START WITH AN ACCEPTABLE IDEA.

Any good computer based multimedia title begins with a good design.  Your web site should too.  The more complete your design, the better your finished product.

What is the purpose for this web site?  There is no point in developing a web site just because you can.  All elements of the site should be designed with the web site's purpose in mind.

Think about your intended audience.  Are they internet newbies who need a very clean and intuitive interface?  Are they professionals who expect a professional looking layout?  Or are they younger people who want to see lots of whistles and bells? Are they technical people who want a faster loading site and don't care how fancy it is?

How will your pages be laid out?  What graphics will you use?  How will your pages be linked?  How will visitors to your site find their way around?  These details should be sketched out on paper before you begin to write code.

Also think about the people who will be maintaining the site.  Are they skilled enough to understand your complicated code?  Do they have the time and the tools to build new graphics in the same style as your graphics?  If there will be new content added to the site regularly, you might want to keep the design simple enough to allow the new content to be added with little effort.

It is also a good idea to build a template of the web site before you add content.  A template is simply an HTML file with the major features of a sample page in place, but none of the content. It shows all of the layout features such as positioning of graphics, and formatting of text.  This allows you to preview the design before you're too far into the process to turn back.  It will also give you a consistant look to your pages, and speed up the development process.