Build your house
(construct a website)
Time to transform your blueprints into a real house.
Take your time and pay attention to detail during this phase
of homebuilding.
• Construction programs (software)
• Please do not
• Navigation checks
• Check quality
• Future remodeling
• Go for it
• Software used at showtheworld.com
Construction programs
Several programs are available for
home(page) design and management, either as freeware, shareware or commercially off-the-shelf. In most cases,
construction software costs more than any other tool for
Internet house building.
We recommend FrontPage 2003 to build your house
(currently being replaced by Microsoft Expression Web) but when your budget is
constrained, there are other less expensive (though less
capable) programs that can do the job. Just remember, the end result
(how
your house looks) is more important than the brand of the
tools used to build it.
When building software lacks the capability to transport
your house to its Internet neighborhood, you can obtain free
FTP software for that purpose by going to one of the popular
software download sites on the Internet.
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Please do not
Modern construction programs include all
manner of special
effects you can incorporate into your house. Don’t
make a habit (or mistake) of using special features like scrolling
marquees, blinking text, banner swappers, hit counters,
included content, DHTML effects, music or other bells and
whistles when they have nothing to do with the style or
purpose of your house. Most of these special effects
increase browser load times, annoy your guests, violate
accepted rules of etiquette on the Internet and expose you as
an amateur house builder.
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Navigation checks
Equally important as the furnishing
(content) of your house is the hallway structure (navigation
system). Guests might be interested in touring the whole
house, so they need an easy way to find all the rooms.
Your direction signs (hyperlinks) should be plain,
consistent and obvious. Visitors generally know a link when
they see one. Don’t insult guests by asking them to “click” on
a link.
Visitors will become annoyed if they
travel down a hallway in your house and arrive at a dead
end. That is a waste of their valuable time and shows
you did not design your house very well. Check the validity of your
navigation and links before you move your new house to its
neighborhood lot. After you move, check the links
frequently to ensure they work.
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Check quality
FrontPage, Expression Web and other proprietary construction programs
include numerous options
that may not work in all browsers. If a visitor sees
something amiss with your rooms, he or she won’t blame their
browser, they will blame you.
Use your Internet browser frequently to
check the visual appearance of your house while it is under
construction. If you anticipate
a large number of visitors to your house, use Microsoft
Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator and Mozilla Firefox to
do the visual checking. These programs are available for
free download.
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Future remodeling
The main reason
to build a house on the Internet is to inform, entertain, or
sell products and services to house guests. To keep old guests
returning and new ones visiting, you must change your
furnishings and decorations periodically.
It helps to paint your house a new color or even
build on an extra room every once in a while.
Maintain the professional integrity of your house, but keep
a sharp eye on current design fads or new methods of
attracting visitors and delivering content. You can do this
by touring other houses similar to yours to check out what
they’re doing.
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Go for it
Now it is time to select and
purchase the construction software you need to build your
house. Compare prices at several vendors to make sure you
get the best deal.
Microsoft, Adobe and many other software
developers offer their programs to
college students and educators at heavily discounted prices.
Some developers even permit you to test drive the software
before making a commitment.
Once you’ve obtained your construction
software, jump right in. When your house is ready for its
grand opening, return to
this site to continue your Internet neighborhood adventure.
Software used at showtheworld.com
Our
Software List shows you the tools we
use to build and maintain this house (showtheworld.com).
Next step –
Housewarming party
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