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As with anything new starting is perhaps the most difficult part. Every week I get many questions from newsletter readers, and site visitors about website building. Almost all of them come from people looking to start their first website, and these are the most common mistakes I see people making.
- Being Way Too Ambitious- I get people asking how to build a Myspace type site when they haven’t yet built a single web page. You need to start with a small (1-5) page site or blog. No Flash,no scripting, no shopping cart. Just basic html pages with text, pictures and links.
- Trying to do/learn too many things- Many think they need to learn all about html, php, javascript web copy writing etc before they start. The truth is you only need to learn the basics, the rest you learn as you go along, and as you need to. For example I have been online for over 5 years and have several websites but I’ve never installed/configured a shopping cart. I use Paypal buttons for what I need. When I need a shopping cart I’ll learn more about them.
- Not Understanding the basic process and the basic technology.- There is no need to be an expert but you should now what a domain name is, what a web host is, what a url is.
- Trying to be flash- Many think that they need a super cool site . Lots of flash, big images and different colours. Sometimes it works mostly it doesn’t. The text is hard to read the visitor is easy distracted and just hits the back button. Remember keep it simple; black text on white background, text at least 10pt so it can be read, and keep images to a minimum. Leave Flash for the professionals and use it only if there is a compelling need for it.
- Forgetting about the search engines. Many site owners think that they put a website on line and people will find it. You need to promote it and the main way of doing it is using search engines. Over 90% of my site visitors come from the search engines. Where are yours coming from?
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