Making Good Websites that Stand Out

Websites, there's literally billions of them out there in cyber-space. How many of them do you go to and just think this is boring, bland, or hard to use? It seems like too many to mention. So what makes a good website? I reckon it's about interaction. You've got to make the visitor interested. You've got to grab their attention. Many sites use plenty of bright and shiny gimmicks to attract you, but once you make it through to the content of the site it's just not worthy. A good site uses easy navigation, relevant content, and interactive media like comments and message boards. If you're fortunate, whoever builds your site may even have a few tricks up their sleeves to make it really fun with sound, video, and other interactive fun stuff.


Do you want people to come to your site and then tell their friend and family about it? Do you want to have huge amounts of visitors? Do you want to succeed in making your dreams come to fruition on the Web? Make your website exciting! It might be easier said than done, but there are people around whose job it is to construct and design sites for a living. If you can afford it, go for the best. How great is it when you come across a site that has some special feature that you've never seen elsewhere? Isn't it great when you find a site that relates to one of your interests that is simple and easy to get to the information you want? If you want to have people to come back again and again, you've got to keep updating the content to keep it fresh and interesting. Have a way for people to communicate with yourself and others who are into the same things. E.G. Forums, message boards and comments. The aim is to catch the 'viewer's' interest. A lot of sites just look like giant advertisements and you have to search for the needle in the haystack to find out what the actual site is for. I know advertising is a way of making money, but if you want your site to have an authentic, respectable atmosphere that exudes a feeling of integrity, you better be careful. People are becoming wary of this consumer driven, mindless attack at the average civilian's wallet. Some people will automatically leave a site if a bunch of commercials pop-up on the screen. Pop-ups, don't even make me go there? So, the aim of the game is to make a site that offers the public to be part of the action as well as being a source of knowledge or information that is in demand. A simple to navigate, good 'feel', and if possible-innovative site is the means to becoming the popular Internet magnate you've always dreamed of becoming. Another important fact is the idea of 'you'. Your website is a chance to put your identity out there in the world. Be yourself. If you try to appeal to an audience in a way that doesn't reflect your true self, you're destined to fail. Be honest and speak from your real perspective on life. Give it to us from the heart.

Free Web Design Resources

Ready to start making your own website?

Web design is great fun at times, frustrating at others, but it's always rewarding and can even be free! This section is filled with free stuff for your website including web design resources and tools to help you on your way to completing the website of your dreams.

Learn the basics of web design with the tutorials, add interactive content to your website, like guest books and forums, find a server to host it for free... and when you're ready find out how to promote and make money from your website.

This section is where Webweaver started. I was brand new to the Web and wanted to make my own webpage. The problem was I had no idea where to begin and didn't want to spend money on it while learning. Slowly my bookmark file began getting filled lists of free design resources and services, so I uploaded that to my first website. Along the way other people found that list and eventually I turned it into the main focus of that site. Webweaver was born shortly after. I hope it's as helpful to you as it has been for me =)

Handy, Free Stuff for Web Developers

Before you go wandering off, here's a couple resources that are worth checking out. Yes, they might be sponsors, but they offer great products and/or services for your website, and yes... I do use all of them personally.

Organize your pictures. Get Google's photo software.
Organize, edit and share your photos, clipart or any other type of image you want with this handy free image software from Google. Picasa is extremely easy to use and has a ton of handy features like tagging with labels to make it easier to find the photo you're looking for, star ratings to easily find your favorites, and the ability to password-protect any Picasa collection you'd prefer to keep private! Very handy for any web developer who has a collection of images for many different sites!

Firefox with Google Toolbar
OK, it's not directly a tool just for a webmaster, but there are a ton of extensions that make it incredibly useful (Web Developer Toolbar, HTML Validator, DOM Inspector and Live HTTP Headers just to name a few). And it's faster, safer and well.. in my opinion, better than Internet Explorer.
The web developer in me wants proper css support, and the surfer in me want a safe, secure and fast way to wander the web. Well, FireFox delivers both and it's totally customizable! It's been my default browser since it was still in beta. Download it and see for yourself!

Bravenet
They offer tons of free resources for your website including Human Click (visitors can see if you're online and page you, right from your website!), polls, guest books, forums, chat rooms, free storage space, tickers, password protection and much more (way to much to list here!).