In an earlier post I had given website building as a profitable method.
But how does one proceed to build a website? This article outlines a
strategy for the novice.
1. Decide the type of website.
Websites are basically of two types. Content oriented and service
oriented. Content oriented websites generally provide useful
information, like a website on Kalidasa; whereas service oriented
websites give you services like selling a product or service. The
design of a content oriented website requires less programming
but more of data collection and updating. Service oriented sites
need programming and database skills. Depending upon your time,
skill level and financial power you must decide which type to
select and what content or service to offer. This itself is a
process and may require a feasibility study. (I will discuss some
of the possibilities in a later post.)
2. Design your site structure.
Prior knowledge about the structure and appearance of your site is
necessary in order to effectively organize your site . The navigation
structure of your site must be planned in advance by drawing on a paper
,or using some design tool. This will help you to organize the collected
data effectively. The site must not have too many levels to make
navigation difficult . Also the content have to be spread in such a way
that the home page is not noo much cluttered.( more about this later)
3. Collect the necessary data.
Once the decision about the content and nature of your site has been made,
the next step is to collect the details required .This may take weeks or
even months depending upon the type of site. This is the most interesting
as well as daunting task because organizing the raw data into information
that is appealing without violating copyrights is challenging.
4. Select a place to host.
This depends upon your financial state and speed and space
requirements.
If possible go for paid hosting. Also deliberation should be made
between Linux and windows hosting. (one or two articles on the subject
can be expected shortly)
5. Design your site.
A simple but elegant design is preferred. Too much graphics or flash
gimmicks will reduce the effectiveness of your site. Also efficient
utilization of space is highly recommended. The home page should be
compelling . also special care should be taken to allow navigation from
other pages to main page. Place should be left for advertising in the
design itself.
6. Decide on the promotion and advertisement strategy.
Various site promotion strategies are available. You should be
aware of them and decide which strategy best suits your site.
Also you earn additional income by placing advertisements in
your site.One important thing to keep in mind is that people
come to your site for a purpose and advertisements on your site
should not disturb the. Too much advertisement tends to keep
people away. Also advertisements in less traversed areas of your
site are of no avail.
7. launch your site and be in the path of continuous improvement
Once you launch your site ,you should continuously modify and monitor your
site. This will help you to analyze the traffic of your site and also
have an idea of trends. Also keep an eye on competing sites so that you
keep the advantage.
Most of the steps discussed above needs detailed deliberations and we will
be posting more articles on each phase separately.
Kannan balakrishan is a renowned Indian writer.
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