How to Build a 2.0 Website
Web 2.0 websites feature user collaboration and content contribution, social connections, user control of data and a decentralized, crowd-based architecture. Building a Web 2.0 website involves planning, adding site functions, producing content and testing. Start with a good plan and you'll keep your Web 2.0 project from becoming an overwhelming task.
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Things You'll Need
- Website hosting account
- WordPress (optional)
- Akismet plug-in for WordPress (optional)
- BuddyPress plug-in for WordPress (optional)
Instructions
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Develop a site plan for your Web 2.0 website. Lay out your main content pages and the relationships between those pages. Create a navigation scheme showing how users will navigate between pages on your website.
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Pick Web 2.0 features. Using your site plan as a guide, select the Web 2.0 features that will meet the needs of your users. You can include user-generated content, social connections, user comments and many other features. Focus your list of features initially on those features essential to your site. You can always add other features later as your website matures.
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Build your website functions. If you are experienced with writing software, you can develop the website functionality yourself. If you are not experienced with website development, you can choose a content management system, such as WordPress or Joomla! Content management systems make adding functions and content relatively easy. For example, BuddyPress is a social media add-on module (or plug-in) for WordPress sites that provides social media functions without writing software.
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Produce content for your website. You can hand-code your content pages in HTML or another mark-up language using a text editor, such as Notepad. Or, if you are using a content management system, simply add content according to your system's procedures.
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Publish your website. For hand-coded websites, transfer the content files to your website hosting service using FTP. Content management system users can simply publish their content using the publishing feature (or equivalent) of the system.
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Test your Web 2.0 website. Access your site as a user would and move through your website. Try to add comments, subscribe to an RSS feed, create an account, upload content or whatever actions you anticipate your users will take. Make certain that the Web 2.0 features of your website are working the way you expect. Correct any pages that aren't working and republish them.
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Promote your website. Attract visitors to your new Web 2.0 website using search engine optimization, pay-per-click advertising or any other promotional methods suitable for your intended audience.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit silhouette of a crowd image by Christopher Hall from Fotolia.com
