WHY ? This is the first question you must ask yourself. What do I need a website or webpage for?
Personal page/ Blog - Can be used to share photo's with friends and family. Write an online dairy, or just to get your thoughts and opinions out on the web. There are several free hosting sites that can help make your page live in no time at all. I use Google's Page Creator for my personal page, it is free to use and requires no knowledge of html.
Commercial
- Creating an effective online store or business website
will require some knowledge and a small investment. Some
hosting company's will provide all the necessary
software to create the site quickly but will lack the
professional flavor of a custom designed site. I
suggest using the software provided by the hosting
company to quickly get your product on line, while you
work on your website offline. I highly recommend GoDaddy.com Hosting Plans
for all your hosting or domain needs, they have
unbeatable support and hosting packages.
Learn- HTML -Free online tutorials on all aspects of web page creation such as: HTML, CSS, XHTML are available at w3schools.com.
Software - There are several commercial programs available to design your website, but the most common ones are :
- Microsoft Frontpage 2003
- Microsoft Sharepoint Designer 2007 - Free beta test
-
Macromedia Dreamweaver
8
- CoffeeCup - Free trial
Web templates - Web templates can save you many hours of fine tuning your html and are easily edited in your software. These templates can be purchased online or designed to your needs by a professional. There are many free templates however available on Open Source Web Design.
HTML Help & Templates - Learn HTML tags including form, frames, and tables with help from this free reference.