Jump Into Website Design using Microsoft Publisher 2016 to Craft Your Own Website

Introduction

Creating a website can be an intimidating prospect, especially if you're unfamiliar with HTML or designing websites. Microsoft Publisher can make designing and creating a basic website relatively easy and offers a wide range of features and options. In this article, you'll get a comprehensive guide to creating a website using Microsoft Publisher and learn the basics, such as choosing a topic and domain name, web hosting options, designing the website, and setting up mobile responsiveness, security and tracking.

Choosing a Niche or Topic

The first step in developing a website is choosing a topic or niche. This can be anything from personal hobbies to launching an e-commerce business. Once you have an idea of what you want to create, you need to narrow it down and research what other similar websites have created. This will help you ensure that your website is offering something unique and helpful to the market.

Domain Name Selection

Once you have your niche or topic narrowed down, you can begin selecting a domain name. This is the name of your website and can be purchased at any domain registrar. A good domain name is short, descriptive and memorable. Be sure to do some research to make sure the name you want isn't already taken.

Web Hosting Options

The next step is hosting. Web hosting is essentially renting space on the internet for your website, and there are numerous services available that offer various hosting plans and features. Some offer introductions or discounts for first-time customers, so be sure to shop around to get the best options for your website.

Website Building Platforms

After you have your domain and web hosting account set up, you can start designing and building your website. There are a variety of website building platforms to choose from. Microsoft Publisher is a popular platform, and one of the most user-friendly for beginners. It simplifies the process of creating and designing webpages with its drag and drop editing tools.

Website Design and Layout

The design and layout of your website are important. You want the pages to be easy to navigate and visually appealing. With Microsoft Publisher, you can use pre-built themes and layouts or create your own. You can also tweak colors, fonts, and other features to customize the look and feel of your website.

Content Creation and Writing

Your website should offer helpful content and information for visitors. Content creation and writing can be time-consuming, but it's essential to the success of any website. Make sure the content is relevant to your niche or topic and provides valuable information and resources.

Basic HTML and CSS

While Microsoft Publisher simplifies much of the web design process, it's still helpful to have some basic knowledge of HTML and CSS. HTML is the basic coding language used to create webpages and CSS is used to format and style them. With some basic HTML and CSS knowledge, you can add more customization and control to your webpages.

Image and Multimedia Integration

Images, videos and other multimedia can help enhance your webpage and give visitors a better user experience. To optimize multimedia files, you want to use image editing software to resize images and compress videos. This will help ensure that your multimedia files don't slow down loading times or detract from the design of your website.

User Experience (UX) and Navigation

The user experience and navigation of your website are essential. You want it to be easy for visitors to find the information they're looking for quickly. This includes having a clearly labeled navigation bar and organizing the content into logical pages.

SEO Fundamentals

Search engine optimization is the process of optimizing your website for search engine ranking. This includes techniques such as using keywords in your content, optimizing the page titles, and setting up an XML sitemap.

Mobile Responsiveness

According to the latest research, over half of web traffic comes from mobile devices, so it's essential that your website is mobile responsive. This means that the design and layout of your website will adjust depending on the device, so you'll want to make sure it looks good and functions smoothly on any device, from smartphones to tablets and desktop computers.

Social Media Integration

Integrating your website with social media is a great way to boost website traffic and help build a strong online presence. There are a variety of ways to integrate your website with different social media platforms, such as adding social media buttons to pages, creating shareable content, or even connecting your website to a social media feed.

Website Security

The security of your website is essential. This includes installing security software and plugins, SSL certificates, and using secure passwords and usernames. Additionally, it's important to back up your website regularly to protect against data loss.

Analytics and Tracking Tools

To measure the success of your website, you'll need to implement tracking and analytics software. This will help you identify and monitor visitor behavior and can give you an idea of how to improve your website.

Summary Review

Creating a website can be a daunting task, but with Microsoft Publisher it's much easier and allows you to design and maintain a website without needing to have advanced coding knowledge. From choosing a niche or topic to website design and layout, content creation, basic HTML and CSS, security, analytics and tracking tools, these steps will help you create an attractive website that functions well and meets your goals.