Building your first web site? Please read on . . .

We don't specialise in web design however, we do take on the occasional project, work permitting. If you are confused by all the options available these days and are not sure where to start, then please read on . . .

If you've just decided to 'take the plunge' and are looking to establish your first web site then it's very important you take a look at the whole picture.

What I mean by this is it's absolutely no good to you if you have the best looking site in the world, but nobody can find you!

Unless you have a very 'niche' product or service you are going to find that getting into the top 10 or 20 with Google, MSN, Yahoo etc. is very difficult, but not impossible. This is where SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) plays the most important part of your project. Choosing the right SEO company for your project is perhaps the single most important task you will face when getting your web site on the internet.

Good and bad SEO - what's the difference?
If you've received an email, or other marketing correspondence that promises to get your site to no. 1 with Google, Yahoo etc., be very, very wary! There are still numerous companies out there who use very questionable tactics to 'boost' your web site's ranking. I would suggest you steer well clear of these promises, as they can do you more harm than good in the long run. (Many of the companies who make these promises have ended up being banned by Google, along with the sites they were 'promoting').

Good SEO
Firstly, SEO is not cheap. It takes time to 'market' a site correctly. If you can find a company that can build your web site and also have a full understanding of SEO techniques then you stand a much better chance of good results. The reason being they can build your site in a search engine-friendly way right from the start. This can save costs later on.

What does SEO involve?
Many books have been written on the subject, and because the search engines like to keep everyone guessing, SEO is not an exact science. However, if things are done correctly, without trying to 'fool' the SE's (search engines), then good results can eventually be had.

Keywords
Basically, and I'm going to keep this short, your main keywords (the word or phrase typed into a search box in a search engine a potential customer would use to find your product/service) have to be thoroughly researched. This keyword is used in your content (and other key places on your page) to help the SE's figure out what the page is about.

Link Strategy
A reciprocal link is a link to another site, who also reciprocates by having a link back to you. The more incoming links (from sites in the same 'theme' as yours) the better. This helps to establish your site in the eyes of the SE's. There are many good programs for automating many of the tasks involved with this process. I personally use and highly recommend LinksManager for this task. You can find further details < here >.

I've merely scratched the SEO surface above. If this is something you want to pursue, then there are 100's of great resources online to help you find your feet. I would start by joining one of the many online forums where you will find everyone from experts to novices.

Content
Good quailty content is extremely important. Rule of thumb: design your pages with content that your web site visitors enjoy, and the search engines will be happy also. Sounds a bit twee I know but that advice does hold true. You see so many sites that have their main keywords stuffed into every orifice, that a lot of the time the content just does not make sense. Always design for the site visitor first and you can't go wrong.

Getting started with your first web site
A couple of typical scenarios may look like this:

(A) You don't have the time/inclination to do the work yourself
Get a good recommendation to a web site design company (drop me an email if you are struggling to find one).

They will help you choose a good domain name .co.uk, .com etc. (You can check the availability of domain names here: http://www.checkdomain.com/)
They can usually arrange to have your site hosted and maintained by them.
Important: make sure you explain fully what you expect from the site, i.e. if the main point of your site is to be found by prospective clients then make this absolutely clear. I would recommend you reserve a substantial part of your budget (unless you are going to do it yourself) for marketing of the site. Take your time here, this part of the project can make or break your online venture! Don't commit yourself unless you are absolutely sure the web design company know their stuff!

One company I can wholeheartedly recommend for your online marketing is:
Web on High who happen to be neighbours of ours. They have an extremely versatile and experienced team who work in a totally ethical way and understand fully, the importance of getting your site in front of as many potential clients as possible.

(B) You'd like to have a go yourself, but not sure where to start
If you have the time available then go for it. If nothing else, you will learn many of the techniques required to build your site, get it online and know how to effectively martket it. Note: I would suggest you do not have your site hosted on one of the many free services. These sites don't usually perform well on the search engines.

Template Sites
These are ready-made sites that you can load into Frontpage, Dreamweaver or whatever. They are fully customisable and an ideal way for someone without HTML knowlegde to build their first site. They are a great way to learn your way around site building, without all the hassle of worrying about the design aspects. There are tons to choose from, you could start by taking a look at some of the terrific TemplateMonster products < HERE >. All the hard work has been done. You simply download the files (which include a Photoshop .psd file, in case you wish to alter the graphics, fonts etc.), load the html files into your favourite html editor and insert your own content. Upload to your server and that's it, your website is ready for public viewing. There is a downside to this however. If the template you purchase has been bought many times previously, then it is feasible that you may come across the same template whilst browsing the web. TemplateMonster overcome this hurdle by offering you the opportunity to by the template 'exclusively', which means once you have purchased the template, it is immediately removed from the site, thereby minimising chances of stumbling across the same template online.

If you would like an alternative source for your templates, then it would be worth checking out Web Templates at: http://www.buytemplates.net who offer hundreds of website templates, for individuals, professionals and small business owners.

Now what???
Read, read, read! Find as many online resources as you can but beware when taking advice from so-called experts. After a while, you'll know what constitutes good advice, and bad.

Good luck!

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