Plan and define your Web site
Ideally, defining a site takes place before the site is built, but in reality it often happens well after pages are designed and content is posted. It's a shame, because defining is a beneficial process that requires only one thing: Thought.
Before you slap pages together and write reams of content, take a step back and ask yourself a few questions:
- What is my subject?
- What do I want to do with my site? (Entertain? Inform? Rant?)
- Who am I writing for?
These questions will give birth to your site's purpose, and the purpose is the key to your site's creation. Finding a purpose is like reaching a higher plane of existence -- everything becomes clearer. From it will spring your site's tone, your site's content and your site's organization.
Important, but not set in stone
When you step back and ask questions about your site, don't put undue pressure on yourself to make the answers hard and fast. One of the benefits of independent publishing is that the ramifications of making a mistake -- or even going on a tangent -- are minimal. In the commercial realm, building a site on an ill-conceived idea, or shifting focus on the fly, can lead to disastrous financial results. With independent sites you can start over without declaring bankruptcy.
