Making a great web site is much more than just coding HTML. You need to be successful at presenting your ideas in an interesting manner, whatever your topic may be.

Ignorance may be bliss for the one who writes the web site, but that’s rarely the case for the one who visits it. If your site looks unprofessional, so will your reputation. Effective websites use web design principles of style and speedy download, combined with organized, focused content to grab and hold attention. Effective websites use HTML and javascript in ways to enhance presentation. Effective websites are easy to navigate and are well promoted. A critical element in effectively presenting ideas and content is planning your site with your targeted audience in mind. Who will be viewing the site? What will those people find useful and interesting? Whatever the purpose of your site, that purpose should be recognized from the moment the page begins to appear, creating the intended mood.

Your pages should appear quickly. While new surfers might be impressed with snazzy graphics, experienced netizens are more likely to bookmark and revisit or recommend a site which is content rich and lets them locate the information they are seeking efficiently.

Does download speed mean that web sites must be dull and boring? No way. Simplicity can have a tremendous degree of style. Your personal touch and the care you exercise in choosing graphics, colors, and layout, in writing text, in providing navigation aids are the elements which will bring your web site to life.