Creating a Website: The Missing Manual, 3rd Edition

Planning a Website

The last thing you need before you start building a website is to be buried under an avalanche of theory. However, every new web author can save time and effort by doing a little bit of planning beforehand. In the following sections, you’ll consider some quick guidelines to get you on the right path.

Types of Sites

You don’t have much chance of creating a successful site if you haven’t decided what it’s for. Some people have a very specific goal in mind (like getting hired for a job or promoting a book), while others are just planning to unleash their self-expression. Either way, take a look at the following list to get a handle on the different types of websites you might want to create:

• Personal sites are all about you. As the world gets more web-savvy, it seems everyone is building online homes. Whether it’s to share pictures of Junior with the relatives, chronicle a trip to Kuala Lumpur, or just post your latest thoughts and obsessions, a personal website is the place to do it.

  When you design a personal website, it’s up to you how ambitious you want to be. If all you need is a hub to chat with friends or a place to share pictures, you can save yourself a good bit of trouble by signing up on a social network like Facebook (www.facebook.com). Or, if you want a diary-like site to chronicle your life, work, or obsessive hat-collecting hobby, a personal blog may suit you fine (see, for instance, www.blogger.com, which is discussed in Chapter 13). If you’re a bit more ...