TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

Making Your Move to the Internet

by Jennifer Johnson, Little Rock, Ark.

It seems like almost everyone these days has a web site. You probably know someone who does—your patients, your colleagues, perhaps your own kids. Maybe you've even toyed with the idea of creating your own, but didn't go far because you didn't know where to begin.

Don't worry. Creating a web site is not as daunting as it might seem. In fact, with the tools and programs available today, practically anyone can be well on the way to a web site in a very short time. In this two-part series of columns, I'll tell you how you can do it.

Before you get started, let's assume two things: one, that you have a computer with Internet ac-cess, and two, that you have at least a working knowledge of some basic terms such as Internet, browser, etc.

Technically, you don't even need number one (someone could design and maintain the site for you), but you should have a working know-ledge of the buzzwords and phrases. If you need help here, pick up a book or magazine that can help you brush up on the terminology or search for tutorials online. An excellent place to look up computer-related words is PC Webopædia (http://www.webopedia.com).

Once you clear those hurdles, you're ready to begin work on your site. For the sake of simplicity, I'm going to divide the process of creating your site into four phases. This month I'll look at planning and deciding who will design your web site. Next month, I'll focus on actually developing the site and deciding how to "publish" it.

Planning Your Site
You wouldn't start a trip without a destination. The same goes for building a web site. Ask yourself, What's my ultimate goal? Many people make the mistake of jumping in with both feet and building their sites without actually understanding why they want a site in the first place and what function the site will serve.

The goal of your site could be anything. It could supplement your traditional advertising, simply provide information, allow you to keep in touch with existing patients and attract new ones, some combination of these or do something else entirely. Only you can make this decision, and you should spend some time pondering this question before you do anything else. It might also be a good idea to check out web sites of some of your optometric colleagues. Once you've established your goal, that will guide you through the design process.

Who Builds Your Site
Will you build the site yourself or hire someone else to do it for you? I, personally, would recommend the former and I'll tell you why shortly. First, let's discuss what to do if you choose the latter option.

If you decide to hire someone to design the site for you, your first order of business is to find a designer. Don't overlook the possibility that one of your staff members or, and I'm not being facetious at all, your teen-ager might be able to do a decent job.

There are a variety of ways you can go about hiring a designer. Perhaps the best way would be to ask your fellow doctors who have a web site whom they would recommend. You can also consult the Yellow Pages for companies that provide Internet services. Don't, however, feel restricted by geographical location; you can hire a designer from practically anywhere.

To go about locating a designer online, simply do a search for "web site design", or something similar, at one of the major search engines. That should give you a good list of prospects. Another way to locate designers online is to find a page you like and either contact the owner of that business or the site designer directly. Contact information for one or both of these individuals (or companies) is usually located at the bottom of the home page.

A few final words on hiring a designer: View samples of his or her work and contact the owners of those sites for references. Prices vary, so I recommend consulting with at least a few companies and/or individuals before you make a final decision.

If You DIY
Now for the advantages of designing the site yourself: It keeps costs down, gives you complete control, and you can make changes as you choose without having to depend on someone else.

If you do choose to design the site yourself, you must decide if you want to learn HTML or not. HTML is the markup language used to design most web pages. Don't be apprehensive about learning it; it's a breeze compared to programming languages.

There are countless HTML tutorials available online and in print. I can personally recommend Laura Lemay's book Learn Web Publishing with HTML 4.0 in a Week. I used an earlier version of the book to teach myself HTML.

If you'll be writing your pages yourself, you'll need a program that can save files as plain text. Most computers come with some form of plain text editor. For PC users NotePad will work just fine (that's what I use); for Mac users SimpleText can do the job. Once you've located a plain text editor and begin to get the hang of HTML, all you'll need is a little time to perfect your skills.

If you don't have the time or the desire to learn HTML, but you would still like to design the site yourself, you'll need to acquire a WYSIWYG editor. "WYSIWYG" is an acronym for What You See Is What You Get.

The basic concept of this type of program is that the HTML code is "hidden." You see your page, not the code. Some WYSIWYG editors don't require you to learn any HTML whatsoever. Keep in mind that it's still advisable for you to have a working knowledge of the basics of HTML in case you need to manually "tweak" the code to get a result you couldn't get otherwise.

The best way to choose an editor is to try out a few and see which one you feel most comfortable with. You can download the shareware version of many of these programs online and try them out for the designated evaluation period (usually 30 days). You might  be able to lo-cate a freeware program you prefer.

Next month, I'll look at doing the "real" work of building your web site: developing quality content and publishing your site so the rest of the world can see it.

Ms. Johnson is the owner of ASPiRE Internet Marketing ( www.promotingyoursite.com) and an optometric assistant for Kirby Smith, O.D., in Little Rock, Ark. Her e-mail is jenny@promotingyoursite.com.