IntroToTheWeb: How Should I do it?
I bought the domain IntroToTheWeb.com a couple of days ago, with a site in mind of basic tutorials for client side coding. If you go to that page, you’ll notice a little splash page for now (including a not spelling mistake) for now, but I have some ideas as how it will work. I want to get this done by the end of this month, so here’s what I had in mind:
- WordPress powered.
- Take the Cutline theme and improve its semantics and SEO possibilities because:
- Traffic source: Google.
- Other traffic: Tutorial listings.
- Possible social media and bookmarking boosts.
- Encourage user participation without a support forum. Maybe a ticket like system?
- Huge link section for further learning.
- Maybe another site for more advanced things?
So why am I doing this? I was originally inspired to do this ages ago by Your HTML Source, and recently again by Josh Buckley’s sale of BeginSites.com (no offence to the new owner, but the lessons are pretty bad ATM). I couldn’t haggle him down to the price I was itching for, so I saved some money and got a fresh domain. I think I could do it right, and better than anyone else, and for this reason: You are more likely to become successful in any sort of web development if you start of right. No tables here, no crappy HTML. This site will teach you right from the start.
So with all this I pose a question to you, the reader. Although you may be unlikely to use this site, what do you think would be more successful?
- All articles are written at once in secret hiding and the site goes live, completely finished. Traffic is good for a while and then dies down to SE hits.
- More blog fashioned, where the first 10 or so articles are written, and the site gets continual updates. Traffic would be more steady, and a reader base would develop. Categories would actually be categories, not pages this way.
- The basics (10 or so per category) are written and the blog progresses in difficulty with regular posts. Traffic would also be steady and a reader base would develop.
Here’s another one of my ideas for this site: The design as of now looks good. It’s really simple and subtle, clean, etc… But the idea is to code the site extremely well with Javascript, AJAX, excellent CSS and XHTML and then use the site itself as the examples. As I code I could save the file in stages so the development progress is well documented. Good idea?
Another idea is to more or less create a chain of ‘intro to’ sites, and create a network more or less. With planned releases at good intervals, traffic for all the sites could stay steady with good linking between. I have a couple more topics I could write about, but we’ll see the success of this project before venturing out on the same road again.
I think this site has the potential to be great. The articles will be great, well written and all that because I know I can do that. The writing isn’t the hard part. It’s going to be the ideas and features that make it original, and make you want to come back.
So there you have, one part designer, one part entrepreneur. Ugh, that reminds me of money. There’s no point in developing a site like this without monetization purposes. I mean, helping people is great but if I didn’t want a ROI as it were, I’d write these articles here, on the permanently never monetized personal blog 
Maybe you, the reader are interested in advertising? I could estimate some figures if you want to email me with a propsal. Here’s a guess at the first month’s stats. After the first month I’ll compare, see how I did!
- 30, 000 unique hits
- 150, 000 page views
- PR4 on it’s first update
- Possibility to get spread over bookmarking services (Digg, etc…)
I have some more marketing schemes that I care not to share with the world, just because I don’t want to give too much away, now do I?
P.S. This post will go live when I’m at a big track meet throwing some discuss. I love WordPress!
Leave a comment
Josh Buckley
May 3rd, 2007 at 10:57 AM
Good luck with the new site connor. It matters what way you want to go really.
If i were you, i would: write 10 articles. Add 5 articles. Submit the best one to digg, then with your new found readers - submit one a week.
Monetizing it may be the problem however. It’s hard to get clicks off people who make sites
Razor
May 3rd, 2007 at 12:14 PM
hey connor, spelling mistake on introtothewebs banner
“youll be a pro in not time”
not
Razor
May 3rd, 2007 at 12:19 PM
oops didnt realise u new bout the spellin mistake xD
Razor
May 3rd, 2007 at 12:24 PM
btw id be interested in writing tutorials for your site, atleast i no the audience wont be full of habbo ppl like on TT.com
Biscuitrat
May 3rd, 2007 at 3:36 PM
I love the idea! You can have weeks where you focus in depth on just one topic and things. Best of luck, lemme know if you need anything
webee
May 4th, 2007 at 6:04 AM
i think you should go with the blog fashioned idea as blogs are still favoured by search engines.
plus: bloggers are quite used to browsing, reading and subscribing to blogs. so… i think this will be more familiar to them.
plus: all your content could be adapted to while running the site as the readers and commenters contribute to the topic.
i like the idea of giving your site as example. maybe you could even do reviews and case studies on other sites.
good luck with http://www.IntroToTheWeb.com
webee
[is a design blog]
Connor Wilson
May 4th, 2007 at 3:49 PM
Thanks everyone, and for you guys interested in writing, I’ll be writing this first one by myself this time. Pretty much just to say I did, but also I want to to explain it in a certain way unique to each article.
I think I’m going to have it go like a blog, so I can build readership and traffic. Hopefully it turns out well
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