Your own website

Build your own Web site

Written By:- Siegfried Seierlein
Last Updated:- 12^th June 2008

Two years ago when I started with the MyCanonG7 web site it was a difficult exercise for me as I had to do a lot of reading to understand what is required when building a web site. Is it possible to have a dot com web site, how much will it cost and do I need to learn HTML to be able to have my own web site?

The local telecoms provider in Switzerland, Swisscom had the answer and as part of their standard web offer one could register a domain plus it was then possible to build your own web site using a very basic web development tool. That’s how the MyCanonG7 web site started late 2006. End of last year I switched over to a more professional and commercially available programming package NetObjects. In no way can I claim to be a professional but at the same time I can confirm that I have learned so much plus I am having so much fun building and maintaining the Photography is Fun web site.

That brings me to my next point for today. What do you do with your photographs? Are they sitting on your hard disk hoping to bring joy to somebody, are you showing them off with interesting slideshows, are you printing them or do you enjoy showing them on the web, waiting for and giving comments on other photographers photographs. Thanks to my wife I have been introduced to a very popular activity called Scrap Booking. Have you seen the new service on the Canon web site offering Canon owners a huge database of digital scrapbook parts.

Have you been thinking of having your own web site, a place you can show your pictures, your works of art, your creations, your new Photoshop skills, maybe a small blog a place you can enjoy the best part of photography. The best part of photography is enjoying that best picture with someone else I believe.

Tonight and this week I have been on the web looking at different web sites, offerings and designs, look and feel....

I cannot help to ask the question, who are the guys that keep on coming back to the MyCanonG7 web site? Up to 5000 hits a day sometimes, very little activity on the forum, very little interaction in general, is the counter faulty, do we really still have a community other than a handful great guys taking part.

Should I continue writing articles, are the content OK, all these questions you need to ask yourself when you decide to start your own web page.

When you decide to take the leap and to jump, then be sure you will have days of frustration but the rewards are great and the sense of achievement when you get it right is great.

Google at the left, if you click on it, will enable you to build your own web site. Generally not a friend of mine, google, mainly because they install themselves when not invited on your PC.

But in the total package they presenting in terms of enabling somebody to build a own web site is a great WOW.

The development page in the Google web site building tool, looks like a normal Word type editor. You can type what ever you like, you can insert pictures and the way it looks in the editor, that is what it will look like in the final web page, no HTML programming is required.

What I do find great is the ability to add HTML code. There are many small HTML programs out on the web that people who are more comfortable with use. People use these little programs to add special functions plus much more.

Before you get scared with me discussing HTML have a look at one of the drop down menus in the web editor of Google. You can nearly do anything as long as you make use of the different services offered by Google.

Take for example the on-line Picasa service from Google. You go and upload all your pictures from your most recent holiday, build a slide show in Picasa and then you use the menu to the right to link that slide show into your web site.

You can link You Tube videos and so much more. If you gifted with a natural feel for art then you can spend hours having fun. I can only say well done Google.....but don’t install your search bar without asking please....

As said in the first paragraphs there are many different outputs to photography and each different discipline is interesting. We cannot be all web masters or studio experts. If building your own web site was something you always wanted to try, well now you have a great opportunity.

One last advice I can give is to sit down and to plan your web site before registering. Use a normal word file from Microsoft or OpenOffice and build or design your dream web site. Plan the first page, the different pages that should follow including the menu structure and then do the individual pages. Remember you can copy paste your content from the word file into the web editor.

I hope you find this service as interesting as I did.

Best

Siegfried