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10 July 2009
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How can I build my own site? Print this article

All you need to build your own website is a computer, an internet connection and a little knowledge of HTML - the language that websites are made with.

Building a website can be a very simple task, but it can also become overly complicated if you don't plan each stage of the building process.

There is no point having a state-of-the-art website designed if you haven't got any web space to host it in, so you need to make sure you have all the right elements in place at the beginning.


Getting started

Before you start building your site, you have to make sure you've got the right equipment and information to get it up and running. Here is a quick check list of things you need to build your website.

  1. A computer.
  2. A modem
  3. Internet access via an ISP
  4. A domain name (optional)
  5. Web space
  6. Web authoring or HTML editing software
  7. FTP software
  8. Some good ideas
  9. Plenty of time!
  10. Some good advice

You've already come to the right place for good advice, but don't panic if the other nine key web-building ingredients seem strange to you, the info you need is coming up.


The hardware and software

The only equipment you will need to build your own website is a computer (either a PC or Apple Macintosh) and a modem.

The modem provides you with internet access to view, publish and publicise your website. The computer helps you build, store and back-up your site.

If you're reading this article then you'll already have access to the internet via an ISP such as AOL, Demon, Freeserve or beeb.net.

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WYSIWYG
- stands for "What you see is what you get" and refers to one of two types of programs called web editors, which help you build web pages. With WYSIWYG you can place images and type text straight onto the page rather than having to insert HTML code.
FTP
- File Transfer Protocol. A program you use to download and upload files onto computers on the internet.


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