Planning A Website

By Regina Stevens
Posted Tuesday, June 22, 2004

Initially, planning a website can be difficult and downright time– consuming – until you finally figure out what it is that you want to present to your visitors. Set some time aside so that you will not be disturbed.

The purpose of this article is to give you some suggestions on how to get started, and how to decrease the time spent in getting your website completed.

Step 1 –Write down a list of topics that are specific to your site (along with external links).

Step 2 – Expand on each topic. Name the topic something short – these will be the links in your navigation area (e.g. home, about us, etc.). Use a separate sheet of paper for each topic.

Step 3 – After you have all of your website content, decide on a color scheme, graphics, and select a web designer. Give them the list of topics in the order you would like to see the topics in your navigation area. Provide them with the contents and other info regarding your website preferences.

If you have not already done so, register a domain name and select web hosting. If you are unsure on how to do this, your web designer should be able to give you some suggestions that will fit your needs.

If you have already registered your domain name and found web hosting, do not give anyone your password unless you are sure they will be designing your website and a contract has been made for them NOT to give anyone your personal information.

To recap, planning a website can be difficult to plan, but it does not have to be difficult. Having all of your contents, color scheme preferences, graphics, etc. all on hand prior to having someone design your website can save you time, money, and frustration.

About the Author
Regina Stevens is the owner of Keep It Simple Websites (http://keepitsimplewebsites.com). She has written a few articles for the new user to learn how to manage their computers. Her new e-book, "My First Website", gives instructions on how to build your first website using HTML code.