With the prolification of the Internet, e-commerce is increasingly becoming a solid business model. E-commerce has been growing since the inception of the Internet, and is slated to grow even more as the Internet becomes more popular. E-commerce allows a business to market to a global market rather than simply a local or even regional one. Ultimately, e-commerce seems to have a bright future in the marketing industry. However, as e-commerce grows, it is becoming increasingly dominated by big-time players, leaving the smaller e-shops and affiliate marketers in the dust. It is no surprise though, considering the difficulty of breaking into the ecommerce market. Even the setting up of an ecommerce website is no simple task. However, while becoming successful in the e-commerce arena may be a tricky task, the first step, picking a suitable web host for your ecommerce website, is simple enough.

There are many different web hosts that you can pick from to host your ecommerce website. However, each of these hosts are different and also offer different packages and plans for you to choose from. Being an e-commerce website you would need a high bandwidth and a large amount of web space for your website. This should be a primary concern when you are choosing web hosts. Also, you need to make sure that the web host you are using has a low downtime, preferably of less than 1%. This is because when you are in the ecommerce business, any downtime can lead to less customers and customers being turned away, this is bad for business. The most important thing is also to ensure that the web host that you use has 24 hour service. This is because you do not want your website to crash in the middle of the night with no way of getting it back up. When you are serving a global market, there is no time where  you can afford to let your website go down.

Of course there are many good web hosts which offer these. Blue Host is one good web host which is highly reputable in the web hosting industry. Being one of the industry giants, Blue Host offers various good business web hosting plans which are highly suitable for e-commerce web hosting. There are other web hosts which are good as well such as Host Monster and Dream Host. For an ecommerce website it is always better to stick with the tried and tested, more established web hosts in order to ensure that your website is always up and running, and in top form. You cannot take the risk of any downtime or of a high latency on your website.

Ultimately the choice is yours, which web host to choose and which web hosting plan or package to subscribe to. All you need to do is to bear in mind the needs of your ecommerce website and to adapt the web hosting package to the needs of your website. If you can do that, you will clearly be able to pick out which web hosting plan and web host is the most suitable for you.

Choosing a web host is as important as the content you will put on the site itself. The success of your site will, to a large extent, depend on the versatility of your web host. In this guide, we take a look at services provided by web hosting companies and the features website owners should consider when making a choice.

A web host is a company that provides space to keep your files so they can be viewed across the internet. Most companies charge a fee for such services, and the amount charged will vary from company to company. It would be mostly dependent on the kind of services you are seeking from the firm and the length of time.

Information about your website is kept on computers called servers. These servers are high speed machines that are capable of delivering web pages to your site visitors faster than ordinary home PCs can.

The web host will price its services accordingly to the length of time the service is been offered to the website owner. Periods are usually calculated on a monthly basis, though a few charge annual fees. Each fee will correspond to a set of features as requested by the client.

The price of each item will depend on the level of sophiscation of the service. For example, if you wanted a security or e-commerce service, your price will be higher than someone who just wanted a place to keep files. Running a website requires shopping cart activities will is more costly than ordinary web space.

You do not own the equipment from which the hosting service is delivered to you, you only rent the space. When you quit the service, the same space will be allocated to another buyer.

The prices, features and characteristics of the web host are usually all displayed at their website. On many occasions you will find a table that spells out the various services, differences, similarities and points that help the customer make a choice.

So, given the jobs that web hosts do, how do we choose one that will best meet our needs? There is no simple answer to this question. Our choice will depend on so many things, including the kind of site we are hosting, our budget and the technology used to create the site.  Notwithstanding these peculiarities, web hosts must be able to provide bottom-line services irrespective of your individual needs. The next topics take a look at the issues we must take note of when selecting a web host for our website.

Bandwidth Allotment

Bandwidth is the amount of traffic allocated to a website. It is also called data transfer. As users visit and leave your website, they create traffic. This traffic represents wear and tear on the web host equipment so they charge website users accordingly. The more traffic you have for your website, the more bandwidth you will need. Sites that offer heavy applications such as chat, forum, software download and video uploads and download would have to get very high bandwidth.

You web host must be able to provide you with a high bandwidth if you are going to incur very heavy traffic at your website. You will not want to visit your site one day to see a Bandwidth Exceeded notice.
To calculate your bandwidth, you will have to make a projection of what services you will offer and how many people would visit your site in a day or month. If you forecast 100,000 visitors a month and each visitor browses 10 pages of about 60K size, then your bandwidth needed would be 100,000X10X60K=60,000,000 or 60GB.
So by this simple calculation, you realize that you need a bandwidth of 60GB.
The web host you choose must therefore offer you this amount of data traffic. If you have a simple website with only text and graphics, then 40GB would be just enough.
As you look for hosts, be careful not to be confused about the Unlimited Bandwidth offer used on many web host sites. This offer is different from actual bought bandwidth. The unlimited bandwidth offer is mostly used for small, shared hosting websites and it is usually unpaid for. The assumption is that small sites do not consume much bandwidth and would never exceed 40 GB bandwidth or thereabout, no matter what traffic they experience. If you anticipate heavy traffic, buy the required bandwidth as the unlimited bandwidth offer is not guaranteed.
If you have a small site but anticipate future growth, you should go for a hosting plan that allows you to upgrade to a higher bandwidth service.
Bandwidth is very important in website management. It is essential that you buy the right amount to keep your site running at all times.

Server-Side Functionality

Server side functionality refers to the ability of servers to execute programs that output onto web pages. They are scripts that reside on web servers and allow you to run interactive websites. For example, if you had a database of user names and passwords of all your website users, the program that offers the login authentication will be based on your server and not located on the website page. Almost every complex site such as membership and e-commerce ones will necessarily require server side functionality.
If you are offering such a site or any one that requires that such a program be run, you will need a web host which offers server side functionality. The server side functionality reduces the burden of web pages in most cases and enables sites to provide dynamic information to their users. It also reduces the size of web pages and resultantly makes sites load faster.
Many common Internet functionalities such as email and password management, polls, photo rating services, mailing lists, require server side functionality.
Your web host must provide the common functionalities used by almost every web page on the internet.  At the minimum, your host must offer you a CGI-BIN. This important server side script allows you to run interactive scripts such as guestbook and contact forms.

Another server side functionality will be the ability of your site to run ASP (Active Server Pages). This technology from Microsoft enables you to display dynamic pages. For example if you had a website that displayed search results according to the criteria specified by the user, then you will need the ASP functionality. Moreso, if your site was predominantly created with MS FrontPage, you will obviously need ASP. If you have a file in your website with the extension .asp, then you need a host with ASP capabilities.

PHP is another widely used script. PHP also generates dynamic content but its usage spans almost every known activity on the net. From membership sites to user authentication to online forms, PHP has been used in all of these.  If you have files with .php extensions, you must have a host that provides this script via their server. MySQL is an easy to use database that runs on servers. You will need this script to manage any type of database you have especially if you are not using a proprietary database such as MS SQL or Oracle. Infact, it is free and will easily integrate into any web page with ease. MYSQL goes with phpMyAdmin, a console which helps you to manage your database via a graphical user interface.
Your host must provide you with server side functionality to enable you get more from your website. You will have ease of management, be able to apply universal changes to your site and incorporate more interactivity into your website.

Control Panel

Another important feature to consider in your choice of web host is a control panel. A control panel is the platform from which you will manage all aspects of your website. This feature comes free with every web host and one that does not provide it to its customers must be a bad host.
The control panel will make the administration of your website a breeze. Usually, it has a graphical user interface that especially helps novices to run their websites without asking for too much help from the helpdesk. It also enables them to save time on many jobs that would have required hours or days of exquisite programming from expert software programmers.
The control panel allows the website owner to do many routine tasks including adding of websites, removing old pages, creating new email addresses and updating content. In the absence of a control panel, these tasks would be quite laborious and sometimes almost impossible to undertake accurately.
The web host must offer a control panel as part of its hosting service. The features of the control panel, together with the platform on which it runs must be clearly explained in the services page of the web host. It must be able to explain in detail what each feature of the control panel can do so the customer can see if it falls within their requirements and need.
Every web host must offer a control panel. You will need this feature to administer your website, and at the same time, run essential services for your website. If a web host does not offer this feature, you would have to find another one that does. The reason is quite simple – the control panel ensures that you are able to manage your site and do edits on them in a fraction of time. Many laborious tasks such as assigning emails and installing third party programs such as WordPress are facilitated with a control panel. No site owner can effectively run his website without a control panel. You definitely need a versatile control panel in order to make a successful website.
There are many types of control panels out there, but your choice must reflect the level of sophistication of your website.  If you are a beginner, or simply want ease of management, then Cpanel will be an obvious choice. Cpanel enables customers to view their web statistics in a graphic format, installs scripts such as WordPress, oscommerce and bulletin boards, creates new web pages using a graphical html builder and many more easy to do tasks. It is the most widely used control panel on the web and every web host catering to beginners must offer one for free. Another control panel that you may want to consider is PLESK, which is a little more sophisticated and dynamic than Cpanel. Plesk will appeal to advanced users.

Disk space

Disk space refers to the amount of storage space your web host accords you on their server. The web pages, text, images and databases that you use on your website all require some place to keep them. The web host will aggregate all these and conveniently store them on their servers. The volume of disk space required will depend on the type of site you are running. If you have a simple site, you will need just 1 GB of data storage but a membership or a video site with hundred of thousands of users will need some 10GB or even more.
By necessity, every web host will offer some disk space, but the volume offered must match your website needs. You will particularly need a disk space service that allows you to upgrade to a bigger storage as your website grows. This way, you are assured that your site will be up and running as your membership site or video site grows.

In calculating your disk space, you will have to take into account non-web page files, for example, you will need to consider the number of email accounts you will be holding. These are not necessarily web pages but do take up space as well.
You will need a bigger disk space for other reasons too. Your web pages will load faster if you have a bigger space. A large space means your pages will not be crammed on your site. They will be free and immediately available for download. Your site visitors will not have to wait for hours for your pages to appear. So a bigger disk space will help your website grow and become user-friendly as well.
Databases also take up a lot of disk space. If you have offered unlimited inbox capacities to your users or offered them large format personal homepages, then you would need to get extra size disk space.
The issue of disk space is crucial for website owners. You would want to make your website available at all times, you would want your users to experience a fast download of your site and even make their video stream interruptibly. All of these activities require large disk space. Be sure to check with the host you intend to sign up with if they have the amount of space you need. You will do yourself a great deal of good if you choose one with sizable storage so you can run your site smoothly.

Email accounts

Every website needs email. You will need to put up a professional image and a domain based email is one way to do that. You will put up a more credible front if you have an email address based on your website instead if a free one like yahoo.
Again, you will need to have different email address for various segments of your website. If you run an e-commerce website for example, the customer service, sales, tech assistance and webmaster would need their own emails, so that issues related to each department are resolved quickly and conveniently.
Ultimately your web host must provide an elaborate email service so you can be able to administer your website with ease.
Aside from this, you will need to undertake several email operations of which the majority are reviewed here.
Email forwarding is something your webs host must offer. This service will enable you to receive your domain based email at your personal email. For example if your email address is sales@hosting.com, then when customers send you emails, you will get it at jolie@yahoo.com. You will have the added convenience of looking at your corporate emails in your old and frequently used mailbox.

An auto responder is another feature you will find useful. It is a system offered by hosts that enables you to send predetermined messages to each mail that arrives in a certain box. You will need this capability if you need to send routine and repetitive messages from a certain email account.
Your web host must limit the amount of spam that gets into your mailbox. They must have scripts to prevent unsolicited mail. A common and free program is Spam Assassin which almost every web host provides.
Email services cannot be ignored in your search for a good web host. They enable you to streamline your communications to get yourself organized. Your prospective hosting provider must offer you that as part of their service.

Reliability

You have designed the most elaborate and fantastic site of all time. You have uploaded the files successfully to your web host. You have placed several ads and have got many visitors to your site. You however wake up one morning to find out that just as your site was experiencing a boost in traffic, it goes down. This scenario is something every website owner would want to avoid. You would like to see you site up and running 24 hours a day, without exception.
So reliability is one essential factor you cannot ignore in your choice of web host. A website that is down frequently will lose its visitors. So will one that has a slow download and frequent outages.
You will therefore need to assure yourself that your web host will provide guaranteed access to the site. It must be part of their service offer and you must see their uptime guarantee in their service. You must see the 99% uptime guarantee in their service agreement so you can refer to the written information if they fail to provide the guarantee.

How do you choose a web host that is reliable? Well, you will see they make the effort to guarantee it. You will see something like 99% uptime guaranteed on their service offer page or notice of refund if they are unable to guarantee that. Though, these may not be actually enforceable, it tells you of their commitment to provide reliable service to their customers. If the site has previous clients, you may want to find out from them as well. Additionally, you can test how reliable one website is. You can try to access the site from different locations, through different browsers, at different times of the day and from different PCs. These activities will at least tell you how committed they are to their declarations.
The website must also offer you back up assurances. In the event of disaster, you must be able to recover all your files. Many sites offer these services for free, and you must particularly look for this feature if you are seeking a web host. It is important that they also have an alternate power source so that the site will not go down due to power failure.
Site redundancy is something every website owner would like to avoid at all costs. You must choose a web host that will guarantee round the clock uptime. You will not want to lose customers to your flourishing website due to server outages and slow downloads.

Server type

A Server is a computer that serves web pages to web users. No matter what website type you run, you will need your pages to be stored on web servers. For this reason, you cannot ignore the features of the Server you intend to keep your files on for its capabilities will determine how you can host your web pages.
Servers operate on strict technology. In other words, each Server has its underlying technology which may match or not match your particular website. Fort this reason, it is of the utmost importance that you choose a host which Server will complement or enhance your web pages or overall website.
What sever type do you choose for you website? Well, the answer depends on many things, but for a simplified approach and to make decision making easier, we will group Servers into two main types and then match each against known website technologies and features.
The two main types of Servers offered today are Windows and Linux based.
If your files predominantly use .php extensions, you will need a Linux Server. If you need to configure your .htacess files, then you need this Server type as well. A website running mysql database will go for Linux Servers. Also the most popular blogging platform in use today, WordPress, uses PHP technology and will only run on a Linux Server

On the other hand, web pages made with Microsoft technology will need Windows Servers. Pages created with MS FrontPage, files ending with .asp extensions or databases running MS SQL technologies will all require Windows Servers.

The most popular server technology for the average user is a Linux server. Do NOT go for a Windows server unless you have a very specific need to do so!

The number of sites sharing a single computer is also important in the selection of your Server type. If you are concerned about security and its utmost performance, you may want to get a dedicated Server which will host your website on one PC. You will be able to run advanced or customized applications on this type of Server. With a shared Server you use the same IP and resources like other websites. This situation can result in blacklisting of your site if any of the other website owners engages in any fraudulent activities as websites are identified by the IPs they belong to.

The kind of Server you choose will depend on many factors. You will need to take a critical look at your website technologies and find the host that will match your needs accordingly.

Site management tools

No website remains the same. After the web designer has finished your website, it may then be your responsibility to do updates. You will need to change the images, remove old text, change the format, install new scripts or even offer downloads. All of these activities require elaborate administration.
If you are a beginner or a non-techie, you will find the website management tool of your web host an indispensable part of your website site management. You will use it to go about complex programming tasks on your site.
A web host that offers site management tool will facilitate the undertaking of these tasks and make you do more in less time. An ideal website management tool will enable you to manage passwords and user names, manage files, manage page redirects and even images.

The site management tool that your web host offers must be very flexible to use. You will have to read the features of the tool and come to a conclusion if it is versatile enough. It must allow you to update your website from any where. It must feature a browser based interface. You should not install any special program on your computer to be able to use it. Again, it must be easy for novices to use. You can test drive the tool at the host’s website or read about its characteristic in detail. The site management tool offered by the host must be very fast to load. You would not want to wait forever to manage your site. The panel must be able to load very fast and display the tools in a very friendly way.
You will appreciate the need for a site management tool if you are, for example, running a site that has about 10,000 pages, and you need to make universal changes on all the pages. This situation will obviously need a central console that will quickly let you apply the modifications without necessarily downloading the entire site and then effecting the changes. You will not find the alternative of making the changes offline and then loading the site easier either.
The site management tool is a necessary part of every web host service. If you are going to choose a web space provider, you must get one that offers this feature so you can manage your web pages on a breeze. You will need the tool even if you are a professional as it is a time saving one. You will find this feature a time saving one and will complement the effectiveness of your update. You will need this tool if you are going hand over your website to a non-techie who will have to do frequent updates. You will make his job easier and ensure that consistent updates are carried out across the site harmoniously.

Security

If you are running a website that features a shopping cart, or stores or processes sensitive information such as credit cards, social security numbers or bank accounts details, you will need to be concerned about security. Given the anonymous nature of the internet, you will need to assure yourself that all information processed at your website is safe and will not be divulged to malevolent users. You will need to assure your customers that your site will not be compromised by cyber criminals and the content fraudulently used.
If you are concerned about security, then you need to select a web host that will protect your web page and its processes. The most common and universally accepted way to render safe web pages over the internet is through the use of Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology. This advanced security system encrypts sensitive data over the internet so that it cannot be captured by people with ill-intent. If you are browsing a page with this security feature installed, you will notice a closed padlock icon on the task bar of the browser.

SSL is the standard security technology used on the internet. It has become the main means to ensure a secured site. The technology ensures the integrity of all data that passes between the website and the Server. Billions of websites use this technology and it is one sure way to assure customers that their data is safe and secured.
You will also need a web host that can offer you a Digital Certificate of Authenticity. If you have a very sensitive website, you will need a unique SSL not shared SSL. Shared SSL is used by all websites on a Server.
SSL is a way of building confidence in your website. It tells customers that your website is free from hackers and that whatever information they provide will be kept confidential. When customers are assured of this safety, they feel confident to do business with you or visit your website. It also tells them that the website is known and has been verified to be authentic. For this reason, any website providing sensitive services must get a host that provides SSL.

Technical support

A website is hosted in anticipation that it will run smoothly and never encounter any problem but this supposition hardly materializes. On one or two occasions, we may need to contact our web hosts about a problem on our site.  We may want to alert the techies of a problem they may not have noticed. At other times, we may want a service that is not listed at their website or we would want to find out about a feature. All of these activities require contact with the hosting service provider.
Technical support or simply put, how well organizations address the problems and concerns of their clients, is therefore crucial for every website owner. You must therefore choose a company that will offer excellent customer service and address your needs quickly.
Choose a web host that offers 24/7 support. Stay away from hosts that offer only week day support for you can encounter problems or need help over the weekends as well.
Your web host must offer their clients several methods of support. They should provide phone lines, online chat, knowledgebase, emails and bulletin boards. A company may not necessarily offer all of these methods of communication but the fact remains that the more contact mean the site offers, the more responsive they can be to their clients.

You will need to ascertain any claim that the site makes concerning the efficiency of their support services. Send them emails and see how long they take to respond. Try to make a call and determine for yourself if the agent is cooperative, understanding and patient. You will also have to find out about the competence of the support staff. Many a time web hosts just employ people who are more sales inclined than technical. You need people to help you solve your problems.
Lastly, find out what others are saying about their service. You can visit sites that review web hosts and see what others have written about then. You can also visit forums and then read about user posts. Be careful about these types of verifications. A review site can sabotage a hosting provider with a poor rating or a staff member or affiliate can deceive website owners into signing up with an affiliated company with claims that are untrue.

Conclusion

Choosing a webs host requires that you take an appraisal of your website, the technology used to create it, your web page elements and your future growth. You will also have to make room for emerging technologies and web trends. All of these scenarios require that you choose a web hosting provider with utmost care.

You will have to first compile a list of all hosts that meet your need and then sift them down to the one that best meets your need at the least price. In determining your ultimate choice, you are considering several factors, such as customer response time, reputation, server uptime guarantee, security and reliability. You are going to choose a host that will give you value for money and at the same time make you retain your hard won customers.

You are going to look beyond the rhetoric of the web hosts. You are looking beyond their marketing gimmicks and rather applying all circumspection to make a wise choice. As part of your due process, you will want to visit forums which review web hosts and read about comments or complaints previous customer have about your prospective host.

You do not expect your website to run into trouble, but from time to time you may need the support of your host. Are they readily available? Does it take weeks to receive feedback from them? Which host will immediately resolve your issues? What tools do they have to address your complaints? Does the service provider offer its clients a web based chat where clients can quickly access technical support? Are they reachable by phone? You will have to consider all these features in your selection of a web host.

Be careful about sites that offer extremely low charges.  Many times they are resellers or web hosts providing the service from their homes. They may not be able to guarantee the essential uptime and back up services you need for your site.

Again, read through the web host policy to take note of any obligations and responsibilities. You will want to avoid any site that has policies you do not agree to or that will be detrimental to your website.

At the minimum a web host must provide you with a server space of  10mb, Cgi-Bin, a server uptime of  99%,  three email accounts, FTP access, web based email, a user friendly control panel, free scripts and an interface to let you know your website statistics.

Introduction

Almost everyone needs a website today.  Whether for commercial or personal reasons, you will stand to benefit a lot from a website. As a seller, you can market to millions of people across the globe with a website. You will be able to show your catalog and allow people to buy online without leaving their homes. You will have the benefit of updating your catalog without having to republish. For individuals, you can write about your hobby and share with others.

No matter how you use your website, you will require some tools to help you design, edit and load your files. You will have to get these resources to help you put together your text and images and neatly present them in a webpage form.

You will need tools to help you write your content. These resources will manage your text size, color and even style. You will need templates to give your website a consistent look.  You will need scripts to ease routine tasks and make you do repetitive task. Visitors will need interactivity, and you will have to afford them that opportunity.  Most importantly, you will have to obtain the functionality you want.

Web page design calls for simplicity in every aspect. Designers want ease of use and speed of implementation. Tools that help them do more in less time are welcome.  Easy navigation will make your visitors want to use your site again.

This guide lists some of the must have resources every web designer must have and what function these resources perform. Care has been taken to illustrate each tool, define its role in web page creation and show how site designers can obtain them.

This resource also shows how web designers can achieve efficiency in their job through various tools, components and applications that are listed. Each tool or program is explained in great detail, and sources where they can be obtained.

Html Editors

Html editors are WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) applications that let you create web pages without having to know about programming or coding. You have all the available tools in a graphical format so you only point and click.

HTML editors are quite popular with web designers for various reasons. They can create websites faster than hand-coded programs, so if you are hard pressed for time, html editors come in handy.  It also helps designers to deploy websites quickly. Almost every standalone html edit has an ftp program that can help you load your files to the Internet. These inbuilt ftp applications will organize your files for you so that you can minimize the errors that come with file uploading. Html editors ensure that you achieve consistency with pages. All the pages you create will have uniformity and that will make the site look professional.

Html editors have the added advantage been able to function if even if you are offline. You can therefore create pages with them and later connect onto the net and upload your files.

These editors make the work of every website designer easy. The interface has tools to let you insert images into your page with great ease, and you will not have to know about graphics to do it. The program will just guide you through a wizard. You will also create your hyperlinks and text with a breeze. You will change your text style, size and color just as you would when using text editor.

Html editors ultimately help you create web pages quickly, and also minimize the incidence of errors. You will also benefit from its GUI interface that works with icons. You just have to click the task the image represents and off you go.

Some of the most used html editors are Microsoft FrontPage and Dreamweaver. Both have graphical user interfaces to help both beginners and professionals deploy functional and versatile websites. Within minutes you can create highly interactive websites and then launch them onto the web.

Blogs

A blog is perhaps the easiest way to publish content on the web. You do not need any knowledge of html, coding or programming. You just input your text and then publish. Blogs have grown in popularity over the years and there are now several software that allow you to blog. Of all the blogging programs available, Blogger and WordPress appear to be the most user -friendly as they are quick to master.

The posts on a blog are arranged in a chronological order. The newest is always on top. This format makes them easy to browse. Visitors can easily obtain the information they are looking for without stress.

Blogs are also known to be search engine friendly. If you want to propagate your information across the web, blogs are a quick way to do that. Search engines index blogs (or their database) are very fast. The reason is because blogs tend to be updated often, and as such, will always be giving fresh information to their readers. Search engines believe that the more current the information, the better it serves their visitors.

Blogs also allow you to disseminate your information faster. Blogs have inbuilt RSS capabilities that allows webmasters to feature your content one their site with a single code. When your content changes, theirs also updates automatically. This way, you can have your information spread across the web without much effort.

You can enable the comment feature on your blog to encourage interactivity. If you would want to know more about other people’s opinions about your post, you can make people comment on the post. You can control how the comment works. Anyone can comment without your approval or you may want to review comments before they are posted onto the site.

Blogs are very useful in managing date of posts. You can save your posts in your dashboard and the come back later to publish them. You can even schedule posts so that they are published sometime in the future.

Blogs help you organize your posts according to subject. If you have a PC website, you can categorize your posts into registry cleaners, hard disk, monitors or some other subject. Your content stays organized and is easy to navigate.

If you would want to build a website or for that matter post any information onto the internet, a blog is one tool you may want to obtain.

You can choose Blogger or WordPress to make your posts. Both are versatile and come free of charge.

Web Templates

A template is a complete website without text. You may have come across templates in many applications, especially Microsoft, when you use it as a basis for creating various documents. Templates as they apply to web page design perform the same function: they give you a layout and format within which you create your webs pages.
Templates have many uses. They allow you to create a website without having any web design layout knowledge. If you cannot create graphics yourself, templates will help you out, as each page comes with the right images to help you build your website. Most importantly, you are able to select templates and optimize the best graphics which enables to you carry out your web design activities easily.
If you want to create a website quickly and economically, you will need a template. Templates help you to create a website quickly and without challenges, such as deciding where to put what, as all that is done for you. Ultimately, the layout is done for you.  Templates help you deploy websites quickly. You only put your text and then swiftly load them onto the web.

You can buy templates or get them for free, depending on what site you use. There are several sites on the web that sell templates, so, to help you choose a template, you must decide what color, text and image you wish to use on your website.
Whether you find a template for free or for sale, they come with everything you need to start your website. You will have the html files that will make up the various pages, images that you will use for your site, menus and fonts. When you download the template, you have everything optimized for your deployment. The pages you create will load quickly and your visitors will experience optimum browsing.
Templates provide an easy way to create websites. You will have the added benefit of incurring almost zero cost on their use. You have the same professional layout as any other site.

Site Builders

A website builder is an interface that enables you to create web pages. It is usually hosted by a company or web host and you login to access it. They differ from standalone builders in many ways. Builders have less advanced capabilities, will work mostly online, have simplified GUI interface and will output their content to the web. They serve as the primary means through which beginners will create their web pages and then publish them online. They especially remove all the troubles novices have with the generation of web content and publishing.

Builders allow the creation of simple yet functional websites. They are made for people who lack html, coding or programming language. You will work in a WYSIWYG environment and publish same.

Builders are flexible in management. You can edit your files or delete them easily. You simply log into the web interface and undertake these tasks. You will find it easy to edit your pictures, remove certain portions of text you don’t want and even change your font size and color.

The builder provided by the web host is one too you will find indispensable when it comes to website creation.  They feature prebuilt templates that match specific themes, so if you are creating a website about a hobby, for example, coin collecting, there is most often a matching format.  Again, you are never left wondering what to do next, because the wizard simplifies the building process by providing you with step-by-step guide as to what to do next. The best part is you do not have to upload all files to any server. You write, you publish. The builder works with your hosting account and domain name so your content is published right from your account.

Builders minimize the incidence of mistakes that newbies make with web design. The system has been designed so that once you commit an error, the wizard will prompt you or ask for correction, assuring you that the final output to the web will be something that is of standard.

If you are looking for a professional way to publish content, you may have to choose a builder. The builder will also enable you publish your content without much hassle. You type your text, click Publish and you are done.

Scripts

Scripts are small programs that help web designers do repetitive tasks or enhance the functionality of the website. Most of the time they help the web surfer undertake tasks easily at a website. If you have ever made an entry into a web guest book, you were probably using a script.

Scripts are usually available for free. You will just need to download them from one of many sites and put the code into your website. You do not need any programming or coding knowledge to be able to use scripts. You simply copy and paste them into the web page. They are very fast to deploy.
Scripts can be made with online generators. Generators accept your parameter inputs and then create the scripts to suit your preference. They will take input such as color preferences, font size and timing. Alternatively, you can choose from preset scripts. The choice will depend on the web designer and the activity he needs to perform.
Basically, there are scripts that will help you perform various tasks and add interactivity to your site. You can get scripts for creating menus, buttons, guestbook’s, time displays, display quotes, and many more.
If you are a web designer, you will want to obtain scripts that help your visitors bookmark the page they are viewing. This simple script and functionality will ensure that the next time they want to visit the page, they will not have to remember the URL. They simply visit their web browser bookmarks and then click to visit your page. You will get repeat visitors with this simple functionality. You may also be interested in the simple script that allows your visitors to print a text only version of your page. This way they can be able to print whatever text you have on your page without the pictures, another component that will make the pages shorter in print output.
Scripts afford web designers the ability to create complex functionalities for their websites without knowing about html or programming. They can instantly deploy elaborate and interactive functionalities which would otherwise take a programmer quite some time to do.

Images

Collectively called graphics, images are the pictorial elements we see on a web page. Drawings, pictures, diagrams and even logos are all referred to as images. Images serve various functions on a website. They can help the designer illustrate a concept or point, or hey are used to display products and services. Images can also make a site carry more meaning. If your company trademark is a picture, you may need images to put that on a website. You can also use images as thumbnails. Thumbnails are small pictures that you put on website so that when clicked upon, a large one opens. It is used to save space on site and give visitors the option to view a larger picture.

If you are designing an e-commerce website, images will become necessary as you will need to show the visitors what products you are selling. Text could describe the product but images will do it best.

There are many types of images that a site can use. Some of the most used are GIF, PNG, JPEG, FLASH and BITMAP.

GIF helps you create animations and are light in size. They do not provide optimum quality, but are the easiest ways to put your images on a site. GIF is not appropriate if you need to provide near real representation of objects. They cannot be as clear as the pictures used in brochures. Finally, they are not sharp. An interlace GIF is a special type of GIF that will load gradually onto a browser. This type of image will begin as a fuzzy picture and then become sharper as the page loads up.

Bitmaps are heavy files but sharper in appearance. They slow down page loading but at the same time represent the highest quality any image can produce. They are sharp and should be used sparingly.

PNG images have high quality appearance and make good images for the web. They can be compressed for faster loading without loss in quality and sharpness.

JPEG is another popular image format. They are quite heavy though sharper than GIF ones. They however tend to lose their quality as they get compressed for fast loading.

You can create your own images with standalone software such as Adobe Photoshop or you can design them online. Alternatively, you can have several images free from the net.

Headers

Headers are integral parts of websites. There is no website without one.

A header is the top part of every website you see. It is usually graphical in nature. A header could be animated or composed of static image. For the most part, headers serve as website titles. They contain the name or the business slogan of the website. It also announces the website to visitors and appears to be a greeting as well.

A header typically illustrates a website. It graphically helps visitors to get the assurance of where they are. The header could be incorporated in your logo, and can be consistently placed on all your pages to give them identity so that irrespective of where your visitors are on your site they are assured that they are browsing within the same company or site.

You will need a header to make your website complete. You can generate one with a header generator or design a graphic and place it there. For many, a free header is the way out. You can obtain several of them from the web. A free header can contain your website name or just an image to represent your website. For example, if you are building a website about computers, then a header depicting a keyboard or monitor would suffice.

Headers help web designers develop themes for their pages. Its sets the tone for the website and make the visitors associate with it.

Headers are available in many sizes and formats, but essentially they cover the top most part of the website. They can have fixed width or variable length that will adjust according to the browser you are using and the monitor you are viewing from.

To create a header, you will need to consider your website colors and theme. You will choose a background that will reflect the content of your website or its main keywords. You will then create a GIF, Flash or JPEG images for it. The image must be quick to download as visitors would need to see that to assure them that they are on the right site.

If you are not using a standalone tool, you can create headers online. Several sites offer this service. You will only enter the text, chose a background graphic then output the header. You will save the resulting graphic onto your PC and use it for the website.

Bulletin Board/Forum

A bulletin board, also called a forum, is an application that allows users to exchange messages and ideas on the internet. Users can write messages and have it posted to the board and respondents can do same. Almost every website has a bulletin board today. It serves as one of the means through which website owners can interact with their visitors. It also creates the platform for interactivity. For sites that feature hobby subjects, there has been no greater way to build community information than to install bulletin boards.

You will need a bulletin board for your website for many reasons. It will primarily help you generate unique content, and since every post on your site differs from the other, you need to have unique content that will help you get your pages get indexed in the search engines and ensure you a better placement.

In choosing a bulletin board, you will have to consider how easy it is to administer. Many bulletin boards come with WYSIWY administration interface. You should be able to monitor posts and approve members based on certain criteria. Lastly, you should be able to approve registration before members are able to post on your bulletin boards.

There are thousands of bulletin boards available, but two free, most versatile and most popular ones are Phpbulletin board and Vbulletin, which can both be downloaded from the Internet and installed without any complications. Many web hosts also have bulletin boards as free scripts in their admin panel, you simply must click one of them and install it from your hosting account.

The bulletin board must be an integral part of your website. Visitors should see and interact with it as if they are still within your web pages. For this to happen, you need to give your bulletin board a color and theme that blends with your existing website. This way, they will be able to identify with it and make good use of it.

Bulletin boards are a must have resource for every one planning a website. They ease content management, bring interactivity to the site and at the same time make it an interesting place.

Banners

Banners are perhaps the first things everyone see when they visit a web page. They are usually static or animated graphics found at mostly the top page of the website. Some banners could be placed at the foot or somewhere in the page.

Banners are essentially a particular form of graphics, and serve as advertising pieces for the website. Many banners sell a product, refer customers to a service or simply talk about a website’s offers. The banner is linked to a website so that when the visitor clicks on the ad, they are sent to the destination website.

You may want to use banners on your site for space reasons. You may also want to make your site appealing, or simply direct your visitors to something special. Whatever the reason, you will need a banner at one time or another.

You can have a banner through many means. You can create one yourself offline, online or simply obtain one from a third party source.

You can use the same tools used in making logos to create your banners. The only difference been that the images may be static. For moving images, Animation Shop or Flash would do. Flash produces more professional banners but would require third party plugins before your visitors can see them.
Banners come in various shapes and sizes. The most common formats are 700 x 100, 720 x 100, 640 x 88 banners, 100 x 100, 250 x 250, 100 x 700, and 80 x 468. You can have customized sizes to suit the particular point on your website where you want place them.
You can create your banner online for free. You just have to visit the website interface and input your text. You choose a format or size, then the banner generator will output your banner. You can then save the banner and use it on your site.

You can also obtain banners from websites with affiliate programs. These are companies for whom you will advertise products and the get commissions. They have several sizes, color and formats to suit every website content and structure.

Animations

You see them all the time on web pages. Animations are those moving images or text you see on most web pages. They enliven the site and help web designers to put more information in small space. They also help designers illustrate concepts.
Animations also present site designers with an easy way to display series of text, images or ads in very small space. You can have as many as hundred ads running in the space – they will just alternate.
You need animations to make your site look interesting. You will also need it if you are running ads.
You can create animations with standalone programs such as Dreamweaver, Animation Shop or even MS FrontPage. You will only need to input the pictures, logos or images, then the program will output the animation for you. Flash will also help you create high end sharp animations.

You can also obtain free animation from the web. You do not have to pay anything. You can use these animations on any website that you want.
There are websites that allow users to create their own animations. You will be able to download the resulting images and then use them on your site.
There are several formats of images. The format depends on the type of file they output. There are GIF animations and Flash animations. GIF animations are very simple but are of low quality as far as picture sharpness is concerned but they can also be played in any browser without additional plugin. Flash animations are sharper but will require add on software to b able to play in most web browsers
You will need animations for your website fort several reasons. You will want to impress your visitors, illustrate a concept, rotate ads on your site or simply conserve space. Whatever the reason, animations will help you do more on your site.

Conclusion

There are many reasons building a website requires that we obtain the right tools and resources.

Standardization is one factor. When we use the right tools, we are assured that our pages would be standard and acceptable to every visitor.

By using standard resources and tools, our visitors are able to view our web pages no matter what browser they use. Our pages would load faster and we would also be able to maintain the pages we have created with ease.

Using the right resources for our web design jobs will make our websites contemporary. They can easily integrate into current technologies and software. Our users would derive added value from our websites and contribute to its growth.

The right resources also make it easy for surfers to use our site. The standard tools used for creating the website will ensure that things such as navigation, menus and layout conform to current practices with which every web user is familiar with.

Our pages become attractive if we use the right tools. They can display correctly in the browser and your visitors would be glad to visit again because you appealed to then.

Search engines would index your website if the pages conform to their rules. Standard tools like blogs will produce pages that understand how search engines index pages so you will have the added advantage of increase visibility o the web.

Web tools make your web design job easy. The WYSIWYG interface makes you work with icons and not raw code. Coding can take away a lot of time and produce fatal errors if you are not proficient. GUI interfaces take away all the incidences of errors and labor, and give you something manageable.

Speed of implementation comes with the right tools. You can create a website and launch it in an hour with the right resources. You save on time, effort and never miss important deadlines.

Now that you are equipped with the right knowledge you can go about your web design with the assurance that you are going to produce something appealing and acceptable to most browsers.