Articles: Mark III

Home > Dedicated Hosting > Mark III > Articles > First Steps

How to Make a Great Website, or At Least Find a Great Website Designer

A lot of people sign up webhosting services with the intent to sell products or to have a great family website and then as soon as they get into the action of creating a website they tend to fizzle out and end up at a loss for how to procede from that point. How to move from the most basic website design to actually having something easy to use, and effective at helping their users either get what they came for or to purchase their products.

Sometimes new website owners overshoot their mark and end up with a website so crowded and over-packed with information and links, users get frustrated and feel unsure about what to do, where to go. Sometimes a site will remain unfinished for months or even years, costing money each month for hosting services but never accomplishing anything for its owner.

There are some basic tools new website owners can use to make their startup much easier and more effective. These include things like using quality web design software, easy to use content management tools, creating a clear and concise list of goals for your site and never giving up until you are really done.

If all else fails or if you know you really don't have the time or desire to do it yourself, find a really good website developer. This can be much harder than it would seem at first. Website design isn't just about knowing how to use some design programs or manipulate images in Photoshop. It requires real skill and atistry, and an eye for design and marketing. It also requires knowledge and experience in the area of search engine optimization and proper coding for compatability. Fortunately, here at Nethosting.com, we have a great web development team. They have years of experience creating websites for successful businesses that are optimized strategically for getting your site the most exposure and interest possible. Most importantly, they have the skills to help you express your desired look and feel while keeping your new site easy to use and search engine friendly.

However, professional website design is not appropriate for all kinds of websites. A small family website or startup business may not have a budget to cover such professional services. In such cases there are some great tools and tips that can help you get great results with only a few basic compromises. Obviously you'll be spending a lot more time on the website if you're doing it all yourself. One of the best ways to mitigate that is to use what is called a Content Management System, or CMS. Our hosting packages support some of the most popular CMS packages such as Wordpress. A CMS is a package of website management scripts and pages that help you to apply a style template to your site and then create website content within that style framework so you keep a consistent look and feel to the site without having to upload your web pages over and over when you make an update or add to the site. They also offer tools for uploading images and integrating other media into your website. Many also feature controls for allowing different users to add or modify content on the site depending on permissions you assign.

Nethosting offers customized support options and custom install services that can have a Content Management System up and running for you in under an hour, saving you time and money. Of course you are also welcome to do the installation yourself, as most packages are quite easy to configure and setup and include fairly detailed instructions.

These are just methods to help you arrive at your goals though. The most important thing is to create a clear list of your desired results and goals for your website. Try to establish firmly what you want your site to look like, what you want it to do for you or your company, and what your minimum needs are for starting out. As you progress through your list of functions and features you'll be much more likely to stick to it and end up with a great website.