Build a Website - I did!

The first time I tried to build a website, I went from scaredy-cat to domain owner in one big leap. How I got here still amazes me!

To most people, starting out to build a website seems a daunting prospect. The vast majority who even consider it don't then go ahead. It's just one of those items that other people do.

But, once I'd started to make a website for the first time, it proved to be exciting, enjoyable and surprisingly simple...

I'd never seriously considered it before, so it surprised us both when I casually mentioned to my husband Nev that I'd like to have a site about Algarve beaches and everything else about this wonderful region. He blinked once and shook his head as though in disagreement. But what he said was, "Why not give it a go?"

Was I gobsmacked! He'd called my bluff, big-time. I was left feeling glad I hadn't said something about how I'd always fancied skydiving!
 

Me, working up the nerve
to build a website for the first time.

So, from just expressing a fancy, I was suddenly having to give it serious thought. Once I'd survived the immediate attack of jitters, I began to wonder: "Well, why not?"

I sat down and analysed it, mulling over my concerns. Why exactly did I not believe I could build a website? Deep down, I was convinced that I'd need somebody who knew about website design, and I didn't know anyone (sorry, Nev).

Even after his unexpected encouragement, I was still pretty unsure how to start to build a website. But I did begin to jot down notes about what I could include in my first web pages.

Shortly after that, I got the jolt in the arm that I needed to take things further. Nev had been messing around with the graphics programs on our PC, and he upped and pitched in with a design for a starter page. (Which, after all, is one of the first things you need to build a website). It became the Home Page, as it happens.

Well, once he'd 'thrown down the gauntlet', I couldn't ignore it, and the whole thing just snowballed.

It was really exciting, once I'd got underway, seeing it expand and grow. The ideas about what I wanted to include in my first website just spilled out of my head! Algarve beaches - of course. But then, how do you get there, and what do you do once you arrive. Not to mention how to get around. And what to see when you're away from the beaches...

It just went on and on (a bit like me when I get enthusiastic about something).

Not that I had the first clue about what to call my first website or how to launch it on the Net...

...but, like happens so often when you take positive action, things occur as if by coincidence, and it all falls into place.

What happened next was that Nev came up with a perfect solution. ('Came up with' isn't really accurate, since he stumbled across it, but at least it sounds like I'm giving him the credit)

While he told me all about it, I smiled and nodded, as if I just about knew what he was talking about. He'd found a great website builder, he explained. Not only would it help me build a website, it would host my site, submit it to the search engines and link it to other, complementary sites, all without any technical input from me.

And, he claimed, his whizzy 'discovery' would also help me to decide the content of each page, pick the best domain name for my website and even register it for me.

Now, I'm not really interested in the how of things, just whether they work as they're supposed to. (Well, you don't have to be a qualified motor mechanic to drive a car, do you?) But he was taking an interest, the dear, and I hadn't the heart to discourage him. So...

"Great," I said; "tell me more!" (I might not have wanted to learn all that 'techie' web site design stuff, but I certainly did want to build a website that people actually visited, otherwise what's the point?)

So, I struggled not to glaze over while he banged on about all the labour- and time-saving facilities that would benefit me. (Have you ever noticed how men are happiest pretending like they're solving the world's problems - as if they hadn't caused most of them in the first place!)

But I had to admit that the snippets that did sink in sounded like an attractive idea. After all, if I could build a website while 'something' did all the boring and tricky stuff for me, I wasn't going to kick and struggle. So I deferred to his manly knowledge and agreed to do it 'his' way.

But what he omitted to tell me was that I could have designed the pages myself! From scratch! As I learned later, it's just a matter of choosing a page design that you like, or else customising one to your own taste, all with a few mouse clicks and at your own speed...

How annoying. If only I'd known earlier, this site would have been mine, all mine! But, by the time he told me that little detail, the first pages were just about ready for launch.

Now, we women always get our revenge in the end, so I've decided that the next time I build a website...

...I'm going to do it all myself, now I know how to make it child's play.
 

A shot of Nev sulking after learning that I wouldn't
be needing his services for my next website!

If you've ever thought that it would be great to make your own website about a special passion or interest (or even to promote your business), you can find out how easy it is and learn why I know for sure I can do it all myself next time. (I don't know what it'll be about yet - except it won't be about "Algarve beaches", natch).

And you can discover how a non-technical female like me came to build a website and even optimised it to attract visitors. As long as you can point and click with a mouse, you can do this!

Have a look and find out more - you can even see some examples of others who have done this. I bet you'll have even more fun than I did while building this website. (But not more fun than I'll have doing the next one!)...

...Thanks to you for visiting my (very first) website, and I hope you'll bookmark it and return soon.
 

'Bye for now,
 

Your sun-loving, first-time website owner,
 

P.S. If you do decide to build a website all about your own passion or business, let me know, using the easy form on the Your Algarve Best page, so I can take a look. Happy website building!
 

P.P.S. And when I wrote 'bye for now' back there, I didn't mean you shouldn't feel free to hit the 'back' button, or click on any of the navigation buttons to read another page... Perish the thought!

But I'll understand if you'd rather learn more about how to build a website the easy way...

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