We show you how to unleash your creativity on the internet

It is often said that everyone has a novel inside them, and the same thing could be said about creating a website.

We all have something to say, and it’s far more feasible to say it with a website than with a book.

Many people simply never get round to it, assuming that they are not up to the task. In reality, setting up a website needn’t be a nightmare.

In this feature we’re going to reveal just how easy it can be to establish an online presence, starting with registering a domain name and buying a hosting package, to generating pages and getting listed on search engines.

First things first
There are countless reasons for setting up a website – to promote a local club, to display family photographs, to advertise a small business, or just to have a bit of fun.

Whatever the impetus, planning, research and preparation are of the utmost importance if you are to avoid making potentially costly mistakes. Even the most simple of sites is going to require a degree of planning and there are a number of decisions to be made.

A domain name is needed so people will be able to visit the site, a hosting package to store the files which make up the site, a tool to put together pages, a program to upload completed pages from your computer to your hosting package and once the whole thing is complete, you will need to find a way to let potential visitors know of the site’s existence.

Looking through the list of essential steps that need to be completed, it would be easy to assume that getting a website up and running would be not only difficult but also expensive. But website building can prove much easier, and certainly cheaper, than many people expect.

Search around for the right hosting package and it is possible to find one which includes a domain name included in the price as well as page templates and online uploading tools to manage site files.

Opting for such a package not only helps to keep costs to a minimum, but also means that there is only one company to deal with.

It is with this philosophy in mind that we’re going to take a look at setting up a website with 1 &1. There are many reasons for choosing this particular provider, but the fact that a domain name is included in the price and there are a wide range of packages to choose from are just some of the advantages.

What’s inside?
Having decided to create a website, one of the most important processes to go through is working out what the site is going to include.

As well as thinking about the actual contents of the pages, it is also worth spending a little time thinking about the types of pages which the site will be made up from as this can help to determine how the site will be put together and how people will navigate it.

Whether pages are to be designed from scratch, or based on templates, it is also a good idea to sketch out some page layout ideas. For this task, old-fashioned pencil and paper is the best option as this makes it easy to play around with a number of ideas before moving onto creating a rough draft on the computer.

While this stage may seem unnecessary and tedious, in the long run it can save a great deal of time. Having an idea of how a site is going to pan out can speed up the actual process of putting together pages and it can also help to determine the type of hosting package which is needed.

For example, in the case of a basic website comprising text and images which are not going to be updated very often, a basic free hosting package such as those supplied by internet service providers (ISPs) may well be sufficient.

If it transpires that the site you have planned is going to need more advanced features, even if these can be added to an ISP’s hosting package, it may well be cheaper to seek out a dedicated hosting package which includes these features as standard.

Using an ISP’s hosting package can also lead to problems should you ever decide to switch service providers. Such packages generally have rather ugly domain names, often taking the form www.myisp.co.uk/myname or something similar.

While any domain name can be redirected to point to your web content, combined with the limits of most packages of this type, it is best to turn to a dedicated hosting provider.

Registering a name
With an idea of just what the site is going to comprise, it’s time to register a domain name and purchase a hosting package.

When purchasing a domain name, it is possible to do so from a company other than the one you are going to use to host your website, but this does mean that you will have to manually configure the address to point at the package.

It is far easier to buy both from the same place as this means that this potentially tricky configuration step is carried out automatically.

There are a couple of things to take into consideration when choosing a domain name – whether or not the address you want is available, and what type of address you should opt for.

In most instances, selecting the type of domain name boils down to a choice between a .co.uk address or a .com one (although it is possible to buy both for the same site). However, there are also a number of other domains to choose from such as .org.uk, .me.uk, .biz, and .net.

Domain names including .uk are generally the cheapest, and they can be bought for two years at a time. Opt for another domain and the price goes up. It is also possible to choose to own the domain from anything between one and 10 years.

Before setting your heart on a particular domain name, you will first need to check that it is still available. This needs to be done using a special tool, it is not enough to simply visit the address you are interested in to see if there is a site there. More on this later.

A domain name can be registered without a site having been associated with it, so a lack of pages should not be taken as an indication that an address is available.

Hosting
We’ve picked one hosting company as an example, but the tools used are similar to those used by just about every other hosting provider.

Before choosing a provider, it’s worth putting the names of a few providers into a search engine, to see what people are saying about them on the internet. Every service has its detractors, but a relatively high number of complaints about a service should set off alarm bells.

At the 1&1 website, the main page includes a domain checker. Enter the address you’d like to use and then use the dropdown menu to select the type of domain you’re interested in before clicking the Go button.

A few moments later, the Domain Check Results page will indicate if the address is available – if not, addresses with different suffixes will be suggested. Should you draw a blank, try adding hyphens or underscores to an address, or adding or changing words until you find one which is free.

As we’re interested in subscribing to a hosting deal as well as a domain, we’re not going to complete the purchase just yet. Instead, head to the Hosting section of the 1&1 site where you’ll find a list of the available hosting packages.

As a rule of thumb, the more expensive a package, the more you get. That generally includes more web space and a higher bandwidth allowance, although more expensive packages also include additional features.

The 1&1 Home package is an ideal starting point. It has 1.5GB of web space, sufficient for almost all sites and there is a generous 20GB monthly bandwidth allowance. In addition to this, a .co.uk domain name is included as well as up to 400 email addresses. There is also a range of useful free software included in the price.

Controlling the site
With a hosting account created, every aspect of your new website can be controlled online. Log into the 1 &1 Control Panel using your customer number or domain name and password and the numerous icons which are displayed provide access to a range of administrative tools.

For quick and easy setup, turn to the Websitebuilder tool, which can be used to put together a template-based site in a matter of minutes.

After naming the site, it is necessary to indicate which hosting package it should be associated with – in most cases, there will only be one to choose from. Now click the Open button and Websitebuilder will launch. The initial wizard that appears enables the site to be titled and a template selected, as well as choosing the pages that the site will include.

Working with templates is a great way to get a site online without spending too much time worrying about the nuts and bolts holding it together. Hand coding a site can be enjoyable and is an excellent learning experience.

To hand code a site, a suitable program is required, and there are a number of big names to choose from when it comes to picking an HTML editor that can take your idea and turn it into a site or page.

One of the most well known is Dreamweaver, but its price tag can make the program inaccessible. Thankfully, there are countless alternatives available and there is a huge number of competent tools which are completely free of charge.

Even without a vast knowledge of HTML, it is possible to piece together a great-looking site using a Wysiwyg (what you see is what you get) tool.

A free copy of Serif Webplus 6 can be downloaded here and this program includes a wide range of templates and tutorials to help you get started.

For anyone more confident of their HTML skills, Coffeecup Free HTML Editor is worth checking out, as are Nvu and Seamonkey.

Transferring files to the site
Whether you have decided to go down the route of manually coding pages rather than using an online tool, or just need a way to transfer images and other files from your computer to your web space, you are going to need an FTP program (File Transfer Protocol).

Many hosting packages, including those from 1&1, include an online file transfer tool, but using a dedicated FTP program gives you far more control over the uploading process. Your hosting provider will be able to provide you with details of how to enable FTP access as well as the necessary username and password.

Some HTML editors, including the aforementioned Seamonkey, incorporate an FTP tool, but standalone programs are also available. One such program is SmartFTP, which can be downloaded free of charge here.

Having created a basic site and added content in the form of text and images, you are ready to start experimenting. This can involve customising the layout of pages, changes themes, or adding more advanced features to the site.

Whether you are going to try out new ideas or not, backing up a site is still good practice as it means that everything can be restored should anything go wrong, or if any files are accidentally deleted.

Backing up can be accomplished manually using an FTP program – just download online files to your hard disk rather than vice versa – but many hosting packages offer an automated backup facility which enables the files that make up a site to be downloaded into a single compressed file.

Creating a site made up of just text and images is all well and good, and indeed it may be all that is required, but by using a script (a piece of computer code that performs a specific task) a huge range of features can be added.

You may well find that your hosting package includes a number of scripts as standard, such as those needed to create guestbook, forum or visitor counter, but there are countless others available which can be adapted to suit your needs.

Hotscripts is a massive searchable directory which includes a huge collection of scripts in a variety of languages.

The upshot is that if you can think of a feature you would like to add to your site, there is probably a script which can help you make it a reality.

Once you delve into the world of third-party scripts, you are entering the realm of more serious web development and you will find that virtually all scripts require a degree of customisation if they are to work correctly with an existing site and fit in with the look of pages.

Letting people find the site
Whatever type of site you have created, once it is online the next step is to ensure that people can find it.

To get things started, word of mouth is one of the best ways to advertise a site, but in the long term search engine submission is the route to go down.

Sites can be manually submitted to the likes of Google and Yahoo, but many hosting providers have an automated submission tool which can be used to submit a site to multiple search engines in one fell swoop.

Search Engine Optimisation (or SEO) involves ensuring that a site has the correct description and keywords associated with it as well as correctly formatted metatags which will be read by search engines.

Again, SEO is something which your hosting provider can help with, or it can be carried out manually. Get it right, and people will be able to find your site with a search engine, helping to boost your traffic.

While setting up a fully fledged website is relatively cheap and easy, it can still be more than is necessary for some purposes.

A great alternative is to using a blogging tool to create a site. Services such as Blogger can be used to create a blog free of charge and it is possible to upload photos, allow visitors to add comments and much more.

But if you would like a little more control over the creation of a blog, you may want to consider using a more advanced blogging service such as Wordpress.

Weblogs
Although more advanced than Blogger, Wordpress is still available free of charge, and it is easy to get a basic blog configured.

However, the sheer volume of features can be off-putting to start with, so it is worth investing a little time learning how to get the most from the service – anyone proficient in CSS can put their skills to good use to alter blog appearance.

As well as using one of hundreds of themes to customise the look of pages, widgets can be used to add interesting, interactive page elements to help create something quite unique.

And finally
Having worked your way through this feature, you should be armed with all the information you need to get started in the world of web building.

Whether you want to set up a personal site or one to promote a local club, there are a number of options available. It really does not matter what your budget is, your level of knowledge or what you would like to create a site about.

With so many options available, there is sure to be something out there that meets your needs and helps you develop your own little corner of the internet.

Email hosting
After putting together a website, it makes sense to provide a way for visitors to get in touch, and email would seem to be the obvious choice.

While it is possible to simply add any email address to the ‘Contact Us’ page, things look much more professional if the address takes the form contact@mywebsite.com.

When purchasing web hosting, check to see whether email hosting is included or if it needs to be bought separately. It is often possible to create as many x@mywebsite.com email addresses as necessary, but some providers place limits on numbers.

Alternatives to hosting media
Many websites offer streaming video, and there is no reason why you wouldn’t want to do the same with your site. However, video files can take up a lot of space on your site, and if a lot of people download them, they can also use up a lot of bandwidth.

A quick and easy way to get around this problem is to upload your videos to Youtube or Google Video. Both websites can host video files free of charge for you and provide the HTML code necessary to embed the videos into another site. Take a look at this article for more information.

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