Here are the things you need:

Concerning these subjects I will give you some good resources that I have found over the two years I have been doing business online.

 

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A Website Document Editor

You are going to need this first before you can start learning HTML and CSS. I use HTML Kit, which is an open source program you can download here for free.

If you have Dreamweaver by Adobe, that is even better because it will help you learn. Dreamweaver allows you to click a button to insert code onto a page. You can then go into "code view" and see what code it wrote. This helps you learn faster and create your website quickly.

 

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Basic Knowledge of HTML

HTML is a simple language. Each object you put on the page, whether it be text, images, or other objects need to be surrounded by "tags." These tags tell your web browser what the object is.

A paragraph is surrounded by <p></p>. The back slash signifies an end of that tag. an image tag looks like this <img src="" />>. In between the quotation marks ("") you put where the image file is located that you want to include. For instance, <img src="newimage.jpg" /> would point towards an image named "newimage.jpg" found in the same folder as you HTML document.

A very important tag is <a href=""></a>. This is how you create links to other pages (on your site, or anywhere on the internet). You put the location of the page you want to link to in between the "" marks. For Instance, <a href="http://buink.biz"></a> will link to my web design company. The "http://" tag says that the page you are linking to is not in your own site. If you leave that off, then the browser will not leave your website. The text you want highlighted in the link you must put in between the >< marks (e.g. <a href="http://buink.biz">Come To My Home Page</a> looks like this Come to my home page

Here is a basic layout of an HTML page:

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
<html>
<head>
<title>Untitled</title>
</head>
<body>
</body>
</html>

Anything you want visible on the page (i.e. image tags, paragraph tags, etc.) must be between the body tags. Learning all the different things you can include on the page is like learning a simple language. It does take time, so when you get a second, go to w3schools and complete the HTML tutorial.

 

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Basic Knowledge of CSS

CSS is only a little more complicated than HTML. CSS helps you layout your HTML page more easily. You will need to learn about <div></div>. This new "div" tag is basically a container for different HTML tags you want to use on your page.

You can assign each "div" tag either a CLASS or an ID like this <div class="newclass"></div> or <div id="newid"></div>. The name of the class can be anything and is inserted in between the "" marks. In my example, the name of the class is "newclass" and the name of the id is "newid". You can choose any word you want as the name.

Now in a separate file you assign properties to the class and id. This separate file should be saved as a .css file. This tells the internet browser what type of document it is dealing with.

Here is a link to a helpful CSS tutorial.

 

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A Graphics/Image Editor

Now that you know HTML and CSS, you need an image editor to really make your website professional. I use GIMP, which stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program. This is a free image editor.

Although I have found that I can do everything I need to with GIMP, some people rave about Photoshop, which has much more functionality, but it is also more expensive.

Either way, a nice image editor will allow you to create fancy buttons and graphics to give your website a professional look.

 

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A Source For Professional Stock Photos

One thing that sets a good website apart from an unprofessional one is the use of relevant, compelling graphics. Many times these graphics are created from well-shot, stock photography. My #1 source for photographs is iStockhoto. You can buy some of the most beautiful photos for only $1. Each photo can be purchased in several sizes, but the smallest size is usually big enough for use on the web.

Other companies that offer stock photos are Fotolia.com and Stock Exchange.

 

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Website Hosting

Web hosting is like your little home on the web. Your host owns a web server and rents you some space on it where you can upload your files. These uploaded files can then be accessed with a web address (e.g. www.yourdomain.com).

Hosting prices range from $5/month to $50/month. For now, you can use the cheapest hosting because your site is new and you probably wont get a lot of traffic right at first.

I recommend you start with free hosting from http://www.000webhost.com/. This company lets you control all aspects of your website and does not put their advertisements on your pages. This is a well kept secret online.

The downside to using this server is you have thousands of other websites on the same server. This can cause security issues and server downtime. If you don't have any real secure information, then this hosting should be fine. If you want to upgrade, I can provide hosting for $5 a month.

 

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FTP Server Connection Program

This program allows you to connect to your server and upload and download files to it. The files I am referring to are your HTML, CSS, and Image files.

The program I recommend is FileZilla. This is a pretty powerful, free, open-source program and it is the one I use personally. Here is a link to download it.

To connect this program to your server you need to know your Host Address, your Username, and your Password. Usually your host is just ftp. followed by your domain name (i.e. ftp.yourdomain.com). To find your username and password may be a little more complicated. On your hosts website, after you login, search around for anything that says FTP. The username and password may also be located with your server information. Sorry I can't be of more assistance.

 

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Domain Name

A domain name is your address on the web. When choosing a domain, there are a couple things you want to look for.

(1) Keep your personal information private. Companies that sell domains automatically list your private data on public listings. Some companies make you pay to keep it private, this is why I buy all my domains from Google. They keep you data private for free.

(2) If you can get the most relevant and valuable keywords in your domain name. For instance, I started the website www.Making-Chocolates.com which sells a DVD on making chocolates. That was my most valuable keyword. Doing this helps you get more free traffic from Google/Yahoo/MSN. Don't worry too much if your keywords are taken.

(3) Shorter Domain names are better. You don't want you customers to have to type in www.MyReallyLongDomainName.com just to get to your site. Getting a shorter .biz or .net domain name is better than a really long .com name.

Like I said earlier, I buy all my domain names from Google. They only charge $10 and they let you keep your information private for free. It is the best value I have found. Here is a link to buy Whenever you buy a domain from someone other than your web host, it makes it a little complicated to direct your domain name to your web host's server. However, it is well worth it. If you need specific help, let me know.

 

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Analytics Account

Google analytics is a powerful and free tool. Right when you get your website designed, the first thing you should do is sign up for analytics. After you set up your account, they will give you a little piece of code that you then copy and paste at the bottom of every page before the </body> tag.

 

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Paypal or Google Checkout Account

No matter if you are selling products or just providing free services, you need some way of accepting money. After signing up for an account, you can navigate to the merchant services page where they will give you the option to create payment or donation buttons. You give them some quick information, and they give you the code for your button. Simply copy, paste & wala you can accept payments on your website!

PayPal and Google Checkout offer similar service. I use both, but if you are just starting you may want to choose one. If I had to choose I would go with Google.

Conclusion

Folowing these steps will give you a good start into getting a decent website on the web. There is much more to learn, so when you are ready for the next letter, let me know. I have some more advanced stuff that I think you will be interested in.