How Non-techies Can Build an All-singing, All-dancing Website in Less Than 10 Minutes

The rapid advance in technology and software development has seen a big shift in power to the hands of consumers who, just a few years ago would have been totally confused if they were told that they could speak to several people via their computer webcams in real time - for free. Or indeed, that they could access their emails and download music tracks from the internet while riding a camel in the middle of the Sahara desert. There were a few companies around at the time that charged eye-watering fees to provide these types of services to the small number of businesses that could afford to pay. Those days are gone.

Running alongside these developments has been advances in online website building technology, which has moved at such a fast rate that the professional website design industry is currently being squeezed, especially in the small business market. Some website templates are so user-friendly that they allow even the most technophobic of individuals to get online in a short time frame. With the relatively low cost of a website building template, compared to the services of a professional web designer, the new launch of a business doesn't need to break the bank. Gone are the days when you had to learn HTML to build your website. Or when you had to spend several hundreds of pounds, dollars or euros to buy a web design software package which meant yet another steep learning curve to take advantage of the promised features.
There are possibly hundreds of thousands of non-techies around the world who just want a little piece of cyberspace without having to undergo the sometimes painful process of trying to understand how a series of keyboard characters can create a great looking web page.

So, how do you build your own all-singing, all-dancing website in ten minutes?

Your first step is to get over the psychological hurdle that web design is difficult. Far from it, it can be very easy. If you know how to use a basic word processing package, you can certainly build your site in minutes.

More and more people are taking advantage of the WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) or drag-and-drop features offered by an increasing number of online website building sites like Newlaunch.net, to quickly and easily build and maintain their own professional-quality websites. There are literally thousands of customizable templates that can be modified to fit in with individual tastes.

Let's say that you are a singer and you've been thinking of building your own unique website. Assuming that you've got the basics (a written profile, promotional images, a few MP3 tracks and a video of your performance), getting started is simple:

1. Find an online website building site that offers a free trial to test out the software or indeed an option to host your site for free, with enough space to upload your content.

2. Look for a service that provides access to a wide range of easily modifiable templates, enabling you create thousands of design combinations to fit in with your style.

3. Seriously consider using a good online website building service with lots of widgets to choose from, including an image gallery, video player, MP3 jukebox, forums, live chat and ecommerce facilities to help you sell your products or services.

4. Make sure there's an online visual tour, a well-illustrated, downloadable, step-by-step user manual to help guide you through the process of building your website, a comprehensive FAQs (frequently asked questions) section and a responsive support service.

5. Check whether you have the ability to get your website noticed online by incorporating search engine optimization techniques and analytics to see which countries your fans are visiting your new website from!

With the right online website building service, you should be up and running with your own all-singing, all-dancing website in less than ten minutes. Allow some more time to familiarize yourself with all the features available, as typically, there may be dozens to choose from. In the early stages of your new website's development, remember that less is more, so be very careful not to use the widgets just because they are available. Think 'substance over style', rather than the other way round. Perhaps the most important thing to note, is that a website is never truly finished, so be prepared to spend a little more time having a lot of fun tweaking the text, colours and layout of your new website and welcoming new visitors.