2 Create a Website Blog » Web Design

Blog or Website? Which is Better? [Video]

lisa — Wed, 28 May 2008 16:27:46 +0000

My thoughts on this topic… video style!

See more of my videos here and subscribe to my YouTube channel.

My Biggest Design Mistake… Ever!

lisa — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 20:06:04 +0000

I’ve created at least 10 different sites over the past 10 years, but none of them have been developed better than my latest Site Build It! site, flat-stomach-exercises.com.

Now, I’m not talking about the the design and look and feel of the site. I’m talking about the way in which it was coded.

The entire design is controlled by CSS (cascading style sheets) and SSI (server side includes).

I know, I know… more intimidating acronyms that could confuse the heck out of you…

I’ll try to keep it simple so bear with me, OK?

CSS & Includes

CSS allows you to control large aspects of your site’s design and layout with one file. So if you want to change the color of your hyperlinks, you’d update your CSS file and your entire site will reflect the change.

Include files generally contain content that is repeated throughout the site (left nav, footer, etc.). So instead of updating every page when you want to change your left nav, you update the file that includes your left nav. And every page on your site references that one file.

With the combination of CSS and includes, I can update any aspect of my entire site (width of site, hyperlink colors, left navigation text, header image, font face and size, border colors, header styles, bullet styles, footer etc. by updating the corresponding files… instead of opening each page individually.

I’ve used CSS before with other sites but only for certain things like hyperlinks, font styles, colors, etc. But I’d never used it for an entire layout. Thanks to Dreamweaver I was able to really unleash the power of CSS completely without becoming inundated with confusing code.

You won’t believe this, but the entire coding layout of my Flat Stomach site is simply this…

(My header)

(My left nav)

(My right nav)

(My main content)

(My footer)

That’s the coding shell for my entire site. Then I use a style sheet (CSS) to define how the layout should look in each of those 4 ID sections (The “content” section is obviously different on every page so you wouldn’t include that one).

So any time I want to update any of those sections, I don’t open the content pages, I open the one CSS file and/or the includes.

Of course, if you view the source of my site, you’ll still see all the scary-looking code, but the browser combines and displays the code from the CSS and include files. (So it really looks like I’m a big time programmer, right?)

However, when I’m updating a particular section of my site, I only open the corresponding file (leftnav, footer, etc.).

So if you give one gift to yourself this year, learn CSS. Grab a copy of Dreamweaver CS3 and go to your local bookstore and get a reference book. I bought Dreamweaver CS3 For Dummies.

No really, I did. People do actually buy those “dummy” books.

You’ll be amazed at what CSS can do for your site. And when you realize you can update your entire site’s design and layout in about 20 minutes, you’ll understand why it’s worth it.

So What’s My Biggest Design Mistake?

Clearly it was not using CSS sooner. The thought of learning more coding overwhelmed me for so long that I kept putting it off. But it really helps to have a good Web editor to help you muddle through it.

Thanks to Dreamweaver, I didn’t have to really become more proficient as a programmer, I just had to become more proficient with using the program.

For some of you reading this, CSS is probably old news. Even though it wasn’t new to me either, I hadn’t unlocked its full potential.

But mark my words… I will never design a site without CSS again.

You shouldn’t either.

Help! I’m Clueless About Web Design

lisa — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 22:04:33 +0000

When you’re new to website building, web design can be a very intimidation process.

Heck, even if you’ve been around awhile it still can be intimidating if design is not your forté.

So here are some tips for getting off on the right track when designing your first site.

Tip 1 – Familiarize Yourself With a Web Editor

There are many different editors out there. They all have their pluses and minuses so it’s important to find what works best for you.

Just make sure you learn to use something. It will make your life easier, trust me.

If you’re on a budget, Nvu or CoffeeCup may be a good choice. Nvu is free and recommended by many newbie Webmasters.

CoffeeCup is not free ($50), but comes with some awesome templates. There’s even a free, 45-day trial.

If you don’t mind splurging on some really good software, I recommend Dreamweaver. I recently switched to this program after FrontPage started phasing out.

With a price tag of $400 I’m sure you’re wondering what it possibly does. My short answer to that is everything. And while I don’t use half of the features this powerful program provides, I like DW because it’s great for people of all levels.

If you’re a beginner and just want to learn the basics of creating a page, you can use DW for the basic HTML commands.

But if you want to take it to the next level and learn more about CSS (see Tip #2), XML and other Web languages, DW will support those too.

There are also a lot of customizable features in Dreamweaver, so you can set it up so your favorite commands are easily accessible.

Whatever editor you decide use, buy a book or use your favorite search engine to find a tutorial that will help you get familiar with the program.

You don’t have to learn every menu function or feature, but you do want to learn the basics such as creating links, bolding text, starting new paragraphs, etc. There are some great free online tutorials for almost every popular editor out there.

Tip 2 – Learn The Basics of CSS

CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets, and it’s basically a sheet of attributes that assigns various styles to your website. Don’t let the acronym scare you. It’s pretty easy to learn and a very handy function if you just learn the basics.

One style sheet can govern how your entire site is designed while giving it a cohesive, consistent look.

For example, you can declare your sitewide font style, font size, hyperlink colors, background color, table design, etc. all with one file.

That means if you ever want to change the look of your site, you just edit the style sheet instead of opening every page and changing the HTML code directly. What a huge timesaver, especially if you have a large site.

The best way to learn CSS is to find a site template that already has a style sheet attached. For example, I bought my site’s template from dreamweaver-templates.net and there was a style sheet included.

I’ve learned a lot just by changing colors, sizes, etc. to see how they affect my site’s layout and design.

Dreamweaver also has a function called CSS Layouts that will help you learn more about CSS and apply it to your site.

You can also go to W3Schools if you want to learn the basic CSS attributes and creating a style sheet from scratch. There are some good tutorials there.

Tip 3 – Find a Design Template

As I just mentioned, I bought my template from dreamweaver-templates.net, but there are many other sites that offer templates, some even for free. FreeCSSTemplates.org has some free ones you can download.

I would highly recommend you choose a template that includes CSS, unless you plan to create your own style sheet from scratch. Again, if you use Dreamweaver then this is pretty easy to do.

Once you’ve found a template you’d like to use, open it up in the editor you’ve chosen. Always save a backup copy of the template in case you want to start over.

Most templates only come with the index page (the homepage) so if you want additional pages simply “Save As” from the homepage to create new pages.

I’ve created a basic 3 column CSS template you can download to learn how to design a web page.

Tip 4 – Learn Basic File Management

Websites are basically a series of files organized on a server. Whatever Web editor you use, you should organize your website files so they are easy to find and manage.

Don’t just throw all your files in one folder. Organize them into logical sub folders and always store your images in a separate folder.

So, if you have a site about cooking, you may have your main index file (your homepage) and then you’ll have a series of sub folders (i.e. baking, grilling, frying, etc.) And inside those sub folders will be pages that go in those categories.

When you start setting up your site, the sub folders could likely be navigation items on your site.

So before you use your web editor, you need to create a folder on your hard drive where your site will live.

Let’s say you create a folder called CookingWebsite and it resides at…

C:\Documents and Settings\User\CookingWebsite

If you downloaded a template, you want to store/save all the template files inside this folder. And if the template came with an images folder, put the images folder inside this same folder so the path to it would be…

C:\Documents and Settings\User\CoookingWebsite\images

Make sure you keep the template’s file structure the same as when you downloaded it.

So when you open up your Web editor and start a new site, most editors will ask where your site lives locally. You will navigate to this new folder you created and this is where you’ll go to update your site each time.

Keeping your file structure organized will help, especially if you’re using a Web editor. Not only is it easier to find files, but linking the pages and adding images is much easier when everything is organized into folders.

Tip 5 – Learn How to FTP

I know, I know. Another dag-blasted acronym. FTP just stands for file transfer protocol and it’s the process of transferring your files (web pages) from a local environment to your Web server (or your hosting account).

If you’re using a regular web host, you can setup an FTP account at your host’s control panel.

Most web editors will allow you to save your site directly to the web using your FTP username and password. So you simply choose the “Publish Site” command in your editor, and generally you’ll be prompted for your FTP information.

Voila! Your site is live and kickin’.

If you’re not using an editor or your editor does not have a publish feature, you can download a separate FTP program to publish your files to the Web. Filezilla is a good one and it’s free.

Or if you use Firefox, download the FireFTP plugin. You can access it from the Firefox Tools menu and you don’t even have to close your browser to use it.

Tip 6 – Find a Graphic/Image Editing Program

You don’t have to become a full-fledged graphic designer, but it does help to know how to resize and touch up graphics. Gimp is a free image manipulation program you can use to make minor graphic edits.

If you want to create images from scratch Paint Shop Pro and PhotoShop are two popular programs used for this.

I use PhotoShop for all my graphic needs. Yes, it’s pricey, but does everything under the sun (including animation) and I’ll never need to buy another program again.

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So there you have it! Six tips to get you started with your first website. It’s really not that intimidating if you just do it. Becoming comfortable with a web editor and finding a template is half the battle.

Here’s to your first website! (Cheers)

I Want a Website But I’m Overwhelmed!

lisa — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 23:08:04 +0000

I receive a lot of the same questions/concerns from wanna-be website owners. Let’s face it. Getting started can be a very overwhelming process.

From choosing the right web host, deciding on the perfect niche to selecting the right domain name and then totaling up all the costs involved.

Whew! It can be intimidating at first. So below you’ll find my responses to many of the common questions/concerns I’ve received from people wanting to create their first website.

There Are Too Many Sites On My Topic

Obviously you want to avoid very broad topics (i.e. employment, kids or sports, etc.) and stay away from heavily saturated niches like making money online, etc. If you’re looking at topics that are too broad, then of course you’re going to encounter a lot of competition.

But if there is a well defined niche you want to go after, don’t back off just because you’ve noticed a handful of sites that exist on the topic. A little competition is a good thing and will keep you on your toes.

Just because someone else has a site on a topic you’re interested in, doesn’t mean you won’t be able to rank high enough to receive good traffic in Google, Yahoo, etc. If your site becomes a hit with your audience, they will link to you voluntarily and this will help your search engine rankings.

You can actually use competition to your advantage by improving upon what your competition has already done. Think about facts or features they didn’t include that you could add to your site. There’s almost always a better way of explaining or presenting something, so capitalize on that with your site.

I Am Not Good With Computers!

I hear this one all the time, and it’s the most common reason people hesitate to get started or outsource their website design completely.

Now I’ll admit. I’ve always been pretty comfortable around computers. I’ve had one in my house since 1986 and before the Internet became popular, I was usually sitting in front of the monitor, mesmerized by some role-playing game.

However when it comes to creating websites, I’m not so sure much of that experience came in handy, other than being familiar with the general computer functions (opening and closing programs, saving, etc.)

So my point is, even if you aren’t particularly savvy with computers, that doesn’t mean you’ll have no chance at success with a website.

Now don’t get me wrong. You do need some levels of patience with computers and feeling intimidated by the machine is not going to make the website creation process fun. You will need a basic understanding of folder and file structures on your computer, but that’s pretty easy to pickup with time.

So don’t sell yourself short just because you aren’t computer savvy or you don’t have a computer-related or Web design degree. I certainly don’t and I’m managing pretty well for someone who is completely self-taught on website creation and management.

With programs like Dreamweaver and CoffeeCup at your disposal, along with templates to help get your design started; you can learn enough to create a decent website without being particularly computer savvy.

I Don’t Know Enough About Anything to Make an Interesting Website

When I hear people say that, I feel they aren’t digging deep enough or don’t fully understand the concept of generating money from an information website.

We all have something we are passionate about or at least have a great deal of knowledge on. And you don’t have to stick to tutorial-based sites. It can be something comedic or fun.

For example, say you love reality TV. You could create a site or blog that rants about the ridiculous things that happen on your favorite reality shows. You could make it funny or sarcastic and spice it up with your own personality.

With the help of Google ads and other entertainment-related affiliate programs, your site can become a money-making machine if you can generate enough interest.

So don’t take the process so seriously as you brainstorm. If you don’t have a special skill or hobby you can write about, think about your day-to-day life. What are you always talking to your friends and family about? What bugs you? What makes you laugh?

Or is there something you’d like to know more about? Often times people build sites on topics they’ve recently experienced and then they research it to learn more about it.

When I created flat-stomach-exercises.com, I wasn’t a fitness guru. (I’m still not.) I experienced some tummy flab issues as I entered into my late 20’s, so I picked up a few books along the way and began educating myself.

As I learned about the topic, I began to write articles for my website in my own words. So I became enough of an expert to create an informative site based on what I learned. You can take this same approach if you are struggling to find a topic.

I Don’t Have Much Time To Work On My Site

The great thing about owning a website is you have the flexibility of working on it when you want. That being said, if you don’t have a lot of time to invest into building and managing your site then don’t expect miracles when it comes to making money (if that’s your goal).

You definitely get out of this what you put into it. And while I would love to say I only work 2 hours per week on my site, I’d be lying to you.

I work hard, but the beauty is I love what I do. And when you enjoy the process, you don’t mind spending the time building, managing and promoting your site.

If your site is information-based, you’ll find it may require less maintenance once the traffic starts coming in and your site is more established. For most of my sites, I can leave for months if I want and still generate income because the traffic levels are high enough to keep the money coming in.

I no longer have to devote the kind of time I used to, however I had to work hard to get to that point and that meant devoting several hours per week until my site reached that desired level of success.

Nothing in life is free or easy, so if you want success, you have to put in the effort and time.

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Be sure to download my free book, The Perfect Site Guide. It will cover the basics of choosing a topic, creating and marketing your site or blog.

Hire a Web Designer? Really?

lisa — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 21:44:00 +0000

You know absolutely nothing about web design and the thought of creating your site intimidates you. So it’s just best to pay someone to do the site for you right?

Not necessarily.

Read this article for my thoughts on the subject.

Your Website Needs CSS

lisa — Fri, 14 Jul 2006 00:28:00 +0000

It took a while for me to bite the bullet and learn about CSS. I had always known bits and pieces but didn’t really dive into it until a few months ago when I redesigned my site www.2createawebsite.com.

For those of you who have been designing for a while, CSS is no new concept…in fact it’s probably very old news to you.

Now, for those that are just grasping or only know HTML, you won’t want to ignore what CSS can do for your site.

It’s a great way to manage your layout (colors, styles, etc.) all with one file. CSS also makes changing certain aspects of your design a breeze. You can even change the color of the scroll bar on your web browser to match your design if you want.

Here’s a great CSS tutorial for beginners.