OK, before we get going with creating your own website, there are a few things to think about and gather together.
An Idea
Before creating your own website, you need to have some idea of exactly what you are trying to do with it and what you would like to accomplish. You can consult the Reasons To Have a Website lesson in this course for more information on the different types of sites that are out there.
The reason I mention this again on the checklist is because I believe you should put a little planning into your new website. It is best to think about your ultimate goal and then work backwards. For example, are you looking to create a site to talk about yourself and potentially “sell” you to recruiters? The goal here would be an impressed recruiter. They will need to have information about you (i.e. a resume) and will want to see that information on a professional-looking website. Want to keep your family updated on what is happening in your life? You’ll probably want a site which allows easy updating often (a blog).
With a relatively firm grasp of where you want to go with this, let us get into the different tools you are going to need to get moving.
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A Web Host
A web host is a company which you hire to provide a web server to you for your website (refer to How The Internet Works for more information on what a server is). Most web hosts have a collection of web servers at their disposal. They will rent space on one of their servers and make that available to you for your website. Your website will share the same server with other websites, however you will not be able to tell this is happening in most instances.
Only sites which are very busy with high traffic usually require a server dedicated specifically to it. This would be called a “dedicated server”. Most new sites do not require a dedicated server. If you are just starting out, it would definitely be overkill to invest in a dedicated server. Prices for monthly rental of dedicated servers are significantly higher than shared servers.
An FTP Client
A web host is going to provide space to store your website and have it be publicly accessible to other Internet users. However, you need a program to transfer your website from your own computer to your web host. If the files which comprise your website sit on your own computer, nobody can see them. Putting them on your server means others can see them.
FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. It is simply the way two computers can move files between them. An FTP client is a program which you run on your computer which allows you to upload and download files from any remote computer – in this case, your server.
There are many, many FTP clients available, however they all more or less look and function the same. The standard layout is two panes – one side shows the files on your own computer and the other side shows files on your server. You use buttons to move files from one side to the other and vice versa, thereby moving files between the two computers.
You will need an FTP client to transfer your website to the Internet. Some web hosts provide a web-based way to move files to your server, however these systems are usually not as simple and convenient as having a real FTP client on your computer.
Here is a list of FTP clients you can look at, download and install if you like:
- CuteFTP. My personal favorite.
- Filezilla. A free FTP client which offers a lot of capability.
- FTP Voyager
- Leech FTP
- Transmit. One of the most popular options for Mac.
An HTML Editor
You will also need a program to actually create your website with. This is typically called an HTML Editor. HTML stands for Hyper Text Markup Language and is essentially the computer language used to provide formatting to any website.
There are two very different ways to create a web page:
- Hand-code it manually. Many of the experienced website creators like to code their sites by hand. Even people new to this sometimes like to do it first manually so that they can get a firm grasp of exactly what the HTML is doing. The absolute best way to understand and learn HTML is to do it by hand. Even if you later stop doing it this way, it is always good to know how. When doing it manually, all you need is a simple text editor. Even Notepad (built into Windows) will work.
- WYSIWYG Editor. WYSIWYG stands for “What You See Is What You Get”. Computer guys often pronounce this as “wissy-wig”. Essentially, it means that you design your page in an interface which looks pretty much like it will look once it is actually on the Internet. It works very much like you would type a document into a word processor.
There are many WYSIWYG HTML editors available. My personal favorite is Dreamweaver, provided by Adobe (formerly Macromedia). Dreamweaver is often considered to be the best WYSIWYG website designing program on the market and it is widely used by professionals. That said, it is still pretty easy to use and I am confident than a beginner would not be confused by it – especially after learning the basics provided in this course.
Other options available include:
- Microsoft Expression Web (formerly Frontpage)
- kompoZer. Free and available in multiple operating systems
- Nvu. An open source, freebie, but very nice.
- Seamonkey. By the guys who created the Firefox web browser.
An Image Editor
Most websites have images on them. While there are TONS of images already on the Internet that you can grab and use on your own website, before too long you’re going to want to make something that you cannot find. This where an image editor comes in.
It is perfectly possible to get started making your own website without an image editor. It will also take additional instruction to learn how to use an image editor. But, for now, I will simply list a few options available for your exploration:
- Microsoft Paint. Built into Windows. Offers basic-level image editing.
- GIMP. An open source, very powerful image editor.
- Adobe Photoshop. This is the “big daddy” of the field. Expensive, but perhaps the best out there.
- Corel Paint Shop Pro
- Paint.NET. Free and looks to be very capable.
- VCW VicMan’s Photo Editor
CSS Editor
CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets. This is a universal way to control the formatting of an entire website from a single file. We will be covering the use of CSS in more advanced courses, but I will list a few available CSS editors here.
You do not need a CSS editor at this early stage if you are new to website creation. It is useful to get acquainted with HTML before you begin to delve into CSS. CSS is not complicated, but understanding it’s use requires an understanding of HTML.
Your Assignment
Before you can get rolling, you need to select a web host and then gather the software you will need to create your site. While some of the best software options are commercial in nature, the good news is that there is always free software available that, many times, rivals the commercial options. It doesn’t cost any money to put up a website.
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