A Beginners Guide to Designing Your First Website
Part One

By Dave S.

So you have a great idea for a web site but you have no idea where to start. You could hire a professional web designer. Depending on the complexity of the project, that may be the best option for some people. However that's not why we are here. We are here because you want to be independent and design your very own website. Who wouldn't want to create something from scratch that they can be proud of and that will get them closer to their goal of making money from home??

We have all been there. It doesn't matter who you are, everyone had to start at the beginning when it comes to designing web sites. Those who are starting a new home based business usually do not have the luxury of taking expensive web design or html courses so they are left to learn everything they can on their own.

Fortunately there are many great tools and tutorials to make your first web design experience go more smoothly. Before we get into those, here are a few design tips to make your web site more appealing to your visitors.

Before you even start designing your site you need to have some kind of an idea in mind of what you want it to look like. Write down notes of what information you want your site to contain, and divide it into categorized pages. One of the biggest mistakes people make is trying to put their entire web site on one page. This creates too much work for your visitors when they are looking for something specific. You are much better off having a nice menu at the top of your page or on the left hand side with links to the various components of your web site. Save the most important information for the index page.

One great way to get ideas for the design of your new site is to look around at other sites that you like. This does not mean that you should copy their site or their color scheme or anything about their site. Obviously that can land you in hot water and the idea is to be creative and original anyway. Why bother looking at other sites then? It can get your creative juices flowing. Maybe you are drawn to sites that have a kind of country cottage feel to them, and you would like your site to have that same look or feel, while at the same time being unique to you. There is nothing wrong with browsing around the web to get ideas for your web site, I have done it many times myself. Just remember that no matter how much you like someone else's site, you should never copy it.

When you are creating your website you are going to discover many little scripts and tools that do neat things. Many people are tempted to put music on their web sites, animated javascript cursors, loud and busy backgrounds, flash banners, and as many animated gifs as they can get their hands on. What usually ends up happening is that the site gets so busy and there is so much going on that your visitors are unable to focus on why there are there. It's hard to concentrate when there is music playing and cursors making trails across the screen and pictures flashing everywhere. When you are tempted to use these things ask yourself if it truly adds to your visitor's experience on your website or if it might turn them away. When it comes to website design and getting your message across to your visitors, less is usually more. Keept the design and flow of the pages simple and to the point and your site will enjoy much more success.

To be continued.....