7 Things Beginners Should Know About Creating a Website

I have built a number of websites, as well as worked technical support for an international domain name registrar and hosting company. Throughout these experiences, I have acquired a bit of experience with the basics. If you are new to building websites, or are just kicking the idea of starting one up around, here are 7 tips you should know about creating a website.

7. Your website will not show up within Google for at least six months.

Every single webmaster out there wants to be number one on Google for their desired keyword. Unfortunately we can't all be number one. It will take roughly 3-6 months for your website to be indexed by Google. Indexing is the term used when a search engines spider crawls your website and then adds it to their database of websites, or their index. MSN and Yahoo seem to be a bit faster with indexing new sites. Do not fret if you're website is not indexed after six months, it takes time.

6. Stay away from annoying 1990s trends.

Even in 2008, people are still using hit counters. Do NOT use HTML, visible, hit counters. Period. Day in and day out I see people adding hit counters to their websites. You know what the average surfer thinks about your hit counter? It's out-dated and tacky. You may be asking yourself, "Self, what am I going to do about stats if I can't use a hit counter?" That's next on the list, don't get ahead of me. Other annoying 1990s trends that you should avoid are animated GIFs, standard Times New Roman font, extremely contrasting colors (such as white on hot pink), and visible table borders.

5. Use Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a free, amazing traffic statistics program. It delivers more information about your website than most people want or need to know. It shows what browser, operating system, resolution and sexual preference of your users. It shows how they reached your website. It will also show you how long people stayed on your website, how they navigated your site, and what pages they were on and how long. It'll also let you know the city/country that your hits are coming from.

4. Use your statistical information to refine your website.

Technology!

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