You've bought your domain name, but now you don't know what to do with it and you certainly don't have a site to put online yet. But until you have a site, there's no point in having a place to put it, so our talk about a website host will wait until I've told you what you need to know about building your site.
There are many ways to go about getting a website.
Since this is a workshop about how to build your own site, I think you know which of those I'll be discussing here. :-)
The first step in building your own site is to learn XHTML and CSS. Seriously. Even if you're in a hurry to get started, you should spend some time reading about the basic building blocks of website design. Depending on which route to a site you intend to take, you'll either want to learn a lot about XHTML or just a little. Either way, you'll want to know enough so that if you run into problems you'll know what to be on the lookout for while you're trying to fix them!
Here's a quick intro to how XHTML and CSS work. Your naked body is a properly formatted web page. You work just fine like this, although we know you wouldn't necessarily want to. (That being naked in public thing kind of puts a damper on things, don't you think?) CSS is the clothing, the jewelry, the perfume--everything that makes you look good. Your body works just fine without it, but with it--wow, you've just gussied yourself up good. :-)
Since there are a thousand and one great tutorials sitting around on the world wide web waiting for someone to read them, I'm not going to go into detail here about XHTML or CSS. However, I will point you in the right direction with a short list of the tutorials I think are the best. When you've had the chance to look them over, come back and read on.
Recommended Reading:
To put any of this into action, you need software. Whether you intend to hand-code (write it all yourself) or use a software program that will allow you to lay out your site on a screen much like you might create a document in Word (wysiwyg), you'll want an assortment of software that'll make it as easy as possible to create your site. Although you can buy software, what you pay for isn't always better than what you can get for free.
Suggested Software:
NoteTab is an all purpose text editor that works well with HTML files. Download: http://www.notetab.com/
Nvu is one of those wysiwyg programs I mentioned earlier. You don't need to know HTML, XHTML, or CSS to work with this program. Creating a site is as easy as creating a document in Word (or almost). Download: http://www.nvu.com/
For a short tutorial on how to use the program, visit: http://www.thesitewizard.com/gettingstarted/nvu1.shtml
Now, practice putting something together, and when we come back, Heather will talk about a myriad of other details about your site, including how to pick colors, a layout, and a style for your website.
Ready for the next step? Check out the next article, Step 3: So, What's Next? (layout and color)
This article was written in conjunction with a free workshop given in the WeWriteRomance.com forums.