Aspects to look at when building your own site!

[XkevinX]

Hello... This summer I want to take on the task of building my own site by myself. I have amde laods of toehr before but with a partner. I am trying to do this site all by myself with onyl suggestions from others. Besides that I will design, code (for the most part), script (buy scritps ect.), and advertise by myself. I am trying to get the feel of a good site by myself for once.

What I am looking for from everyone here is ideas on what to base the site on

OR

Things not to base a site on (things that there are to many of or just not user atractive.)

Thanks,
XKevinX

 

[Albino]

imo, you should build a site on what YOU enjoy/like to do.

if you build a site for a cause you are not interested in, you will probably find yourself slacking as you get deeper into it.

Plus, if you do it on a hobbie/interest, you will know what features you'd want.

 

[emu]

Follow the leaders

What I am looking for from everyone here is ideas on what to base the site on

OR

Things not to base a site on (things that there are to many of or just not user atractive.)

Follow the leaders and keep it simple.

Pick a role model from one of the top 500 sites:
http://www.alexa.com/site/ds/top_500

The top sites must be doing something right.

- Keep it neat and tidy.
- Make it super easy for users to navigate.
- Avoid distractions which can confuse visitors.
- Avoid slow loading graphics.
- Use the same font family, color, size etc.
- Use the same or a similar color theme.
- Use the same or similar layout.
-
Try to locate exactly the same script that they use. If you can't find it, hire a programmer to write it for you or move onto another project.

Do not copy the sites HTML or CSS in order to achieve the same look and feel. Look at the site and duplicate the design by coding it yourself from scratch.

 

[vilstewart]

I dont know about that advice... most sites quite that high in traffic rankings do something good...
It's called corporate backing with a marketing budget most people couldn't even dream of.

 

[GeneCosta]

It all depends on what type of site you want. There are plenty of suggestions if you're looking at what's currently "popular," but it's always best that the webmaster have an authentic interest in the subject of his/her site.