(These are tips for making a ‘fan site’ mostly, but they can be translated to any website fairly easily.)
1: Choose a ‘theme’ for your fan site.
A theme is something your site will based off of. As an example, Warrior Cat Pics’s theme is the Warriors book series by Erin Hunter. You can use books, TV shows, Movies, Music, Video Games Etc. as a ‘theme’.
I suggest sticking to 1 theme per-website, but I have seen some sites use multiple themes successfully.
Once you’ve chosen your theme, you’ve starting the planning process.
2: Decide the ‘focus’ of website your’s is going to be.
With your theme in mind, decide the main focus of your website. Is it going to be a blog site? Is it going to be a graphics/art site? Is it going to be a information site? Is it going to be a chatting and networking site? Those are just a few examples of ‘focuses’ you can use for your site.
Deciding a focus is tricky, but helps you sort, display and update easier.
Whatever you decide to focus on, be sure that the layout and format you choose displays your content the best.
You can choose more then one focus, but if this is your first time starting a website, and if your nervous, just choose one for now. You can always add more later!
As a point of reference, Warrior Cat Pics focus is graphics/art.
3: You know your focus, now you need to choose your ‘layout’ and ‘format.’
Many sites say that you can’t have a popular site without cutting edge HTML coding skills. I disagree.
I think you can make any site flourish if you have a good range in your ‘focus’ and if you promote things right.
However, there are many benefits to having a custom coded website, and many more options then if you use something more standard.
Formats help you decide how you want to display the content on your pages and the overall feel to your website.
If you want your site to be flashy, edgy and have a knock-out layout, then boost your coding skills or find someone who can make you a layout.
If you want the content to speak for it’s self, then choose something simpler that really shows off your focus.
There is no ‘correct’ website format, it all depends on what you want for your website.
Again, as an example, Warrior Cat Pics has an HTML layout, but it leans more to the ‘simple’ rather then the expertly coded.
4: Make it user friendly.
A website that isn’t user friendly is a website that dies.
I’ve seen so many poorly formatted and disjointed websites that had amazing potential, but didn’t quite hit the mark on this step.
You want your site to be edgy to attract visitors, but also be sure once they’re on your site that they can find everything.
Font needs to be larger enough to read without being distracting to the layout, and make it a good color that doesn’t blend in with the rest of the colors on the page.
Check your spelling. There’s nothing wrong with doing so, I have to all the time and I’ve still missed things!
The biggest rule for your site: You MUST make it safe and welcoming for EVERY age. Put in strict rules and safety nets so that nothing gets out of hand.
Warrior Cat Pics has rules listed in many different places and I try to keep up on checking everything to make sure it stays safe.
5: Pick a name.
This step may seem a bit late, but keep in mind that the name should reflect all the other steps you’ve gone through already. Your name should be both clever and explain the focus of your website. It should reflect the theme and be easy to relate to the content.
Pick something that is also ‘you’ and that you will be happy with in months and years to come. There is nothing worse then getting sick of your own project!
Warrior Cat Pics is VERY simple in it’s naming and not clever at all, a little silly and boring, but at least everyone knows what the site is about once they hear the name.
~Moonclaw~