This entry is inspired by some questions that Caitlin Mowbray was asking me the other day. She was running into some WordPress blog setup issues and was also trying to create a one-page site to direct users to. Check out her new blog called Pink Pyjama Biz.

I know her issues are very typical of any business owner trying to save money on design work by trying to create their own site or maintain content in their site, so I thought I’d talk tech here.

Here are three tips to help you get started with creating a one-page site:

  1. Learn HTML the easy way – Getting HTML to work can be tricky, but once you know the basics, it gets much easier! Whether you are a newbie at HTML, wanting to refresh your skills, or needing to learn a few more advanced techniques, here’s a really great, FREE, easy to understand tutorial for HTML:
    http://www.w3schools.com/html/DEFAULT.asp

    HTML is the code you use to layout your pages to be seen in a browser. HTML can also be used to enhance your blog postings and sidebar content.

  2. Learn CSS – That same website has a similar style tutorial for CSS. Here’s a direct link to the CSS tutorial:
    http://www.w3schools.com/css/default.asp

    CSS is the code you use to add nice looking fonts, colors, images, and other styles to fit your company brand. If you use WordPress, the CSS Stylesheet file is the main area you will be modifying to give your blog or website that personal feel.

  3. View the code from other websites – Much to the chagrin of developers, the source code for simple web pages can be viewed to give you an idea of how they are designed. Of course, there are ways around this, and you might run into a few of them.

    Here’s how to grab the code:
    ~ Find a webpage that you like and open it in your browser.
    ~ If you are using IE, click on View > Source.
    ~ If you are using Firefox, click on View > Page Source.
    ~ A window will open revealing the source code.
    ~ Now you can read the code and copy some of the ideas for your own web page.

    Are you having some issues with your designing your web pages or blog? Post them here. I’ll try to answer the easy ones right away. The more complicated ones, I will address in future posts and other materials.