Design Your Own Website With These Tools And Tips

Yes, you can design your own website. You don't need to hire a professional. You don't need to pay for fancy templates. You don't need to learn HTML and CSS (though knowing them would certainly help).

But you should understand what is expected of any website regardless of the design. If you make sure to follow these rules, your site will be great no matter how you design it.

Here are the six tenets of good website design:

1. Your content matters more than your design.
2. Simplicity rules.
3. Nobody likes to wait.
4. Visitors expect all of your pages to be the same. Give them what they want.
5. The BACK button is only one click away.
6. No one is going to come back to your site just to look at the graphics.

However you design your site, your content is what really matters. Some of the most effective websites in the world have very simple design features. What makes them popular is the information or services they offer.

The same goes for you. We've all seen beautifully designed websites. You can only impress someone with great design once. After that, the effect wears off and the reader is looking for more.

But if you offer great content, and give your visitors what they really want (information; a solution to a problem) then they will continue reading your site.

They will visit your other pages,

And they will spread the word.

And they will come back.

Twitch's Cool Info: "When it comes to good website design, common sense ain't so common."

Now that you know what's really important, it's time to design your own website. Depending on how much you want to put into your website you need three things:

1. Image editing software.
2. A digital camera
3. A scanner.

Adobe's photoshop is the standard when it comes to editing images. However, it has a hefty pricetag (around $600) and is intended for professional designers.

Adobe has a watered down version of photoshop for the average consumer called Photoshop Elements. It costs around $70 and is made for average people.

However, if you want to design your own website and don't want to spend any money at all, I'd recommend downloading a free image editing tool. There are two popular tools around right now, Gimp and Photo.net.

Gimp and Photo.net allow you to edit photos with ease. I've used them both, and feel that Gimp is more powerful and allows a lot more freedom. But, Photo.net is easier to use.

If you plan on doing some serious image editing when you design your own website, you should go with Gimp. But if you're only going to do simple stuff and don't want to spend a lot of time learning a new software, Photo.net will probably be better for you.

A digital camera is a great tool for designing websites. You can take your own pictures and load them instantly to your website. Depending on your website's theme, you'll find a digital camera to be practically indespensable.

No one wants to just see a bunch of words when they visit a website. Use your digital camera to take pictures and add some life and color to your web pages.

But don't forget the six tenets. Use your photos wisely. Otherwise, you run the risk of making your website look unprofessional as well as slowing down the load time.

And if you don't have a digital camera, you still have other options. You can also use a regular film camera. Just ask for a CD where ever you get your pictures developed. Then load the pictures from the CD and use them to design your own website.

The only thing I don't like about this option is that it leads to procrastination. It may take you several days or weeks before getting around to dropping off your film and picking it up again.

Scanners are also useful for good website design. If you are artistic or can create artwork of any sort, you can use that to design your website. Simply scan the pictures onto your computer and use either Gimp or another image editing software to enhance it.

I did the same thing when designing this website and it was very easy (and fun) to do.

If you don't have a scanner at this time, I'd suggest you get an HP or Lexmark All-In-One. I've used both and they are excellent. Even the simplest models last a long time and do a decent job. Of course you will have to spend a bit on ink refills.

Blink says: "If you design your own website, you can use these tools to modify an existing template."

Here are some other very good tools you can use to design your own website:

• Youtube or Dailymotion
• Google Widgets
• Embed codes
• HTML and CSS

Youtube and Dailymotion - If you don't know what Youtube is by now, then you must have been living under a rock for a long time. Dailymotion is not as popular as Youtube, but it works just as well. I actually like Dailymotion better than Youtube, but Youtube is far more popular.

You can create a video and then upload it to Youtube or Dailymotion. Then embed the video onto your website. Though this isn't really design, it does enhance your website and make it more interesting.

If you don't have a video camera yet, I'd suggest getting a Flip camera. Flip cameras are very inexpensive and were designed for use with computers and sites like Youtube and Dailymotion. The Flip camera is very sturdy and portable. The best thing about this camera is the ease of use. It is the easiest and simplest video camera I've ever seen.

Widgets - Another tool you can use to design your own website are widgets. Google and Yahoo both have their own version of these wonderful little programs. Google has Google Gadgets, and Yahoo has Yahoo Widgets.

Widgets (or gadgets) are little programs you can put into your website for added functionality. These gadgets (or widgets), when used responsibly, can make your website more interactive and user friendly.

Just be careful which ones you choose. You should choose widgets that fit into your site's theme and will help your visitors. Don't just add a widget just because you think it's cool.

For example, there are gadgets that will translate your pages into different languages. Or you can add a currency converter. Or you can add a weather widget. Depending on what your site is about, there are several ways you can use these tools to design your own website.

But like with anything, use a little common sense and a lot of moderation.

Embed Codes - Besides Youtube and Dailymotion, there are many sites that allow you to use their videos. Cable news programs, movie studios, television networks all allow you to stream their programs on your website. All you need to do is look for the embed code.

Related Articles:

Writing For The Internet

Website Ideas

Design Your Site With Free HTML Codes

Blink's Final Word: "Don't be afraid to experiment with different design options and layouts."

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