How to structure and manage a website
In this section you will find useful information concerning the organization of a website, the easy managing of it and the site positioning within search engines and how to make it accessing simple to visitors.
Structuring your site
To aid your visitors and to help research engines in orientating and finding your site kindly follow these simple conventions.
Only use tag <h1>, that represents the biggest title visible to visitors in which you will indicate the topics included or listed in each page. You can use tag <h2> and <h3> for subtitles. Should you want to evidence specific words use bold letters; you can use script for foreign or unusual words. Don’t underline the words: underlined words are conventionally associated to links. Be very selective concerning titles and headlines.
[CARD: page title]
Internal website links are fundamental. All pages should include a link to the homepage (you can include it in the website name or logo). Associate articles and add links as well as correlated articles at the bottom of each page. Links are necessary for readers and research engines too. They allow a completer vision on how to move within the site: readers will most probably abandon the website should there be no links to other information, research engines behave the same way.
If you own a blog don’t forget to subdivide categories according to topics so that people can post in correct places.
Simplify the running of the site
Keeping information updated by changing the HTML code can be complicated or request a lot of time. This is the reason why content management systems or CMS have been created to simplify the administration of the site. To install CMS on your website is very useful for those who have the necessity of updating their sites with a certain frequency.
Here’s 7 good reasons for using CMS:
1. Contents can be written directly on the site without having to load files on the server by using FTP.
2. You will succeed in writing new pages for your site without having to turn to HTML
3. You will succeed in correcting error’s errors or updating information without any effort.
4. You will maintain the same graphic setup for all pages
5. You can contemporarily change graphics in every page as well as finding free professional programs and samples for graphics
6. You can easily add new functions to your site without knowing programming languages
7. It will be easier to have pages adapt to research engines because essential elements will be repeated in all pages and it will be easier to improve non determined elements such as titles, headlines, texts in alternative to images, page addresses etc.)
Luckily enough we can find plenty of free, high-quality software. You will just have to select the software that most corresponds to your needs.
The best content management systems for websites and blogs
Wordpress is an ideal software for the web, extremely simple in use; it’s the software utilized to attain this section of Strada Alternativa. Wordpress is one of our favorites because it is very easy to install and use. With Wordpress you can create a blog or even a website – small or big may it be- to be automatically updated without using HTML. There are hundreds of prepared graphic layouts (called themes or templates), and those of you who are experts can personalize graphics according to your needs. It’s easy to learn how to use Wordpress because just after installation it has only basic functions, those functions requested for sites or blogs, but as soon as a new functions is requested it can be added in but a few minutes. There are infinite ready-made functions (the precise name for them is “plugin”), over three thousand different ones, therefore starting to use Wordpress means starting with the right foot.
Drupal is another one of our favorite software: it’s the one we use on Jacopofo.com
Drupal just like Wordpress, is a content management system created for the construction of websites which also contain blogs, but it has many more integrated functions: forum, news, thematic sections. Drupal also offers graphic layouts as well as ready made functions (these functions are called modules).
There are many other content management systems which can be used for all purposes as for example PhpBB which is an excellent software used to create forums. Once you’ve obtained and set-up the management system required you’ll have an easy time running your site.
Would you like to try installing Wordpress on your site?
It’s not difficult to install Wordpress. Who has used FTP for the uploading of files is advantaged: if you follow indications it shouldn’t take you more than 10 minutes before having Wordpress working on your site.
If you’ve never used FTP it’ll take you a little more time. Please read the following card before installation, it explains how to use FireFTP, an FTP derived program which supports Firefox.
[CARD: How to upload files online with FireFTP, an extension of Firefox]
Follow the indications in the successive card for Worpress installment. There are a few simple passages which, if followed step by step, can lead you to an online website ready to welcome all you want to write.
[CARD: install Wordpress]
Go to the next topic: how to appear on websites.
