How do I get started putting up my website, I have the copy written - I haven't a clue what to do next!

Aplus.Net makes it easy to create a website that is appealing to your customers and simple to maintain. This document provides only a brief overview of some of components you’ll need to get “up-and-running” with a fully-functional web presence. See other documents in the Aplus.Net Knowledge Base for more details.

Step 1: Develop a Site Plan

Before you begin, make sure you have a clear idea of what you want your website to accomplish. Here are some important questions to consider:

• What kind of information (or service) am I providing to my visitors?
• What kinds of features do I want to have on my site?
• What colors or images would work best on my site?
• How can I interact with my customers?
• What kinds of information do I want to gather from visitors?

Once you have answers to some of these questions, try to create a “site map” for your site that details not only what your pages will look like visually, but how your entire website will structured.

Step 2: Create Your Web Pages

Once you’ve created your “site map,” you’re ready to start crafting some HTML pages. You can do this in one of three ways: 1) You can use a software package like Microsoft FrontPage, Macromedia Dreamweaver MX, or Adobe GoLive, 2) You can use the web-based Trellix Web Builder found on your Aplus.Net Control Panel, or 3) You can write the HTML code by hand.  

If you’re a novice, and you don’t have access to a HTML authoring software package, we strongly recommend you try the web-based SiteBuilder we provide. To access the SiteBuilder:

1. Start by logging into the Aplus.Net Control Panel at http://cp.aplus.net using your Registration Number and Customer Password.
2. Select Web Hosting from the top navigation bar.
3. Next, select Hosted Domains and click on Manage Hosted Domains.
4. Now, select the hosted domain that you’d like to manage.
5. Next, click on the Design tab.
6. Finally, click the Website Builder icon.

Step 3:  Upload / Publish Your Website

If you’re using a software package like FrontPage or Dreamweaver (or if you created the code by hand), you’ll need to upload your website (including all of the pages, pictures, and downloadable files you’ve used) to the html/ directory on your web space before it can become visible via the web.

If you have used the Trellix Website Builder to create your site, you will need to hit the “Publish to Web” button before your website will be made publicly accessible. Since the Web Builder manipulates files already contained on the web, there is no need to upload the entire site to your web space.

Step 4: Troubleshooting, Development, and Promotion

Congratulations for getting this far!  By now, you should have an original website that’s visible on the web. Your first priority now is to identify (and remove) all of any errors (or “bugs”) that may have been created during the creation of your website. The best way to do this is to edit your files on your local computer, make whatever fixes are necessary, and then to upload your files back to your webspace. This is also a good time to add functionality to your website:  regardless of whatever means you used to create your website, our web-based Control Panel allows you to install and implement a wide range of attractive web applications ranging from Chat Rooms to Guestbooks to Discussion Boards, often with just the click of a button. Finally, once your website is fully-functional, you can start promoting it using the “Marketing” tools provided on our Control Panel.

Best of luck!