What is the Best Way to Create Web Sites?

When it comes to designing and creating web sites you have quite a few choices of how to go about it, and for the complete novice it can a hard decision to make. But what really is the best way to build web sites?

Let's take a look at the choices you have.

First of all you can use different types of HTML editors. You can download many kinds of software programs to help you build web sites from the free WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editors, right up to the expensive programs such as the impressive Adobe Dreamweaver.

WYSIWYG editors are great because they are free and they are not too complicated to use. But they ARE very limited in what they can do. And they also produce a large amount of superfluous code which can make pages slow to load and can confuse the search engines.

There are also drag-and-drop editors that are extremely simple to use as you just drag and drop the text and images you want to use onto your web page. But again, this type of software has limits to it's capabilities and can also produce too much unnecessary HTML code.

Then there are the huge software programs such as the magnificent Adobe Dreamweaver. This is a huge software program that can produce beautiful web pages with all the bells and whistles you want.

The only real downside to this type of software is the long time it can take to learn how to use it. It takes a lot of understanding which is great if you're very '"techy" minded, but not so great if you aren't.

Another way to create web sites is by using web page templates. These are ready designed web pages and all you need to do is add your content. You can download many free web page templates from the internet or you can buy more professional looking templates.

The limitation of using templates though is that the layout cannot be changed unless you understand HTML. You are also limited to the amount of space you have to add your content to. And of course, the biggest problem could be that other people might be using the exact same template as yours.

Another way to create your web sites is to pay a professional designer to do the work for you. This can be a slow process in getting the designer to understand exactly what you want. And of course it's very expensive to employ a professional designer. I have also heard people complaining that when they want changes made to their web sites, they have to wait until the designer has time to do it.

A free and easy way to set up your own web site is with a free blog. There are plenty of companies on the internet offering this service. You just have to sign up and you're instantly given your own blog page to add content to.

The downside to using free blogs is that you are limited to what you can put on them or how you can lay out the page. A lot of blog companies also put ads on your blog whether you want them there or not. So you are, in effect, "owned" by the blog provider.

But there is another way that you can create all the web sites you want and have complete control over the content, design and layout. And that's to learn HTML. Once you know how to create web sites from scratch using HTML you can not only create many web sites, but you can also change and tweak them as much and as often as you like.

You could also make extra money by designing and creating web sites for other people.

These days many people are making money from niche web sites. These are little information sites that can generate a steady flow of income from affiliate programs and pay-per-click ads. I even know one niche web site owner who is generating $3,000 a month just from one of his web sites - AND - it only contains PPC ads! He just set the site up and it's been making him money for the last few years. And now he's quit his day job.

But before you can do any of this, you need to learn how to create all your own web sites, and then you can make money online too.