BigWales

Create & Publish a Website


This is a step-by-step guide taking you through the whole process.

Internet Service Provider
The very first step. You need access to the Internet via an Internet Service Provider. Internet Magazine has a very useful database of 500 ISPs which you can search and a site called Net4Nowt also has some useful lists. Or check Yahoo's list of Internet Service Providers. Or check Internet company lists, directories & resources.

Hosting your website
Find someone to host your website ie. provide space on the web for you. This could be with your ISP or another service. Yahoo has a list of Web Site Hosting services in the UK. Free web hosting services are listed at TheFreeSite.com but if you have a business, some of these services do not allow such pages. Have a look also at these practical articles on the Workz site.

Developing a web strategy
This excellent article from Real Business, full of useful hints and tips, will help you think about your strategy.

Create a website
You begin with the idea, usually generated by viewing other sites, or the pressure of competitive business. From there, many begin learning how to develop a site of their own and/or hire a designer. If you are doing it yourself, there is a wealth of information, tutorials, beginners' guides, advice and more on the Internet, available for free:
About.com:web design has a good set of links.
Web Developer's Journal (UK site) is packed full of information.
You can find an interactive tutorial for beginners in HTML.
UseIt focuses on good practice in web design and usability

If you are paying someone else, you need to track down a good web designer. Begin by viewing sites that a designer has created, consider how much the designer charges, how long the designer takes to build a site, & how the designer will work with you.

Register a domain name
A domain name is your own unique Internet address. Choosing the right name is crucial. For a starting point follow up Domain Name Resources in the excellent Web Marketing Today. At
Checkdomain.com you can find out if any domain name is available for almost every country in the world. For legal information on domain names check out our Domain Name links.

Submit your site to search engines
Once your website is published, you need to submit it to search engines so that people will find you. For a nicely done summary of key search engines and directories, with links to Add URL pages, start at Search Engines and Directories - Submissions Pages from Words in a Row. This is an excellent site, with lots of up-to-date information to help you.

For more help try Search Engine Watch or Search Engine Spy.

Is there a tool that allows me to create a list of external websites that link to my website?
You can find webpages that link to your site using various search engines, including AltaVista (www.altavista.com), HotBot (www.hotbot.com), and Google (www.google.com). Each has its own syntax, which you'll have to study carefully. For AltaVista the syntax is: link:bigwales.com
This asks AltaVista to display all the links to bigwales.com.

Marketing your website
Search engines are only one part of getting your website known. Click here for some great ideas.

Who can help me with advice?
Our links to expert IT help in Wales.

Resources
workz.com is an excellent resource site for small businesses that want to create and operate a company web site. How-To Guides - explain everything from "getting started" through "maintenance." This is great for folks who need to see how to do things from beginning to end. Topic Guides - If you already know what you are looking for, head straight to the one that interests you, such as Web Site Design, Web E-Commerce, Web Site Operations, Web Marketing, Web Advertising, or International.


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