Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)What initially struck me about this book is how comprehensive it is. It certainly lives up to the title, providing a wealth of information on how to build a website without spending a lot of money and then how to get traffic to it. Bruce Brown promises that, even if you have never built a website before, the book has more than enough information to help you do this. A novice like me is, therefore, expecting to see step-by-step instructions on how to design, build and publish a website from scratch.
There is indeed a comprehensive HTML tutorial with additional, if brief, information on XTML and a few other coding languages. If you have the time, you should be able to learn html by following the guidance provided. But for those who don't want to take the time to learn HTML, there's a chapter that describes the advantages and drawbacks of software products on the market that will do the HTML coding for you, such as Microsoft Expression Web and Adobe Create Suite 3. I would probably opt for these products and not spend time learning html. But they're pretty costly, so your decision is going to be based on your time and budget. Luckily, there's a chapter on free website design tools such as Joomla, Wordpress, and NVu that can be used to build websites.
It made more sense to me to have the chapters on web design fundamentals and web content appear before the coding chapters since you need to have a structure or blueprint in place before you start building the site, but both chapters do a good job of explaining in detail how to structure your site for easy navigation and create content that is search-engine optimized as well as user-friendly. There are also fairly comprehensive chapters on website graphics, web page formats, and electronic shopping carts, giving you just about everything you need to create a fully functional business website.
The rest of the book is devoted to SEO, how to generate traffic, PPC and Google Adsense advertising, affiliate marketing, blogging and social networking. Interviews with several web design experts answering the same questions provide additional tips and strategies. And the book includes real-life examples of how several individuals built their own websites and established successful web-based businesses with them.
I have to admit, I was a little intimidated and overwhelmed by what's required to actually build a website from scratch. There were a lot of terms that I didn't understand and had to look up, but I believe, with this book, some time and patience, I'm pretty sure I'd be able to pull it off.
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Web sites are an essential tool that every business must have in today s economy. Only 15 years ago, you could count the number of Web sites in the world with five or six digits; today there are between 15 and 30 billion active Web sites and millions more being added every day. Creating a Web site can be a great way to market a new product, promote your business plan, promote yourself, or simply share a few details about your life with the world. The cost of creating a Web site has risen right alongside the number of Web sites created though and many people are nervous about being able to utilize this revolutionary medium without breaking the bank. This book has been created for just such people, outlining for you in perfect detail everything you need to know to create a traffic attracting Web site, while spending little or no money at all. There are countless resources available, and when you put them all together, they provide a complete toolkit that can make anyone a top notch Web site in no time flat. You will learn how to buy a domain name and host your Web site for less than $15, with no additional fees charged to your account. You will learn how to use open source software like Wordpress, Joomla, and Mambo to create a platform on which you can build anything you want. You will learn how blogging has made Web site creation easier than ever and how sites like Squidoo, Facebook, and MySpace allow you more freedom to build traffic and draw more attention to what you are advertising at any given time. You will learn how to use common software to edit and tweak your Web sites and how to read the basic code that all Web sites are created in. In addition, an entire chapter is devoted to teaching you how to promote your Web site and draw traffic to it, without spending a dime in the process. You will learn why information is the most valuable asset on the market and how you can become an expert in a niche of your choosing, making money to cover any fees associated with your Web site. With the added resource of hours of interviews with web professionals you will learn which free resources not to use and which ones to outright avoid, as well as how to find and install open source modules and tools to enhance the look and feel of your site. You will learn where you can find copyright-free images to use on your Web sites and how to get free copy that will draw traffic and entertain your visitors. You will learn how to keep a free Web site from falling into the traps the major search engines set to stop spam and ultimately how to leverage new friends, business contacts, and interactions out of your Web site. If you are now, or have ever, considered starting your own Web site before, this book will map the way for you.
