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Web Intro

Most of my pages on web-building are @ Business Sellassie. After two years of experience, you better know something about webmaking, internet marketing and promotion. Use the frame (left) to see webpages for webmasters.

First, forget the online editors, which do not require any knowledge of HTML -- you have to know the basics to be in control of pages. Learning the main commands in this language will let you "write" using this web-grammar.

Don't rush yourself. Don't try to market or promote your pages, when you just finished building a few. Build a house before you invite first guests.

When you have many pages (and you better have them, if your site is content oriented, like mine), the next step will be the navigation task -- how people travel within your pages. I began to use floating frames (always on your left), because the number of pages grew (search engines do not like frames). You still can see tables on my old pages, but now I use them only for advertizing (always on your right).

I didn't pay for anything; I did it myself. I do not submit new pages to search engines anymore, unless I build a new site. It's very time-consuming; the better way is to build a community -- people, who like your pages, come back and invite friends.

Marketing? You have to be very narrow (niche marketing). Call it specialization -- the only way for a small guy to survive.

I am still guilty of having too many affilications (commercial links). Of course, I have my excuses -- I do not know what program will work. Many business on the web will die sooner than your personal site. (And then you have to remove the links, if you remember where did you place them!)

TIP:
For efficiency, make sure this area includes the site name, a section title, a navigational tool, and some of the site's major content.

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Diary of a Webman

The story of my two years as a webmaster. Mostly about what not to do. If you are a small time web developer, you might find it interesting. If you just started your webbing, please, do yourself a favor, read it. You can save a year or two in learning the beast.

I teach full time at the University of Alaska, I direct and webbing is the night shift for me. Several websites, including the Sellassie sites, are the result of this no-pay job. Well, I learn -- and the book is about the pages you surf; the webpages are the showcases and examples for the book on webbing.

Webmaking is an art and a science. I want to keep the balance between "writing" the book and "showing" what is right and wrong by using my own pages. I invite you to do the same with my webpages -- or your pages. Be critical. That is what I say to myself. Take an analytical view. What is the web design for this Sellassie WWW site? What is the style of this specific site and this page page? What do you want to express, to communicate? What do you want your readers to do? what is the next step? Ask simple questions.

Come back and take another look. Print it and make your marks.

Experiment with it!

Listen, web is a new medium; not that many people know how to do it, the pages. Ten years from now it will be another story. You can be in, friend.

Anatoly