A brief list about what this article contains:

1. Overview/My Credentials
2. What NOT to Do
3. Essential Tools of the Trade
4. Domain Name/Setting up a Host
5. Search Engine Optimization (optional)
6. Building Traffic (and Revenue) to Your Site (optional)
7. Other Resources
8. Conclusion

Overview/My Credentials

You’ve been thinking lately that now might be a good time to start up your own website for the art you create. However, you have very little knowledge about the actual code or where to start. Fortunately, the web is abundant with resources and tips to get you started.

What this article is NOT: I will delve very little into web design (graphics) and instead will focus on the web development aspect (two very different things). There are plenty of resources on how to make your site look pretty around here with awesome graphics from Photoshop, etc. I’m focusing on the code and how to actually CREATE those graphics into a workable site.

My Credentials: I am currently almost done with my studies in college to become a full fledged web developer. I also have a part time job that involves site creation and maintenance.

Before we go further, there are two options you may take if you are interested in having a website for your art:

• Pay another person or company to create one for you.

There is no shame in this. If you don’t know the difference between a table cell and a div tag, there’s a good chance your site is going to look like a mess. This can get very expensive, however. So you may want to do the next best thing:

• Collect web resources, read some books, possibly take a class, and learn how to create and maintain a basic site for yourself.

Fortunately, editors and other things out there give you a fighting chance! But first, let’s talk about errors to avoid…



What NOT to Do

I typed in “bad site” in my search engine and got some pretty good examples. Let’s examine some of them:

[link] - Where to start. This site violates so many rules it’s hard to count them all.

• You need to make it immediately obvious to the reader what your site is about. This probably means having a clear domain name and a logo, perhaps with a site quote/saying/motto below it.


• Avoid making your site look “busy”—no flashing things, dozens of links, or a lack of real, discernable content.


• When in doubt, keep the white space! This makes it easier on the eyes.


• On the homepage, do NOT have content where the reader needs to scroll for more than a couple hundred pixels!! The reader will NOT read whatever is below this limit.

[link] - An example with the same things above.

[link] - Some believe that the more flash a site has, the better it is because that’s the “in” thing to do. Not true. Not only is this bad for web accessibility, but some readers might not have the correct plugins for it.

[link] - Do not EVER do something like this. The code where a graphic follows a mouse is a clear sign of an amateur, along with the rainbow background.

Other things to keep in mind:

• n00b fonts. NEVER use Papyrus or Comic Sans Serif.


• Use Web Safe colors that DON’T clash. Don’t put a blue link on top a black background!!

Essential Tools of the Trade

Photoshop/Illustrator/Fireworks/Etc: Yeah, you’ll need a pretty good graphics program to at least make the logo for your site.

Dreamweaver: If you don’t want to hand code, you’ll need a WYSIWIG (What You See Is What You Get). You will have to use the default table format if you want this.

CMS (Content Management System): A CMS can help a person who doesn’t know much about code and organization. I recommend Joomla: [link]

SSI (Server-Side Includes): These are ESSENTIAL if you don’t want to update the same change on multiple pages (like a change to the navbar). Let’s say you have a hundred pages and you want to change your site’s logo. Instead of changing the code individually a hundred times, change it once with an SSI and all one hundred will be updated. I recommend this tutorial: [link]



Domain Name/Setting up a Host

Here’s a true example of you get what you pay for. Let’s first talk about how to obtain a domain name. Places such as GoDaddy and NetworkSolutions can register a domain name under your name. There is a fee to keep that registration, typically ten dollars or less per year (in American dollars, not sure what that is for other countries).

What if the domain name I reeeeally want is taken? Well, that depends. Don’t try to snag a site name like Microsoft (dot) com. If it’s a site registered under someone who is clearly a squatter (someone who registers names to make a profit to sell later), you might have a chance to buy it from them or wait until their ownership in it expires. You can also go through the process under third party companies that make sure the other person is paid and you get your domain. Here is an EXCELLENT post about the process of grabbing an expiring domain: [link]

Now onto finding a place to host your site. You can a) create your own server for your site, but I don’t recommend that for beginners, or b) find a hosting company somewhere on the web. We’ll go with the latter option:

• [link] - Use sites like this one for a free account. Can also pay to have the account upgraded with your own domain name.


• [link] – Another free site and this one has NO ADS.


• [link] – Here’s a hosting site you must PAY, but one of the best from the research I’ve done. It costs THREE DOLLARS A MONTH (US dollars) to have them host a small site! Even the most stingy of people can afford that. They also have a domain registration service.

Search Engine Optimization (optional)

…Otherwise known as SEO. I say this is optional because maybe you don’t care about search engines. Maybe you just want a place of your own to show art to your friends. If so, ignore this section.

Things you’ll need to increase your page rank:

• Backlinks: Basically a backlink is when another site puts up a link to your site. The more sites that do this, the more important your site will become. So it helps to beg for another site owner to put up a link and see what they say. Having a link to your site in forums also works (do not SPAM it though).


• Updated Content: Keep your updates fresh. If you update something, say, daily, then your chances are better to become noticed.


• Alt Tags: Put keywords in your image code for your art so that the web crawlers can detect these words.


• Key Words: Sprinkle key words throughout the site, but don’t do that to the point where the words lose their value. In other words, if it’s blatantly obvious you are just inserting in key words to raise your ranking, the algorithms will detect this and move on. More weight is put on key words in the page title, h1, h2, etc, than the meta description.

Building Traffic (and Revenue) to Your Site (optional)

Again this section is optional because maybe you don’t care about traffic and revenue. Here are some “secret” tools no traffic site should be without:

• RSS Feeds: These little guys allow a user to subscribe to a site, enabling more return traffic for you. Don’t know how to make one? There are free resources that can do the work for you, such as this: [link]


• Bookmark/Share: Another secret weapon. One click of a button will allow the user to share your site on Digg, Google, etc, and that will generate traffic. In addition, you can create a button that will instantly add your site to a user’s list of favorites. I recommend another freebie site: [link]


• Tell a Friend: The last “big” secret weapon most people don’t think of. With a little form code, if a user likes your site they can e-mail your web address to a friend who might enjoy it as well. Here’s a site with a button: [link] and one if you want a form: [link]


• Online Directories: Be careful about these, as some of them out there are worthless. But some can bring traffic to your site. Research carefully and try to find niche directories.


• AdWords and AdSense: Projects by Google that allow you to advertise and for other companies to put ads on your site.

Other Resources

[link] - Slide Show code for Dreamweaver if you want this in your Art page

[link] - Image Gallery code for Dreamweaver if that’s how you would like to organize your images

The Ultimate CSS and HTML Reference, CSS Anthology 101 essential tricks and hacks – SitePoint books that are excellent

[link] - the SitePoint forums where you can learn all sorts of things and discuss different codes



Conclusion

So to summarize, here’s a list of all the resources I’ve given you:

[link] - Joomla for a CMS
[link] - In-depth explanation about SSIs
[link] - How to get an expiring domain name
[link] [link] – Places to register a domain name
[link] [link] [link] – Places to host your site
[link] - A free RSS site
[link] - A free button for bookmarking and sharing
[link] - Free Tell-A-Friend script
[link] - Slide Show script
[link] - Image Gallery Script
[link] - A good place for further discussion

I hope my advice can help you with your fun site building adventures. If you would like me to review a site you’ve made, send a comment or note with a link and I’ll be happy to comment on it.