Building your web site is easier than ever today. The number of resources for webmasters multiplies faster than any other information online. Can you do it, too? Of course you can. Building your web site is as simple as updating a blog entry. All you need to do is to perform some research and gather some equipment.

Before you do anything technical, you should have the aesthetic qualities narrowed down. What design do you want? The easiest way to avoid feeling overwhelmed is to simply surf the web. What sites do you frequent the most? How are they designed? Which layouts do you enjoy the most?

Take three sheets of paper and narrow your favorite sites down to three. Use one web site for each piece of paper. What appeals to you? Do you like their colors? The spacing? Is the layout simplistic or ornate? Do even the bullets have customized graphics? Or do you like the professionalism of the design? Is it a no-nonsense layout that places all emphasis on the content? What are the qualities you don’t like or don’t want?

When you have the three web sites analyzed and considered, you can start to plan your own. What background colors work the best? You will be using your own discretion for this step. What is most readable? Do you prefer serif (i.e. Times New Roman, Georgia) or sans serif (i.e. Verdana, Arial) text? What colors do you like?

The colors should match, but should also provide a smooth visual experience for your visitor. Anyone who has been online for a few years will remember the once common presence of intensely bright colors for backgrounds. There was also the use of a single image repeated a thousand times throughout a single web page. What we learned from experience is that these designs were migraines waiting to happen.

When you have decided on your color scheme and the designs you prefer, you must next watch the video on wire framing. A wire frame is a general sample copy of your web site. It is a visual reference that will help you see your web site as it will appear upon completion.

Once these tasks are complete, you can begin your project in Dreamweaver.