Many people place high value on their online presence in today’s Internet aligned society. Blogging, micro-blogging, message boards, online chat rooms and other social networking mediums are widely available for an individual to put themselves out on the Internet for others to see. Though more people may lean towards websites like MySpace and Facebook for self-expression, personal websites are not out of the picture.
Most website hosting providers offer tools to help get a person started with their own website. Some of this comes in the form of Internet based templates where one fills in the information in a step-by-step approach. Other hosts provide a set of templates that the user can edit and add their own information.
What if you wanted to create a website for yourself, but did not use a website host’s tools? Do you have the skills it takes to muddle your way through a program like Adobe Dreamweaver? Or would you still prefer a guided method?
While there are other programs available on the Internet to assist in turning out template based websites, TOWeb (found here) is one that is relatively easy to work with. Though TOWeb comes in four different flavors of licenses (from personal to a version that is Ecommerce ready), the free version is a good way to get your feet wet with this program.
Upon opening TOWeb for the first time, you will notice from the start that it is geared towards a sequential methodology. At the first screen you will need to enter very little information (your website title). Should you have a good idea about what you wish to publish, you can browse the page creation choices at the bottom of the first page, and check the ones you wish to use.
When you arrive at the next step, you have two main options here. You may pick a theme template from the canned list on the left hand side of the window. Here you have a selection of some basic, pre-built templates, which may work just fine for what you need.
However, if you want something a little more personalized, click on the Theme Generator tab. Here you can modify the page elements with a larger variety of choices. You can alter the coloring, the menus, and the navigation button shapes, among other items. Keep in mind that these are pre-built as well, but you have more to choose from.
While you are sifting through the template options, a preview screen on the right hand side will keep up with your selections. The display changes each time you change something with the theme templates or the generator. This helps you keep tabs on how your modifications will look before moving onward.
When finished with your initial design, you can click on the green Topics button. Here you can add and change things like your Introduction, menus, background imagery, embedded music, and privacy settings.
The General tab covers page introductions. The Design and Layout tab gives you choices to add or remove themes and menus for each topic. Privacy tab allows you to let anyone access a topic, or have a password protecting it. Before moving on to the next button, Settings, take a look at the Referencing (SEO) tab.
Within the Referencing (SEO) tab, you have a tab that covers Meta tags. This serves as a quick way to insert content relevant to your website to help keep it targeted by search engines. Since TOWeb is generating the website code for you, this is a good opportunity to construct some creative keywords, related to your website content, that will help get your site noticed.
When you arrive at the Settings button, you will notice that security is at the top of the list on the left-hand menu. Pay particular here, because choosing these options can save you frustration down the road.
Under Security Settings, you have pre-built choices when you can remove the ability for someone to right-click and download your website’s pictures, and enable password protection notices. If needed, you can also insert a captcha type tool to have site visitors verify they filled out a form (submitting contact information for example).
When it comes time to publish your website, with the Publish button, you will need the account and FTP login information for your website host, should you intend to put it on the Internet at that time. There is a process wizard for getting your host information setup if you click on Publish Your Website.
However, you do not have to put your creation out on the Internet just yet. You have the option “Copy to Local Hard Drive” if you wish to have a working website on your computer only (note: The local hard drive feature is only available in the Professional or E-Commerce versions of TOWeb).
Of course your experimentation with these types of tools will be the determination if TOWeb, or some other website creation utility, will work for your needs. If you are more of the hard coding type, TOWeb may seem like an unnecessary purchase. Should you prefer minimal coding, and are a more graphically driven type, then TOWeb is worth looking at.
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