Building Your Website

To have an online presence you need to have a site online. So of course this means you’ll need to build a website.

These days it’s easier than ever to actually build a website yourself. You don’t need to know HTML (hypertext markup language) or be a graphic designer… but it sure doesn’t hurt. I’ll explain more about what I mean later.

There are two ways to build a website…

Use an HTML editor or WYSIWYG program (like Dreamweaver)
Use a Content Management System (CMS) (like Site Build It! or WordPress)

Each approach has it’s own strengths and weaknesses.

Using An HTML Editor/WYSIWYG program

The Internet and every browser speaks a programming language called HTML or Hypertext Markup Language. To put a website online it must be in this format.

Does this mean you have to be an HTML programmer to build a web page?

Fortunately no. There are computer applications that will write the code for you. Programs like Dreamweaver, FrontPage and Kompozer let you work in a What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) interface and automatically convert the page into the HTML for that page. If you are familiar with using a Word Processing program you can build web pages using these programs.

The tradeoff with using these programs is the code that is created may not be as well-built or streamlined as code written by a web programmer who is familiar with the latest and greatest way to write code. However, in the big picture, this is not really an issue. The websites and pages these programs build are fine for 99% of websites.

Should You Know HTML?

Because building a website and an online business involves not only building a web page but building it in a way that pleases the Search Engines AND your visitors, there will be times when you want to tweak a web page to make it better. Sooner or later you’ll need to get “under the hood” and look at your HTML code, whether it’s to troubleshoot a problem or to add an affiliate promotion. Understanding some basic HTML will come in handy at these times.

This doesn’t mean to need to be an HTML geek or even need to write HTML code by hand, but it does mean you need to understand some basics. It sure helps when you can identify parts of a page and make simple changes by going into the HTML code of a page.

Here’s a great website to begin learning about HTML and some of the more “under the hood” skills you really should know.

Using A Content Management System

Over the last 5 years Content Managment Systems have become very popular as a way to build a website. The popularity of CMS’s like WordPress and Site Build It! are proof of that.

Why are these programs so popular?

For the average person learning the intricacies of HTML and getting a website online is just too difficult. You really had to have strong computer and “do it yourself” skills to be able to do it. Or you had to hire a website designer to do it for you. This left out a lot of intelligent people who otherwise would be excellent prospects for owning an online business.

After all, why should technology be the limiting factor in building an online business. If you have something to offer in terms of information, services, or products, you should be able to build your own website yourself.

How A CMS Works

With a CMS you use your browser, login to your site, and fill out online forms and push a button and your page is built. Everything is done online and as soon as you push that button your page is online.

The design (look and feel) of the site is chosen from “templates” that can easily be changed by a click of a button. And these designs are extremely professional and don’t require the site owner knowing anything about website design.

One of the big benefits of using a CMS is you can work on your site anywhere you can hook up to the Internet. As a matter of fact, I’m writing this page at my Nissan dealer as I have my car worked on. Now that’s good use of time.

So why doesn’t everyone use a CMS?

Ease of use usually comes with a trade off. The trade off with a CMS is loss of control. If you want to tweak a design or move elements around, or change your navigation, you may not be able to do it with a CMS. You are stuck with what is supplied by the template and the controls built into the CMS.

The other disadvantage, for something like WordPress (Site Build It doesn’t have this problem) is it may not include everything you need to succeed. Things like Search Engine Optimization, Contact Forms, Site Submission, Autoresponders, and site analytics, may need to be added to make the website really ready to succeed. Of course these are easy to add if you know you need them and what to look for, but “out of the box” a CMS may not be ready for prime time.

So Which Approach Is Better?

As someone who has built many sites using both approaches this is a tough question. I like both approaches. This site is a WordPress site by the way. But I do miss the control I have with a good WYSIWYG program like Dreamweaver. There’s just some things I cannot do in WordPress.

Lately I find myself learning how to get “under the hood” of WordPress so I can tweak and control it a bit more. It requires understanding HTML, CSS, and a little PHP (a website scripting language) so it’s not for a beginner, but there are ways to gain more control.

Still, for a beginner, a CMS like Site Build It! or WordPress is the way to go. It will let you get online and build a good website very easily.

But don’t forget…

Building the website is really just one part of the process required to build a successful online business. Without proper keyword research, search engine optimization, site promotion, and great writing, all the best website design and website building tools will make little difference. In fact, compared to these other tactics, how you decide to build your website is far less important.