Website Creation Tips Help

Hi, I am trying to create a website of my own. I know a lot of work must go into it, but I don't know what skills I need. Please help me by answering these questions:

1) What languages must I learn for my website (its a virtual pet website)?

2) What programs or software is best for website design (graphics, etc.)?

3) What is the best web hosting company (how much they cost), or how much will it cost to run my own on a domain I create?

4) Anything else you'd like to add...

Please help me...I'd really appreciate it!

MUST? None, you could use a WYSIWYG tool to do everything. However, you may find learning HTML useful as a first step, from there it depends on what you want to do.


Your website is going to be your virtual pet? (sorry, couldn't stop myself)

But in all seriousness, that description doesn't tell me anything about your requirements, so it's impossible to add any comments based on that info.


I use Photoshop and (occasionally) Flash to do mock ups.


I think you'd be much better off going with a hosting solution rather than trying to do it yourself, at least when you're starting out. There are many cheap hosts out there, but I use a good and not so cheap one: http://www.pair.com You can easily find hosting that will cost you less for a year than I pay for a month, but my site is ALWAYS up, and I can call a real live person and ask them questions.


I don't know what your expectations are for how long it will take to get going with this project, but just based on your questions I'd say you have a very long road ahead of you, be patient.

1. If you are going to do it right, I would recommend learning xhtml, css, and maybe some javascript. This is just for the site's layout. I don't know how you would make the virtual pet portion.

2. For graphics, the best software would be Photoshop. It's expensive, but well worth the cost. If cost is an consideration, you could give gimp a try. Its free. For coding the site, I simply use a text editor. Emacs is my preference, but it has a learning curve.

3. It sounds like this is your first site. If that is the case, I would recommend using a free service until your site is ready. Recommending a host is tough, because your site may require a different server setup than mine.

4. Good luck. If you get frustrated, the people on this forum can be of great help. Most importantly, have fun.

I'll second most of wdn2000's comments.

Learn to code HTML by hand first. It's boring and tedious at times, but it's like learning DOS if you want to do computer support - it comes in really handy when you need it (and you will).

What's a virtual pet website supposed to do?

There are free hosting services out there. Most will force you to display ads and/or popups on your site. Stay away from those if you care about your site's visitors. Sometimes you get what you pay for.

Patience will be key. You will be miles ahead in the long run if you take the time to learn hand coding. Study CSS along with HTML. Avoid using tables for layout if possible.

Hi. Welcome to the forum. I'm new myself - there's lots of knowlwdgeable people here!

I recently completed my first couple of websites, so I'm not an expert by any means. As for what you need to know to get started, it kind of depends on your interests and skills. If you are interested in learning computer languages, then by all means start learning HTML, CSS etc. W3 schools have great introductory tutorials: http://www.w3schools.com/

But you don't NEED to learn ANY HTML to make a website. If you are not so interested in learning languages, get a WYSIWYG program (What You See Is What You Get), like Adobe GoLive or Macromedia Dreamweaver. These programs are expensive, though, and if you don't plan on making more than one or two sites it's not worth the money. A cheaper program is Microsoft's Frontpage, but that program is universally loathed by web designers & requires special extensions for your web site host. So I'd avoid Frontpage. A low-cost WYSIWYG program is Namo's WebEditor, about $80. I've never used it, but it has gotten pretty good reviews as a low-cost web site builder. You can download a free trial of WebEditor, Dreamweaver, or GoLive & try them out. (Beware that Dreamweaver & GoLive have pretty steep learning curves...)

For a low-cost alternative, you can go to a web host like Homestead (www.homestead.com) that have programs you can use to build simple sites. The only problem with that approach is that I think it's hard to move your site to another host.

Another approach is to use the built-in Composer program in Netscape Navigator or Mozilla. You'll need to learn HTML to do this, but basic HTML really isn't that hard to learn. You'll also need a program to upload your pages to the web server -- there are free ones like CoffeCup (www.tucows.com/preview/195147.html) that work pretty well.

So you see there's no easy answers to your questions! This forum is primarily for people who are very code-savvy & I think they will tend to steer you towards learning "hand-coding" (as writing in pure HTML, XHTML, CSS etc. is referred to). You will also get statements like "don't use tables for layouts" without explainations. Fact is,the majority of websites use tables for layout & it's really a coder thing to not like them. So take all advice with a grain of salt, including mine!

It really helps to find yourself a mentor, someone who has experience with websites & works in a style & mode that you can relate to. Then you can begin to find your own way as your skills develop. Also look at a lot of websites critically, & note what you like & dislike about them.

One last piece of advice: learn something about graphic design!!! There are way too many websites out there which have perfect code but that are butt-ugly. Borrow or buy a copy of "The Non-Designer's Design Book" by Robin Williams. It is THE book about the basic principles of graphic design. Best $15 you can spend.

Good luck & have fun learning web design!