Once I have some content written and a design idea sketched out it’s time to get the sucker online. I should warn you that my website building methods are pretty old school. Actually, I don’t even think they went to school.

• Bust out Notepad - I’m living in the dark ages and still use Notepad to code my sites. Sometimes when I’m feeling really crazy I might use Notepad ++.
• Code like a demon - I code in HTML and am only recently coming to grips with CSS. If I’m building a site from scratch then I just get to it and start coding. I refer to my layout sketches and put everything into invisible tables even though I know it’s not ideal. I create a sort of shell where everything will slot into and go from there.
• Creating the visuals - Photoshop is the only thing I use for making images, tweaking photos, backgrounds etc. I’d like to learn how to use Illustrator but I don’t have the software just yet. I feel a bit limited with Photoshop when it comes to creating images from scratch but I always make due somehow.
• Always keep learning - I’ve taught myself how to build websites and it seems like I’ll never be done learning. Every new project presents new challenges and with each new site I build I come away with a little bit more knowledge. Learning new stuff takes extra time but by not trying new things I’d be limiting myself and my sites would be stuck back in the late 90’s. Things change too quickly not to at least attempt to keep up. I really should devote some time to learning Dreamweaver but I’m a creature of habit and I really don’t mind coding by hand. I know once I get around to learning it I’ll wonder how I ever survived without it but for the time being Notepad suits me.
• Ask lots of questions - Learning doesn’t have to be a solo endeavour and I seem to spend a lot of time hanging out on web message boards like by beloved Digital Point asking a ridiculous amount of questions. It never ceases to amaze me how many helpful people there are who will go out of their way to walk you through any problems you might be having. Things that seem frustratingly impossible aren’t really as scary once you start asking questions and breaking the problem down.
• Outsource the really hard stuff - No matter how much I read or how many questions I ask there’s not way I’m going to be able to whip up any cool tools with PHP or Java or whatever. If you I think of a good idea that I have no idea how to pull off I’ll find someone who does. Spending money on web stuff becomes a lot easier once you’re earning. I just think of it as reinvesting it back into my business.

I’m not sure my building advice is really that great because I’m still living in the past, but I just wanted to let everyone know that you don’t need all the latest software to build money-making sites. All you really need to get started is Notepad and an internet connection so get to it!

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