If you’re running a very simple site that is almost never updated, then building it with HTML pages might be the way to go. Sites like that are becoming very rare though. Most sites are updated fairly often. Some are being changed constantly. So what is powering these sites?

Content Management Systems

A Content Management System, or CMS, is the software that keeps a site running. It’s function is to make sure that your site does what you want it to and allows you to update, add or remove content easily and effectively. If you have a site that requires membership, then it probably handles that as well.

Just a few of the popular systems include Drupal, Joomla and even WordPress. They work in different ways but each has a community of dedicated people that swears by them.

WordPress as a CMS? Isn’t it a blogging platform?

Didn’t think of WordPress as a CMS? A lot of people don’t, but the ability to easily modify an installation of WordPress along with the huge amount of secondary functionality provided by plugin authors makes Wordpress very flexible. For smaller sites, Wordpress may be all they need.

Even as a blog, WordPress is still functioning as a CMS. Handling the posts and making it easy to upload different types of media. WordPress is a CMS, and one of my favorites.

With all the different options available there’s just one more question to ask…

What’s running your web site?

The first question in the last post is worth looking at more closely. It may take you several steps to narrow the answer down, but if you find the answer to this question, and remember it, your site will be much better.

The first step is figuring out which side of the keyboard your target is on. Is the site for your visitors or for yourself.

If you’re building a site for yourself, for whatever reason, then the only person you really need to answer to is yourself (Within limits of the law and your web host’s terms of service of course). There are a lot of possible reasons for building a site for yourself. It could be a hobby, a way to practice your design skills or even just because you enjoy the work involved.

When your visitors become your target, things get more complicated. You have to start taking other people into consideration when making your decisions. Which people? Unless you plan to be the next Google or MSN, whose target is everyone on the net, then you need to find the group of people you’re working for.

Finding Your Niche

In our example from the previous article Jennifer wanted to start a site to discuss the Three-Toed Spotted Short Hair Hamster. That makes things simple for her because her site is for people interested is a very specific breed of hamster.

Unfortunately a lot of us start with a general idea and that makes things difficult. The wider the range of your subject, the more diverse your visitors could be and that makes it hard to know what to put on your site. Too many options can be a bad thing. That’s why a lot of webmaster decide on a niche.

Jennifer’s niche is a breed of hamster. The site may be manageable, though more work, if the focus was broader, such as hamsters of any breed. It would become less manageable and with more work when the focus broadens. From a hamster breed, to hamsters in general, to pet rodents, to pets of any kind… the workload increases with the subjects’ range. At least it does in theory.

That’s why niche sites are so popular. Targeting a smaller group of people with something in common, and making that common thread the focus of your site, is the basis of building a niche site.

The most important part of building a web site is planning. You need to know some important info before you ever start putting your site online.

1. Who is the site for?
This is probably the most important question on the list. The answer to this will affect everything you do afterwards.
• Example: If the site is only for adults or for kids then you’ll have to look into the legal ramifications. There are laws setup to protect children on the Internet that you’ll have to become familiar with.
2. What kind of site is it?
This will go a long way to helping you decide how the site is set up.
• Example: A social networking site will need far different software running it than a blog or family genealogy site.
3. What features do you need/want? (and how you can tell the difference)
You know what kind of site you want to build and who your intended readership is, now you need to figure out what tools you need to get the site running.
• Example: Jennifer wants to build a site for her hamster. she’d like to get in touch with other owners of rare Three-Toed Spotted Short Hair Hamsters. She’ll need a way to allow other TTSSHH lovers to post messages on her site, maybe even a way to let them post pictures of their hamsters in cute outfits.
4. What do you need to make the site work?
Now that you know how you want your site to function, you need to figure out how to get it to work the way you want. This can be an easy question, or a hard one. It really depends on how flexible your needs are and how you want to implement them. Chances are that you’ll be using a Content Management System of some sort. Whether it’s a blog, a membership site or a wiki, you’ll need a way to easily manage your site once it’s up and running.
• Example: Jennifer’s needs are simple. She wants to be able to post messages and let other people do the same. She considers a blog, but that seems like the spotlight is on her when she wants everyone who loves Three-Toed Spotted Short Hair Hamsters to be a part of the site. Jennifer decides to build a Message Board.
5. Do you need help or do you feel comfortable doing things yourself?
This can be a tough one. It’s very important that you be honest with yourself about your skill level with computers. Check out some sites that professional webmasters hang out at. If you can’t understand what they’re talking about then you might need some help. Don’t be afraid to ask people you know for help, and don’t be afraid to learn to do things for yourself. If your expertise isn’t on the technological side don’t worry. There are a lot of ways to find people who can handle things under the hood for you.
• Example: Jennifer knows a lot about hamsters, but not much about web sites. Her brother Paul is very good with computers. She hires him to build her web site, she just has to do his laundry.

Those are only a few questions you’ll need to answer before you ever register the domain name. The more you know before getting started the better your site will be in the end.

Come back later when we’ll go into more detail on these questions as well as yours.