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If you want to learn to build a web site you will want to first determine exactly what it is you want your web site to accomplish. Is your web site being designed for personal, informational or monetary purposes? Of course, a well designed web site can provide all of these criteria ' it's up to you which particular aspect you want to focus on.

One of the best ways to learn to build a web site is to start in the beginning, which is planning. Planning will save you a lot of aggravation in the long run. Although it may appear complicated at first glance, you can learn to build a web site and, if planned properly, it can be a lot of fun.

' Use post-it notes while you learn to build a web site, using these to define your navigation or menu can make building a web site a lot less complicated. You can even use different colored notes for each category and move them around until you are satisfied that they are in a logical, easy to understand order.

' Restrict the number of menu choices to eight or less. Spend some time on ensuring that the information you want to provide is organized in a way people expect it to be. No matter how good your content, if your site is too complicated for users to easily navigate, they will quickly click off to pursue another location.

' While you learn to build a web site, use your imagination as an attention grabber when creating the menu items; however, don't stray too far from convention as this may confuse your visitors ' and result in poor usability of the web site. Once you have the menu categories sorted out you can continue adding the minor pages with additional post it notes. Use one note for each page.

' Using the post-it note approach to planning, you will have ready information on how many pages you will need and the function of each.

Visual Design is how most people learn to build a web site. Take the time to sketch a few thumbnails (miniature designs) of how you want your web site to appear. Sketch each page with the ultimate goal of achieving what you want to display on each page. By sketching your ideas out in paper you will not get distracted with all the details of actually producing the pages for the web site. This will provide immeasurable help as you learn to build a web site.

While you learn to build a web site it is imperative that your web site have an appealing visual affect on your visitors. Take the time to sketch a few thumbnails (miniature designs) of how you want your site to appear. Sketch each page with the ultimate goal of achieving what you want to display on each page.

Once you have determined the overall layout of your pages and their placement within your web site, your next step you need learn to build a web site is to collect your content. Gather together all graphics, text and other assets you plan to use on your site. Put them all in a folder that makes it easier to find.

Learn to build a web site based on search engine optimization (SEO) techniques, this will go a long way in placing your web site at the top of the more popular search engines. Search engine spiders rely on keyword density and placement, so as you learn to build a web site, your keyword content should be developed with at least 3% optimization. Try to make it human readable and yet use the keyword you are targeting. Use of the through help the search engines determine what is important. Bold the keyword once on the page and use italics or underline to add emphasis to the key word in other areas.

Try to develop pages that contain important elements without other distractions such as flashing graphics, pop-up advertising and overwhelming fonts. As you learn to build a web site understand that the fewer distractions your visitors have to contend with, the longer they will remain on your pages. Adding a well placed audio or visual can increase the stickiness (the ability of a web page to keep people on the site) of a page.

As you learn to build a web site by following these instructions, you should concentrate on building an easy to navigate web site that caters to your visitors' needs. If you learn to build a web site that keeps hype to a minimum while providing easy to read and interesting content your web site will stand out from the crowd.