How to Build a Webcam Site

The Internet, the home of your web show.

The Internet has enabled anyone with a webcam to become the star of their own show. A simple Google search will yield literally millions of different Internet shows or vlogs (video blogs) from all types of genres, such as political talk shows to comedy variety shows. Using a minimum of fairly simple software anyone following this guide will be able to debut his own show in a matter of hours.

Things You'll Need

• Internet access
• Webcam

Instructions

Creating Your Website for Your Webcam Show

1. Check that your webcam is connected to your computer and is running properly. This might seem like a waste of time, but your show is not going to get very far if the webcam is not functioning properly. If you are a Windows user make sure that you have the latest drivers for your camera installed on your system; this is done by navigating to your device's manufacturer's website, looking up your model, and downloading and installing the most recent driver.

2. Set up your website. You are going to need a web hosting provider, such as Domains.com or Hostgator; both of these companies offer packages that include unlimited storage and bandwidth, which are essential for running a web show.

3. Design your website's layout. If you know some HTML or any similar languages, you can develop your site by hand using a simple text editor. If you do not know programming or do not want to go through all the hassle then you can use a content management system such as Drupal, Joomla, or Wordpress. All these technologies can do similar things, so take a look at all of them and use the one that you feel most comfortable with. The particulars of designing your site's layout will depend on which, if any, of the above tools you decide to use.

4. Add your content to your site. If you are using one of the aforementioned content management systems this will be very simple; in fact, all you will need to do is find the option to add video and follow the onscreen instructions.

5. Take a look at your site in the web browser of your choice. If everything looks right you are done. If not, then it is likely that you made a mistake somewhere; the most common error with these kind of sites is that the link to your video content is not correct, so be sure to check that you have keyed in the video's location correctly.

References

• Lexty: Making a Site in Wordpress
• Simple Vlogging Tips: Pointers for Vloggers
• Blog Bloke: Making Videos for the Web

Resources

• Wordpress
• Joomla
• Drupal