Reflections on life. Collections of inspirational quotes. Rediscovering relationships and faith.
Posted in BUILDING WEBSITE IN TWO DAYS, INTERNET QUOTES, LIFE on Feb 14th, 2007 16 Comments »
Let’s break your own myth…you can build your own website like me without going to a computer school, listening to your professor’s blah lulling you to a deep sleep.
I broke my own myth, I’m a newbie like you and I still consider myself until now because I still want to learn new things. As I’ve said…it’s only a matter of will and action.
You have to will it and not be lazy into putting in real time what you want. It is like falling in love. Love is not only emotion, it is an act of will. Do you believe it?
You need passion when you want to build something, be it a career, a business, a relationship or like what we are talking about: a website.
Passion, passion, passion until you dream of html/css codes in your sleep and waking up the next day after a few hours of sleep thinking what you want to create in your website.
Scary? come on! Not at all, it’s fun!…ok let’s begin. I’m more motivated now because it’s Valentines day π Hearts day should remind you of that important person in your life now or before. Do you remember how you were starting to know him/her? How you go nuts figuring out your partner’s eccentricities? Yet, you continue on investing time and patience on this person. Why? It’s all because you will it!
Idem for website building…ok?
Now let’s roll up our sleeves…take a break from being busy with your deadlines and spend a time learning something new, trust me on this, it’s worth spending a little time now to save a lot in a few days.
We’ve talked about having basic computer skills, having or borrowing a personal pc, access to the internet.
Put it on paper, mobile phone or rocks (or at least on screen). Make it short and sweet, yet also as specific as you can.
Sense of purpose
Surprisingly, people start building sites without creating a clear idea of what they want their site to achieve. The first step is to always ask these basic questions:
What do you want the site to do for you?Β Your answer should be based on your own internal goals.Β Do you want to tickle your Tourette SyndromeΒ Β ? (ADD in short or attention deficit disorder)Β Do you want to promote your business or sell your products? Do you want to share information about your hobbies, collections, your personal life or your neighbor’s life? Do you want to criticize your government, Microsoft or attack a group? Set these goals early and specifically.
Sense of place
Plan your background, the colors for your site, your graphics. Now remember these basic pointers basing on my own experience:
1) keep yourΒ graphics files small. Cyberspace has the unique trait of being the first medium where you can actually bore your readers by being too exciting. There should be a balance between the graphic “wow” and the real-time “now.”
The more graphically intense a site, the longer it can take to download. The longer it takes, the higher the probability that the visitor will leave before it’s done.
This is true …I’m so impatient waiting for a page to download even for 10 seconds…I just leave and jump off to another site.
2) Make your design for easy reading. Don’t trade readability for style. Every time I see a background too strong for my eyes or I couldn’t read the context because of the background graphics, smoke goes out from my nose or ears! Treat your site like a showroom for cars, an art gallery or a hotel…where your visitor will be at ease moving from one room to another.
Β Start planning now.
PS
Β I mentioned on my first post Β about free hosting, here’s my addendum:
If you’re looking to create a website that will last, you should register your own domain name (yoursite.com), rather than using aΒ free host. Why?Β Here are the problems with free websites….
ToΒ be continued….
Quotes
Advances in computer technology and the Internet have changed the way America works, learns, and communicates.Β The Internet has become an integral part of America’s economic, political, and social life.Β ~Bill Clinton
One of the Internet’s strengths is its ability to help consumers find the right needle in a digital haystack of data.Β ~Jared Sandberg