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What Does A Web Site Consist Of

If you browse a bit on the web, you will notice that there are some pretty fancy sites out there. They're done by professionals and it looks like a lot of money is poured into them. But there's more to a web site than the stuff you see on the front end.

When I started out in my Internet venture, I knew very little about the things that went on behind the scenes. I had a clear idea of what I wanted to do, which was to create a database of subscribers to my newsletter. I created a section to collect names and email addresses. I even created the "submit" button.

Of course, when I clicked on the submit button, nothing happened. That's when I realized that I needed back end programming to make my site run properly. And if I wanted to include "pop up" or "pop under" ads, I needed small programs to run those too.

Luckily there's a lot of programmers out there willing to do this type of work for you. And usually you can get things done at reasonable prices. Some sites you can post your work at include www.elance.com, www.rentacoder.com and www.scriptlance.com

If you think that you could do the back end programming yourself, then my hat's off to you. You can go to www.webmonkey.com , a resource site where you can get basic information on HTML, Flash or any other software language that you care to learn.

Just be warned though the programming you need to make your site run efficiently will require scripting knowledge and for that, you need to know more than the basics.

Now that we've talked a little about the back end, we will now focus on the part of the web site that is readily seen by everyone.

Taking a quick look at the many sites out there, you will notice that some sites are loaded with information and crammed with advertising. Whatever you do, don't follow their example.

What you need to do is to determine what the purpose is for having a site. It's to sell your books, right?

Yes, that's right. The only purpose of your site's existence is to sell your product. You don't need all the fancy effects. You're not trying to win a web site beauty award.

At the same time, you don't want to have a cheesy site. You need to make your site as simple and professional as possible. Even though an Internet business is run by one person, your web site must demonstrate quality. By doing this, you will out shine your competitors.

However strong the urge, don't use anything gimmicky on your site, like a flashing icon or clip art from your word processor. These types of things cheapen the quality of your site.

At one time these types of web sites were acceptable, but not now. Counter to what "experts" say, people still judge a book (or web site) by its cover.

Image is very important on the Internet. It's no mistake that millions of dollars are spent by large companies to ensure that they have a good public image. If you can convey quality on your web site, then you are one step ahead of someone who is still using gimmicky graphics.

I was a Web Content Editor for a while and I'll be straight with you.
Low quality, amateurish sites will turn off your potential customers, and you will have poor sales results.

Nevertheless, you don't need to spend thousands of dollars on building a web site. You can do it on your own. As I mentioned before, you can get a crash course from webmonkey.com and hand code your site. Or if you want to go easy on yourself, you can use web design programs such as Microsoft FrontPage, Macromedia Dreamweaver, or Adobe GoLive. Navigation on the programs is quite similar to your word processing program and is easy to use and learn.

If you've never created a web site before, don't worry about it. Just create your site. Even if it's not as perfect as you like, you always have the option to update the look at a different time. Right now, all you should be concerned about is that you have good advertising copy, a nice format, and one or two graphics. If it's simple and tasteful, then you're doing an excellent job.

Now that you have the domain name, a web site and a place to host your web site, you need a FTP program to post your information to the web. Essentially, an FTP program bridges the gap between your home computer and cyberspace.

The FTP program I use is a free one. You can find it here.

By Chantal Lima