Dan Harrison

If you’re looking to create a website, here are a few tips that are strongly recommended to help you get off to a great start. This page is frequently updated, so do bookmark it!

Table of Contents

• Common Web Terms
• Registering a Domain Name
• Visitor Tracking
• Content Management Systems
• Wordpress Resources
• Google Tools
• Building Backlinks
• Growing a network
• Business Cards
• Logo Design
• Asking Questions and Getting Help

Common Web Terms

These are terms and acronyms that you’ll frequently come across whilst running a website.

URL – Uniform Resource Locator

String that identifies a specific resource on the web

e.g. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8054699.stm

HTTP – Hypertext Transfer Protocol

Way of transferring data from server to web browser

HTML – Hypertext Markup Language

A basic language defining structure and content of a web page

CSS – Cascading Style Sheets

A layer on top of HTML, adds formatting. e.g. fonts, colours, sizes, alignment, position

SSL – Secure Sockets Layer

Cryptographic protocols for securely transmitting data over the internet

PHP – Hypertext Preprocessor

Server-side programming language

AJAX – Asynchronous JavaScript and XML

A group of internet technologies for interactive web applications/pages/web sites

RSS – Really Simple Syndication

Format for delivering info from a regularly updated website

There are loads more common terms. Here’s where you can find out more:

• W3Schools Web Glossary
• Daily Blog Tips – Bloggers Glossary
• Web Design Industry Jargon: Glossary and Resources (very useful)

Registering a Domain Name

There are lots of tips and tricks for registering a domain name, so I’ve dedicated a whole site that gives you a great deal of UK domain name advice, called Pure Domains.

Visitor Tracking

You should track who visits your website. This allows you to determine how people are finding your site, and what keywords they use when searching for your site on the search engines.

• Google Analytics – probably the most useful free tracking tool. You get very detailed analysis of your traffic, more than you’ll need for quite a while. Excellent for beginners and advanced users.
• StatCounter – a free tracking tool that gives you up-to-the-minute updates on who’s visiting your site. The analysis tools are not great, but it’s useful if you’ve got a massive peak in traffic and you want to know why. More suited to advanced users.

Content Management Systems (CMS)

Content Management Systems are a fancy way of saying:

software that allows me to easily update the pages on my website without fiddling with the design aspects

There are many free content management systems, since they’re developed on the open-source model.

• Wordpress – My personal favourite. Primarily a blogging platform, but is perfectly suited any website where there are potentially lots of pages of information.
• Drupal – A popular CMS, but definitely aimed at users wanting more technical control over their site.
• Joomla – more of a portal-based CMS.
• Want more? You can try out lots of open-source content management systems for yourself at Open Source CMS

Wordpress Resources

Wordpress is an extremely customisable content management system (CMS), originally designed for running blogs, but is suitable for running any website that releases periodic information (such as news articles). Wordpress is not suited to ecommerce, but you could use Wordpress for pretty much any other type of website. Wordpress allows you to have multiple users with different access who can contribute and help run the site.

• Wordpress.org – The organisation that develops Wordpress, and where you can download it to install on your own web hosting.
• Wordpress.com – Where you can create your own free Wordpress blog without having your own web hosting. A great place to start if you’ve never used Wordpress before.

Google Tools

• Google Webmaster Tools – Allows you to submit a sitemap, which allows Google to find all of the pages on your website. It also provides statistics on how often your website is being crawled, and what position your site appears in Google search results for keywords.
• Google Local Business Center – Allows you to register your business address and contact details. When someone searches for a business like yours in your area, your details will typically be shown about the normal search results. Those details will be shown on a map with a pin pointing your business location. It’s free, and it’s a great way to get your business, club or society listed in Google.

Building Backlinks

The Do’s

• Do ask for links from related sites
• Exchanges (ok if only a few)
• One way links (ideal)
• Do get involved in guest blogging
• Do put your link in forum signatures
• Do build up networks (on and offline)

The Don’ts

• Don’t buy links
• Don’t spam blogs/forums/etc
• Avoid getting links from unrelated websites
• Don’t ask for links on link pages
• Don’t focus too much on directories
• Don’t do too much of any 1 thing.

Recommended Resources

The do’s and don’ts listed above are very high level. Here are some more detailed tips on link building.

• SEOMoz – Link Building from A to Z – SEOMoz are highly respected in the SEO world. These tips are the current best practice tips.

Growing a network

Growing a network is one of the most important ways to promote your website. Find people with similar interests if you run a club or society. If you run a business, find a business networking group to expand your contacts. This is a great way to get visitors to your site, and sometimes a way for you to exchange links.

Business Cards

If you run a society or a business, business cards are a simple and easy way to remind people of your website. I really recommend Moo.com for getting business cards done. They are pretty cheap (around £10 for 50 cards), and extremely high quality. The best aspect of their service is that you can choose up to 50 different images per order, which means you can create really interesting cards at no extra cost.

Logo Design

Creating a logo that represents your website or business is a fundamental step that can help you establish your brand. Having a memorable logo also means your customers and visitors are more likely to remember you.

I’ve written a detailed article on how to get cheap logo graphics designed, which I highly recommend if you need a new logo.

Asking Questions and Getting Help

No doubt there will be questions that you have in the future, so here are two forums that I recommend where you can ask all kinds of website questions.

• LovingTech Forums – Forums dedicated to everything that’s webmaster related.
• UK Business Forums – Forums dedicated to UK business, but they have very good Internet and IT boards.