People with all levels of technical skill start working with websites, and those people are able to use whatever knowledge they bring with them to put together quality websites. There are some pieces of information it is helpful to know before getting started, however. These are the basics for website building.
Websites Use Languages or Editors
Some people manually code their websites using either code they have written themselves or by snagging open-source code from the Internet. Open-source code means that it is available and free to all. People who are interested in programming write scripts, or small snippets of code, to do various things on websites and then make that code available. By searching directories of open-source code, it is possible to find code that does what you want.
Others practice website building by using editors. These editors, or software programs, allow the user to move around the various elements on a website. You may move the menu from the top to the left side, for example, and the editor will write the code in the background. Then you will just need to plug the code into your web editor or file transfer site to complete your website building project.
Search Engine Optimization Drives Website Success
Search engine optimization, or SEO, refers to how well a website is coded for visitors to be able to find the site. Certain elements of the code are written in such a way that search engine spiders, the programs search engines use to review website content, are able to determine the important content on the page.
One of the basic SEO tools is the meta tag, which users never see. The meta tag goes in the top of the code and includes the keyword or phrases on the website. Though meta tags do not have the importance they once did in website building, they still are vitally important to the process. Other elements of SEO include using CSS to reduce the “background” code on a site to allow the spiders to focus on the good code. While beginners can get overwhelmed with SEO jargon and tips, learning the basics should be a priority for anyone taking on website building.
Getting Traffic Is Constant Work
One of the mistakes many people make with website building is that they believe if they simply design a site and throw up some content that visitors will come to the site. Instead, embarking on a website building project means understanding that getting traffic to your website means working daily on marketing campaigns, content creation, and networking. Just as with an offline business, running a successful website means spending significant time on marketing activities.
The most successful web entrepreneurs are the people who have a marketing strategy and stick to a calendar that allows them to get their marketing work done in a timely manner. Good website marketing also requires paying close attention to who is coming to the site and how long those visitors are staying. Then this information should drive all future efforts.
