Everywhere you look, organizations and individuals are creating websites. If you are looking for a basic resource to introduce you to website design, you have come to the right place. This article will explain what the basic elements are and what you will need to create your own website.
Every websites needs a domain. A domain has two components. It is the web address of your website, technically the IP address and also the name of your website that you commonly use. Every website has a unique address and domain name. Every domain name is registered with ICANN through a domain registrar.
When you have a domain name that you want to use, you must first check with a domain registration service to make sure that it is not yet taken. If the name is available, you can register it for your own. You can register it for the term of your choice, usually between one and five years.
As your domain name registration approaches expiration, you must renew it if you want to keep the name. Otherwise, when it expires, the name is available for purchase by someone else. Web hosts often offer assistance in domain registration as well. So, if you are looking for a webhost for your website, ask if they offer this service.
All webpages are coded in HTML, or Hypertext Markup Language. This language is interpreted by web browsers that render the code into a web page. You should learn some basic HTML if you want to create your own website. Although there are many web design tools available that do not require you to know any coding, it is advisable that you learn at least the basics of HTML so you can tweak and manipulate the code if necessary.
Many web design software include templates which you can customize. This is the easiest way to give your website the look and feel that you desire. You basically choose a template design and customize it with your own images and text. Depending on the options offered by your software, you can install different modules on your website to offer your audience a better web browsing experience.
You can use any type of computer to design your website. Ideally, you should install a variety of web browsers so you can test how your website looks in each one. You should have a graphics application which you can use to optimize images for the web. You should have a web authoring tool or a content management system which you will use to create your pages.
You should also learn how CSS, or cascading stylesheets, work in tandem with the HTML code. HTML and CSS are the foundation of any web page. Other programming and scripting languages may also be used to add interactivity to the website, but HTML and CSS are the fundamentals. You should learn how they work together in bring a web page to life.
After you have learned web design skills and have developed your own website, you may find that this is something you can do for other people. Every business needs a website as an extension to their marketing plan. Local and small businesses are especially interested in having their own websites because on Internet, the playing field evens out between large and small businesses. Keep that in mind if you are interested in designing websites for a living.
You can see that there is no mystery to web design. All you need is to develop the right skills. Experiment with building your own website, and you might be on to a new career.