Developing Your Own Web Site UCC Internet CIS 120 (MLG)

Select one from the following where you will have a client for your site that is not YOU.

	a small local business such as a restaurant, a photographer, small retail like a pet store. The Internet lets little guys compete with the big guys. Relatives' business works well. Think a business by looking at the ads in your local newspaper, these folk know the value of advertising. Also those firms that send you "mail box coupons" are good candidates. Check Switchboard or other online yellow pages. Check Internet lists, like dining establishments. Lastly, try the Yellow Pages.
	a local team or group (PAL football, girl scouts, etc.)
	a charity, check the web for charities seeking help. How about your church/temple/mosque? is looking for Virtutal volunteers See what CNET has to say about doing pro bono work for a worthy cause as being a terrific way to break into the lucrative web site building market) Use search engines to see if the organization that you chose already has a site.
	a professor or UCC department needing a site

Use search engines to see what the competition, similar sites have, noting things you want to imitate and things you want to avoid. Post your thoughts on the Forum (under "Site Plans" with your name and topic as the subject.)

Speak to the business owner/organization director. Offer to put the site up. Tell them if they doesn't like the site, you will remove it (this has NEVER happened.) For businesses, you might say that if they like the site you've created, you will charge them. (Businesses are very much more will to pay in kind, whatever product or service they sell, than in hard cash)

Get a Web Agreement Signed.

Update your post on the forum under your post in the "Site Plan" Discussion as your ideas for the site change and expand. Also be sure to comment on other's ideas and incorporate classmates' suggestions if they make good sense.

Get a free web site that offers FrontPage 2002 extensions
Angelfire works well. See Help for using FrontPage on Angelfire.

Create your page using FrontPage locally and publish it. Tell you classmates about it on your post in the "Project Plans" discussion on the Forum .

Make sure every page has a great Title! and see checklist for other skills that your site must demonstrate.

Make sure that there are no "dead ends" on the site, and it is easy to navigate from one page to another. There should be graphic links and always text links.

Create a Site search page using FrontPage or WhatUSeek or other Free Search Engines for your site

Make your URL easy to remember by going to www.go.to or I.am to get a come.to/your-choice or surf.to etc address.

Use online resources for ideas and help TechSoup.org

TechSoup is a website that helps nonprofits get the most from the web. It has ad points to many fine resources.

Promote your site

	Have visitors tell their friends.
	Find sites (using search engines) that would have visitors that were interested in your site (such as a chamber of commerce or town site that lists businesses) and write their webmasters.
	Submit your site to a dozen search engines using automatic submitters like VerySimple (be sure to check out their Tips!), , and other free submit engines. Try manually submitting it to Directories ( and Yahoo)

Investigate hosts that charge but do NOT put advertising on your page:

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HostIndex has the top 25 web host and a page for hosts with FrontPage

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