limited colors, like logos and cartoons
- JPEG for photos and other images with millions of colors

Photoshop Elements includes a Save for Web feature that makes it easy to optimize any image and save it in the best format for your site.

Link to Do-It-Yourself Web Site Templates and Tools

Want templates and other goodies that go with the step-by-step tasks of building a Web site? Browse on over to the Digital family page for Web Sites Do-It-Yourself For Dummies. Here, you'll find tutorials and reviews by the author of Creating Family Web Sites For Dummies, Web Sites Do-It-Yourself For Dummies, and the whole series of For Dummies books for the Adobe Dreamweaver Web design application.

Helpful Web Sites for Do-It-Yourself Web Designers

If you’re going it alone while building your Web site, you need all the help you can get. Fortunately, you can get quite a bit. The links in the following list take you to Web sites that you offer advice on site design, site graphics, and site add-ons. You can link to blogging sites, and podcast sites, and advertising sites. Some sites are just good sites to look at. Take what you can from each:

Web Site	What You'll Find There	Web Site	What You'll Find There
1&1	Web hosting	Movable Type	Web site design software
Adobe	Information about and links to Adobe's suite of media design tools	Network Solutions	Web hosting and online marketing
Audacity	A free audio editing tool	PayLoadz	An e-commerce service for selling digital downloads on your site
Blogger	A blogging host	PayPal	An e-commerce service for buying and selling from your Web site
Color Schemer Online	A tool to find just the right Web colors	Podcast Alley	A hub of great podcasts and podcasting help
Commission Junction	Online advertising and search engine marketing	The Podcast Network	A collection of current podcasts
Digital Family	Free Web design tutorials	Podcasting Tools	Resources for podcasting
Flash Arcade	Downloadable games designed with Flash	ProStores	Tools and help for opening a Web store
Flash Kit	Free Flash development tutorials	QuickTime	Applications for creating videos and streaming them on your Web site
gimp	A free, full-featured image editor	SWiSHzone	Flash tools and templates
Google AdSense	Make money by placing Google ads on your site	TypePad	A blogging host
IrfanView	A free image viewer for Windows	WordPress	A blogging host
LinkShare	An online marketing company	Yahoo! Merchant Solutions	Web hosting and e-commerce help