Hints for the E-Beginner

Unfortunately, in the Arab world websites are often used primarily for two things: chatting and forums. These are two of the Internet features which can be used wrongly if over used. The real benefits that Internet provides are not being taken full advantage of by people in the Arab world. The Web has brought with it an enormous amount of profit through advertising and promotion for some companies but its real benefits are the communication tools it provides, and which will benefit users in many ways, including enabling them to build their own website.

Before starting to build a website you must learn some basic terminology that is needed for constructing the website and review some information that you need, as a beginner, in the E-field.

First: a list of some important vocabulary:
1- Domain: this is the name that you type into the address bar to reach the desired web site. For example www.YAHOO.com

2- Server: Computer used to provide files or make programs available to other computers
3- FTP: Protocol used to transfer files between TCP/IP connected computers on the Internet.

4- Hosting: a service provided by some Arabic or foreign companies to 'host' or store your web site. The goal is to establish your own account with a web hosting service which can be accessible on the Internet for twenty four hours a day.

5- PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor Language - a programming language used for designing interactive websites.

6- HTML: Hypertext Markup Language - a programming language which includes set of codes (or tags) attached to text for designing non-interactive websites.

To start building your own website you have to learn how to use one of the website programming languages such as HTML or PHP. You can do this by searching the web for sites that give lessons and tutorials for these languages. For example www.w3scholes.com is one of the best sites that teaches the HTML language, and more over, it provides tests to show if you understood the concepts or not. It also includes many other features. Alternatively, if you don't want to learn these languages you can simply use some helpful web design programs such as MS FrontPage or Macromedia Dreamweaver to design your website.

Specialization

Many Arabic websites are not specialized in a specific field, and this is one of the most important reasons for web site failure. For example, there are thousands of Arabic websites that only contain chatting and repeated scripts and forums for everything. Specialization is what really makes a website unique, for example: there is studiolina.com which specializes in design using Photoshop, sauditech.com which specializes in computer solutions and IT-related topics and Tejari.com which specializes in B2B online auctions. There are many other examples of successful Arabic websites. However, for every person there is a specialized field in which he can be productive. To get started you have to identify your area of specialization, develop a business plan, and identify your competitive advantages before you can start building your website.

The First Step to Creating Your Website

After you have identified the area that you want to specialize in, and developed your business plan, start gathering all the information that you may need for your website such as pictures, clips, articles, etc.

The Second Step

Next it will be the time to choose the name for your website which is the Domain to allocate your place on the Web. Always try to choose a short and easy name that can clearly illustrate your field, or a short cut for your website name, and remember the shorter the better. Also, try to choose a unique name that can be recalled easily. You can visit www.register.com to help in choosing and registering your domain name and extension. For the extension try to use .com or .net because for most users other extensions may not be familiar.

The Third Step

After you've gathered all your information and chosen your Domain name you need to start searching for a company to host your website. First decide on the disk space that you think is enough for your website. If you are just beginning settle on 100 MB which is enough for a start. This gives you a chance to see if you are going to be able to keep going or not and if so you can increase the size later on as you need it. Remember, before choosing your company that there are important things that you have to consider. One of the most important ones is technical support, so try to choose a company that provides a proficient 24 hrs support service. Also try to get a sound price. Usually, 100 MB will not exceed 300 SR a year.

The Third Step

After getting the host established, the website should be set up with a username and a password for the control panel for managing the website.

The Fourth Step

Next, design your web page, test it, and then upload it to the server using FTP. Now, you have finished the critical work, and everyone can browse your website.

Specialized Arabic Websites

There are a lot of Arabic websites that can be used as good examples for their design, publicity techniques and performance. These include: Maktoob.com, an Arabic email services website, Arabhardware.com, a website that focuses on the computer hardware and computer parts and Eqla3soft.com for the latest computer programs and software. Look at these and search the web for more sites to give you ideas for designing your own website.

References and Useful Sites to Help You Get Started

www.register.com
This site provides facilities for registering your Domain name and also a step by step guide to setting your own web site.

www.w3scholes.com
This site provides a tutorial and tests for learning how to use the HTML scripting language.

www.php.net
This site provides a tutorial and tests for learning how to use the PHP scripting language.