Tips on Creating a Web Page

by Michelle Mista, Demand Media

Creating your own website is easy, even for young computer users.

Creating a Web page is great way to share information and explore your creative side, and it is pretty simple, even if you have never created anything online before. Web-page creation begins with finding a host for your website, choosing your domain name, and creating an overall design. Also, you will need to consider what the focus of your website is, what its purpose is, and tailor each of these elements to that purpose.

Hosting

Find a Web host that meets your budget and needs. Web pages must first be uploaded to a host before they can be viewed by the general public. Free and commercial Web hosts are available. Free Web hosts are often a good choice for beginning website designers. Free hosts allow you to have a Web page at no cost while you learn the ropes of design and coding. Web pages hosted on by free services agree to have advertisements on your page and may offer a limited amount of space for your site. Commercial Web hosting allows website creators to have more space, access to back-end technologies and operate their pages with no advertisements.

Domain Name

Consider investing in a domain name. While many free hosts and some commercial hosts will allow you to have a Web page at their site without registering a domain name, there are several advantages to having one. A domain name helps to brand your page. Personal domain names can reflect your hobbies and interests. Commercial websites should always invest in their own domain name as it helps to brand the business and looks more professional than a website address hosted at a another company.

Design

Choose or create a design for your website. For many first-time Web page creators, designing a page can daunting. You can create your own from scratch using a variety of tools, including free Web page editors like PageBreeze Freeware or commercial editors aimed at novices like CoffeeCup Visual Designer. Many Web hosting providers have online tools website creation. Alternatively, if you feel uncomfortable making a website from scratch, you can download Web page templates. Templates are pre-made websites that allow you to customize the text and images.

Media

Use thumbnails to display large images. Large images may look nice, but their size can slow down page-loading time. Using image thumbnails, or smaller representations of the image, linked to the full size image will allow users to see the image and then decide whether they want to see it at full size. Similarly, non-streaming video files embedded in a Web page can slow down page load times. Instead, opt for streaming video from sites like YouTube or Vimeo that provide embed codes for each video.

References

About the Author

Michelle Mista began her career as a freelance writer in 2008, after several years in the high-tech industry. Her work appears on eHow and Answerbag, focusing on computer and Internet-related subjects. Mista holds a Bachelor of Science in telecommunication management from DeVry University.