MAKE A WEBSITEget started fast—for Beginners

Instructor: Gloria Ochoa

First Things First•INTRODUCTION–Your folder has a syllabus of what we will go over–Evaluation card: turn it in at the front desk or mail it in

•COMPUTER LAB–Your name tent is your ticket to use the lab at no charge–Hours listed on it

•What will this class cover?–What do you need for a website–Website basics–Create a website fast with drag and drop–Other tools for creating a website

•What skills/tools should you have to get the full experience of this class?–Access to a computer with internet connection–Comfortable navigating the internet

●Disclaimer

The document you have in your folder is an “outline” of this presentation andis not an instruction booklet, How-To or a Step by Step

Weebly changes several times a year, what lies herein is basically a stepping stone to lay the foundation to help get you started.

This document is used during class to try to keep on track of the basicsof Weebly.. During class with questions and other areas of interest,we may not get to all the items in this document, which is perfectly fine.

The intent is to get you going with “training wheels” so you can navigate, create, and take off on your own.

The best way to learn something is to jump in and do it.Have fun!

First Things FirstCELL PHONES–Please be considerate of your classmates

either turn off your cell phone or put it on vibrate. Thank you

Getting StartedYOUR LIST FOR A WEBSITE No experience RequiredEASY-PEASY!•Domain Name•Web Host•Create Your Website !

Getting StartedDOMAIN NAMEA domain name is like your home address. It is unique to your “home on the web”. It is where you will direct people who want to visit you.

You subscribe to your domain name. You can pay yearly or in increment years. (usually the more years you subscribe you get a discount).

•Pick a name—any name is it easy to remember?

is it easy to say?

Check to see if the domain name is available You can check to see if the name is available by going to: www.whois.com

You do NOT need to purchase your domain name there, you can do it at the time you pay for your web hosting. (coming up!)

•Register Your Domain nameYou can subscribe to your domain name without a webhost, its just easier to do it all at one time.

Getting StartedDOMAIN NAMELet’s try see how to look up a domain name!Is it available? If not are there other options for a similar domain name?● www.whois.com● http://www.fatcow.com/product/domainRegistration.bml● http://www.networksolutions.com/whois/

Domain names can be .com, .us, .org., .info, and more!(certain requirements do apply to certain domain name “endings”)

Getting StartedDOMAIN NAME REGISTRATIONWhen you have settled on a name you should register it.You can register it w/out having a website or web host, its just easier to do it all at once through a web host.

To Register With Out A Webhost• Choose a Domain Name Registrar (ie: Godaddy, 1and1,

NetworkSolutions,etc)• After you have chosen the domain name and have gone through the

registration process you will get a confirmation email. This is not only a confirmation, it is your receipt so keep it in a safe place.

• You will then get a login and password to the control panel so you can “control” your domain name and email addresses when you are ready.

Getting StartedWEB HOSTINGA webhost lets you rent space on their servers for your domain name and website. Most Web Hosts let you setup your domain name at the same time you setup web hosting. (Think of it like a place to park your RV or Trailer—your website is your RV).

Types of Web Hosting•Free Web Hosting Sites Pro: Its free – you get what you pay for You don’t need to purchase a domain name Con: If they go away, so does your website The web address will look like this: www.freesite.nameyouchoose.com•Paid Web Hosting Sites (recommended) Pro: You get better tech support & service You have a great web address You get a lot more “tools” to work with and make your site ROCK! Con: You have to pay for the service

Getting StartedWEB HOSTs (just a few)You can always google around to find a webhost that fits your budget and needs.

FatcowPowWebGoDaddy1and1NetworkSolutions

Free one: Again, You can always google around and find free ones. www.000webhost.com

Getting StartedWEB HOSTING SETUP• Contact the web host you have chosen to setup your account.• At that time you can also get your domain name• You will get an email confirmation of your webhosting account with a login and

password• Once you login you will be at the Control (or Administration) Panel.• At that point you can start creating a website, create email boxes and more!

NOTE: Different webhosts will have similar control panels…they all wont look like the example here.

YOU CAN NOT PUBLISH A WEBSITEUNTIL YOU HAVE A WEB HOST!

Getting StartedCREATE YOUR WEBSITENo experience Required! Your home on the web is so close!!!!That’s right…you don’t have to know a stich of HTML coding, graphics creating or anything! These days there are a lot of WYSISWYG (What You See Is What You Get) web design applications.

CoffeeCup www.coffeecup.com (Free to try)

Xara www.xara.com (Free to try)

Even better yet, every Web Host has applications that allow anyone (especially someone that has no web design experience) to create a website!!

Weebly

Website Creator

If you can type you can do it. If you can insert images into a word document you can make a website.

Unless you just want to become a designer, it's not necessary to learn coding to create a nice looking website today.

EXAMPLES OF WEBSITESFREE webhosting--used CoffeeCup Visual Designer

http://skyline1452.net63.net/

notice the “.net63.net” in the web address. This is because they do not have a domain name. The free webhost let them choose their “address name” but because its free, the webhost adds their touch to the url.

Used Weebly only through the webhost (up to 6 pages free)

http://caninetrainingcareer.com/

http://acuteccnc.com/

Used Weebly through the web host (6 free pages) created the rest w/HTML

http://www.tallahasseevfd.com/

Used Xara (WYSIWYG software)

uploaded the pages through the webhost’s control panel.

http://ruffriderspetservices.com/

Used HTML only—uploaded pages through the webhost’s control panelThis was created from scratch using Notepad.

http://www.LJBalance.com

WEAVING YOUR WEBSITEWhy do you want a website ?

•Personal Site•Business Site•Informational Site•Just Because

WEBSITE –Things to Keep In Mind You want to give visitors to your site good content and plenty of choices,

but you don’t want to distract them with unnecessary bells and whistles.

• The Web is for reaching out to people.

• Keep your Web pages lean and clean.

• Color, Text Size are important (ie: color blindness is one example)To Scroll or Not To Scroll…That is a question!

• Too many bells whistles and images make pages slow and cumbersome

• Don’t make your visitors jump through hoops.

• Never make an unnecessary links.

• Always group necessary items together.

• It’s your Web site. It’s your vision. Do it your way.

Did you know that some people cant see the number in the image on this page?

WEAVING YOUR WEBSITEGLOSSARY—”Website” wordsHTML –Hyper Text Markup Language . The scripting language of the web.

URL-Also called domain name, web address

Website—a bunch of web pages in one place

Links—connects pages together. Points to another web document

Pages—another name for a web document

Navigation or Content Bar—images or links that help a visitor move around a website

WYSIWYG—what you see is what you get—web design software that does not require HTML or programming knowledge

Static web page-content is uploaded and displayed as is and wont change much

Dynamic web page-content is pulled updated frequently. (think of a blog)

WEAVING YOUR WEBSITEDraw it on paper firstThis will give you a better idea of what you want on your site and where it will go.

WEAVING YOUR WEBSITENavigationYour navigation bar, also called Content bar should be the same on every page for easy navigation. (Suggestion: You should always have a HOME link on every page in case your visitor gets “lost”).

Group Sections TogetherFor example, if you are selling multiple items you may want to have a link (page) called: Products and then have sub-links (pages) for the products you are selling.

PRODUCTS

RINGS

EARRINGS

HATS

WEAVING YOUR WEBSITEColors and Text size• Unless your site is personal for your friends and family only you should be careful of

color and text size. A black background with red or neon colored text is hard on normal eyes…can you imagine what it might be like for someone that has a disability? Your best bet is black text on white or light colored background. You can use dark colors like blue and green but definitely steer clear of RED unless it is absolutely necessary.

• Text size also matters. Too small and it is had to rread...

Content• What do you want to write about or tell people about?• You will also want to keep like content with like content.

Graphics and Images● Too big of an image or too many images and your webpage will be verrrrrrry slow. ● To small and no one will notice. Images should be relevant to the page.● Exception to the rule: Photo Gallery

WEAVING YOUR WEBSITE Communicating with your Visitors

Getting Feedback, Answering Questions, Getting in touch

Forms EmaileNewsetters

WEAVING YOUR WEBSITE Forms • Use a direct email link on your site• Use a form for contact (web hosts have super easy tools—no coding required!)• Use a form to take a survey...

Email• Both the webhost and the domain vendor allows you to create multiple email

addresses.• Create email addresses for specific purposes

(info@yourdomain.com, yourname@yourdomain.com, webwizard@yourdomain.com)• Share email addresses with your family and friends if you like!NOTE: you need an email for any forms you create. The information needs to be sent somewhere!

eNewsetters● Webhosts have tools for creating bulk emailing options for things like:

Newsletters, Group Announcements, Team Emails, Family Updates

WEAVING YOUR WEBSITELET’S PLAY!!!• You will setup your own account

• You will then have a “live site” that you can play with now.• When you get actual hands on with something you can keep, you will have more fun.

• You can keep it and use it for “real”• You can delete it and setup another account for “real” .• You can transfer it over to a web host or setup web hosting with weebly.

WEBSITE FOR BEGINNERS

You can create up to 5 pages.

WEAVING YOUR WEBSITELET’S PLAY!!!• You will setup your own account

Go to www.Weebly.com Step through the process of creating your account with a login and password.

Once you get your account started it will try to step you through setting up a design

….wait and lets do it all together.

You can edit, change and play all you want …which you should do—after class.

As you go through the week, write down questions and we will go over them in class

WEAVING YOUR WEBSITEIF YOU GET LOST• If you need help…

Weebly (or any application worth it’s weight) will have the following to help you along if you have questions, need help, want to do something but not sure how:

Look for the words:

HELP

FAQ

USER FORUM

Worst comes to worse—if you are paying for the product, CALL them.

That is what their tech support is for!

WEAVING YOUR WEBSITEIF YOU GET LOST• If you need help…

Weebly (or any application worth it’s weight) will have the following to help you along if you have questions, need help, want to do something but not sure how:

Look for the words:

HELP

FAQ

USER FORUM

Worst comes to worse—if you are paying for the product, CALL them.

That is what their tech support is for!

WEAVING YOUR WEBSITELET’S PLAY!!!

ELEMENTS (Build button)-Elements are the basic building blocks of your site. All of your site content, be it text, pictures, videos or what have you, is added via an element.

THEMES/DESIGN--You can select from any one of a number of themes and switch to a different theme at any time. This affects the look of your site. All of your pages and elements remain in place, no matter what theme you choose. (USUALLY)

PAGES-Your site can have as many pages and sub-pages as you want, free accounts have a page limit—paid accounts do not.

SETTINGS- This is where you can change your Site Title, and/or change your subdomain name…Register for a Domain name or if you already have domain name, set it up here and get webhosting. You can create a site password and/or password protect only one or two pages. WE are not going over the Settings section as we want to go through getting you through the basics first.

STORE-Advanced This is not something we cover in the beginner class.

Need Help?

http://help.weebly.com/beginners-guide.html

elements

Design

WEAVING YOUR WEBSITELET’S PLAY!!!If you can drag and drop.Write in word. Copy and paste…YOU CAN DO THIS!!!!!!Drag and drop some elements on to your pages.Now EDIT the element with some text. How COOL is that?????Let’s do it!!!

Change how the text looks.Create another pageAdd some imagesNow LINK the first page you made to this page

SUPER EASY!!!

MORE BELLS & WHISTLESWhat more can I do with a website?Some other things to think about as you go about creating your website:

Ecommerce / Shopping Carts Most web hosting companies offer tools to create shopping cards and ways to sell

You could “link” to Ebay or Paypal You could create a shopping cart form scratch or use a third party service.

Other Functions--Custom work can be done by third parties.• Custom databases can be created to store information• Forums (webhosts offer watered down versions that you can setup yourself).• Blogs—link to one or create one within your site• FTP—File Transfer Protocol

If you create pages outside of the “norm” or outside of the tools that the web host gives you, you will need a way to upload and test your pages. Webhosts also offer a way to upload pages through their console.

Review•What do you need to have a website?

Domain name, web host, imagination•Map out your website on paper•What things should you watch when creating your site?

Text, Colors, Images•You don’t need to know any programming or to create your own website.•Get stuck? Don’t get frustrated…walk away for a few mins and then come back. All the webhosts have Forums, FAQ s and HELP sections.

MOST OF ALL…..