Top 10 things you need to make a good website

Article by: Matthew Strohmeyer

10. An editor.
Whether it be with Notepad or a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) based editor, you need something to create your website with. A good program to work with is either Dreamweaver if you have the money or even a freeware one such as Web Weaver.

9. A graphics editing program.
Same goes for graphics design. You need something to make graphics with. You can buy Corel Paint Shop Pro Suite for $99 at Best Buy or your favorite retailer who sells software. If you don't like them, you can buy Fireworks. If you have Photoshop, that will do.

8. A target niche or audience.
Decide on what you want your site to be about. It would be wise to choose something you know very well or something you love to do.

7. Easy reading!
Make your site easy to read and easy to use. If its easy to use, people will appreciate it more.

6. Design
If you have a design in mind for your site, do it. See how it looks, and if it doesn't seem what you thought it would look, change it! Designs are always changed. If you don't have any ideas on a design, you can buy one from a template site, but I recommend doing it yourself to save some money.

5. Reasons
Give yourself reasons why you should make this site, or even reasons why they should visit your site instead of someone else's. If you give a good reason, they may come back for more.

4. Hosting
Without it, your site can't live. You need space somewhere to host it. I recommend Hostrocket if you need a good spot to host. 1and1 is an alternative. Compare them side-by-side.

Free hosting is also an option, but be aware, free hosting can be cancelled without notice. If you want some free hosting, 110mb.com and xenweb.net

3. Content
Without it your site cannot develop. Content is the "cream of the crop". It is a good idea to gather stuff with permission of course! RSS feeds can easily do it for you, but don't rely on them alone!

2. Advertising method
Do your research. Do you want to do something like word of mouth, or even an advertising program like Google's Adwords? You can easily do it for free by using a Webmaster Forum or even a forum like Digital Point. Help spiders and bots reach your site by submitting it to search engines!

1. Time
If you don't have time for anything, then chances are your site isn't going to be enjoyable for you. Take some time to observe your site, and view it as  if you are a guest. Get your friends to help you find any mistakes in it. Remember, the more mistakes you get rid of, the better your site looks!

About The Author: I am a graphics designer. I am currently studying Computer Engineering. I design websites, animations, games, sketches, and compose music with Reason 3.0 http://www.wabuf.com