Your
first
requirement
is
to
design
your
website.
Experienced
coders
can
do
this
with
a
simple
text
editing
tool
such
as
NotePad
.
However,
if
you
are
not
a
coder
there
are
alternatives
and
DoveSoft
recommend
free
tools
such
as
WordPress
.
For
the
hobbyist,
other
recommended
non
coding
software
includes
Xara Designer Pro, Mobirise
, and
WYSIWYG Web Builder
.
You
may
simply
require
to
host
your
site
on
your
own
computer
and
its
web
pages
will
contain
links
to
web
addresses
of
your
choice.
This
is
achieved
by
publishing/exporting
your
site
from
the
web
design
software
to
a
folder
on
your
computer.
Most
users
however
will
require
their
site
to
be
accessible
to
all
on the Internet, in which case you will need a domain name, web host and optionally a database.
A
domain
name
such
as
dovesoft.uk
,
can
most
easily
be
purchased
from
your
web
host
.
Domain
names
vary
in
price
depending
on
the
suffix
used.
Typically
co.uk
names
are
for
hobbyists
and
cost
about
£3.50
per
annum
while
com
names
are
for
business
users
and
cost
about
£10
p.a.
You
may
have
a
web
host
already
but
if
not
try
Ionos
by
clicking
the
image
below
and
select
domain
names
from
their
menu
and
check
if
your
required
domain
is
available.
An
important
first
consideration
is
if
your
web
site
will
be
designed
using
a
fixed,
responsive
or
adaptive
layout.
Fixed
layouts
are
easier
to
design
as
the
designer decides the page width and content is positioned in fixed or absolute positions. Currently, this approach is adopted by
Serif WebPlus
.
Most
responsive
websites
rearrange
the
text
and
graphics
to
fit
the
screen
size
with
often
unattractive
results.
What
looks
good
full
screen
on
your
computer
might
not
look
so
great
on
a
tablet
or
smart
phone
when
the
text
and
graphics
are
reshuffled.
Some
web
design
software
such
as
Xara
Designer
Pro
+
lets
you
design
Variants
of
your
website
for
specific
display
sizes,
from
full
desktop
browsers
to
mobile
devices.
These
variants,
which
are
actually
different
layouts
of
the
same
site
are
linked,
so
if
you
change
the
text
or
photos
on
the
main
site,
the
text
and/or
photos
on
the
variant
or
variants
changes as well. Your browser should automatically load the relevant variant.
Both
adaptive
and
responsive
layouts
have
their
pros
and
cons.
The
biggest
drawback
to
adaptive
is
maintenance.
With
responsive
you
are
changing
just
one
site,
but
with
adaptive
it
is
spread
over
a
minimum
of
two
sites,
so
the
challenge
is
to
make
it
easier
to
make
changes.
A
number
of
recommended
companies
such
as
CoffeeCup
and
PineGrow
have
created
code
which
allows
text
and
images
to
act
in
a
responsive
manner
within
the
fixed
width
of
the
site.
Before
designing
your
web
site,
you
will
need
to
understand
web
terminology
as
demonstrated
on
Ken
Carney's
excellent
free
Home
and
Learn
site.
Web
pages
are
coded
using
HyperText
Markup
Language
(HTML)
and
Cascading
Style
Sheets
(CSS)
and
will
require
an
investment
in
your
time.
Alternatively,
web
design
software
such
as
Xara
Designer
Pro
and
Mobirise
avoid
the
need
for
coding
and
use
a
simpler
drag
and
drop
style
similar
to
desk
top
publishing software.
Having
published
your
site
from
the
web
design
software,
it
needs
to
be
transferred
for
storage
on
your
web
host
using
a
file
transfer
program
(FTP)
.
Some
design
software
include
FTP
software
but
standalone
programs
such
as
the
excellent
open
source
FileZilla
also
exist.
You
will
need
information
such
as the
host web address, username
and
password
, which will be supplied by your web host, in order to connect to the web host using FTP.
The
web
host
acts
as
a
server
i.e.
it
"serves"
your
web
pages
to
the
web
browser.
Servers
predominantly
use
the
Linux
or
Windows
operating
systems
and
the
former
is
the
cheaper
to
use.
The
operating
system
will
be
transparent
to
most
users
but
is
relevant
if
using
program
languages
such
as
PHP
and
databases such as
MySQL
, when Linux will normally be used.
LEARN WHAT DOVESOFT CAN DO FOR YOU
Where to find us.
We are located in Dam Street next to Speakers
Corner by Minster Pool. The contact page map
contains our location marker but please first
contact us to arrange a consultation/meeting.
Office Hours of Business.
Monday to Friday: 09:00 to 17:30
Saturday: 09:30 to 13:00
Sunday and Bank Holidays: Closed
Site developed using Xara Designer Pro +
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