Can you really
get a website even without knowing anything about code,
and without paying a fortune? Find out.
The days when websites were primarily distinguished
by their code are long gone. Nowadays, the web
is a true publishing medium that favors well thought-out
ideas. You can get a professional-looking website
online in minutes with many website building services
and software. But what should you look for?
What are the features you really need and which are
just clutter?
Content Editing
Some website authoring software packages only allow
you to entire plain, unformatted text. Some of
them allow you to entire HTML tags. Others provide
a WYSIWYG ("what you see is what you get") interface
with options for font, links, and image insertion much
like a word processor's. Some will allow
you to use more than one, or even all of these options
so you have a choice on how you want to format your
text.
Template Designs
Every website builder ever invented came with at least
one or two templates for creating the graphical look
of a website, so you don't have to design the look of
the site yourself. But some packages have very
large libraries of templates, some have only a few.
Some will let you mix and match elements of the design
templates, while others will lock you in to one setup.
Ecommerce Functions
Many ready-to-go websites created by website builder
software feature built-in shopping carts. Some
even come with credit card processing. This is
of course necessary if you're going to be selling stuff
direct online. But if you're not going to be selling
anything, ecommerce functionalities may just complicate
the administration of the site and pad the price for
the software or service.
Blogging Functions
Blogs are "web logs," but blogging software involves
more than just a simple online journal. Blogging
technology allows you to send your new posts directly
to subscribers via RSS, without them having to visit
your site or receive an email from you. Still,
unless you plan on updating your site regularly (at
least once a month), your website's blog will just gather
cobwebs.
Email
Some hosted web authoring systems provide email accounts
at no additional charge, while others do charge separately.
Some web builder systems even come with modules for
creating email newsletters.
Support
It is very likely that you will encounter a technical
difficulty at some point while owning your website.
Make sure you know in advance of paying whether the
company provides only paid support, and if any included
support is over email, a web ticketing system, or the
telephone.
Photo and Image Management
For many, if not most, people who want personal websites,
displaying pictures online is a primary motivation,
if not the only motivation. If you want to display
pictures on your website, make sure to choose a website
builder system that makes it easy to upload and publish
images.
Renting vs. Owning
You can buy website authoring software upfront for a
flat fee, or you can "rent;" i.e., pay a company every
month to use a hosted service. The choice is up
to you, but remember that the hosted service will likely
charge you much more in the end: averaging around $20/month,
hosted the typical hosted website builder will cost
you $240/year--far more than most desktop software.
In short, you don't need to know how a website is coded
to make one, any more than a book author needs to know
about printing ink. Don't burden yourself with
learning how to do web design. Having fun with
your website starts with choosing a website builder
software that will make it fun.
About
the author: Joel Walsh recommends you check out http://www.ezgenerator.com/documents/167.html?%20web%20authoring%20software[Publish |
