Due to the technology currently available, the publishing of a website can be completed in only three steps. These include:

• Create the website
• Find a hosting plan
• Upload the site

Depending on your skill level, a website can be created manually utilizing Dreamweaver or notepad. On the other hand, sites can be almost automatically created with numerous open source programs. The second method is the easiest and requires the least amount of programming.

One of the most popular methods of website creation is WordPress, a content management system. It was originally created to help create blogs, but this has been extended to any type of website including stores. There are thousands of user-created themes for your website. Additionally, plugins, widgets and other tools are available to the user for different tasks, most are free.

Another helpful content management system is Joomla which creates the site and manages the content. To use Joomla simply install it properly and that’s it! There are tools for site creation if you have the need.

Once the website is created, its time to find a hosting plan that fits your needs. Generally you don’t want to use a free service since the quality is usually not up to par. Since most web hosting companies are charging beans for service, it’s almost free. The most important aspects of choosing a web hosting provider are scalability, storage, bandwidth, CPU and cost.

Once you’ve found a web hosting provider, its time to upload the site. Find a free FTP (File Transfer Protocol) program and connect to your site through the IP address. Simply drag the files from your computer to their server and that’s basically it. Many web hosting providers can automatically install CMS’s like WordPress.

Creating a website has come a long way in a short amount of time. There is so much software available to create a website without any programming knowledge needed. With the addition of freeware and open source software, it’s also extremely inexpensive. As technology continues, this task will become even easier and almost everyone will have a website.

While there are many vendors that offer CMS certifications, Kentico is the most recent. The basics of the course include:

• Upon completion, the result is a Kentico Certified Developer
• One year of Kentico CMS development experience is required or completion of Kentico CMS 5 Certified Developer Training
• Demonstration of the understanding of ASP.NET, the .NET framework, web interfaces, CSS and website deployment are scrutinized

The exam for the certification is 50 questions an available anytime online for $199. The long debate over whether certifications immediately make someone an expert continues. There are plenty of good developers that didn’t pass certification exams. They are still experts; they just don’t have a certification document proving this fact.

Many believe that time and money is better spent on Microsoft certifications as their courses tend to cover more information and different types of vendors. Unfortunately most experts believe that a non-committed or poor developer that obtains a certification will weaken the whole system.

Kentico is adding to the certification list to provide a quick and easy method to recognize highly-skilled developers. They claim the return on investment is maximized and time to market is reduced through their certification course.

The Kentico CMS certification course is a partner of Microsoft. This proves their conformance with Microsoft testing protocols such as Microsoft Platform Test for Windows Server 2003, Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Test and Microsoft Managed Code Test.

There are two types of courses offered by Kentico: the Certified Content Administrator Training and the Certified Developer Training. The administrative training instructs students on how to use Kentico CMS 5 to create and publish content. It also teaches users how to perform their daily tasks utilizing this software. The developer training focuses on speedy website deployments, best programming and design practices, as well as showcasing the capabilities of the Kentico CMS.

Kentico is providing another addition to the list of vendor certifications by offering an administrative and developer training. These courses teach all aspects of the Kentico Content Management System to the users. This is helpful with daily tasks as well as following good design and practices. Any additional courses do add credibility to your workplace experience and this is no exception.

Fortunately, with the advent of CMS like WordPress and Drupal, webmasters can now create and manage stunning websites with little or no web development experience. The two aforementioned content management systems are the best in the industry, but which is the crowd favorite?

WordPress

In terms of popularity, WordPress is leaps and bounds above all competitors. Originally designed as a blogging platform, WordPress has grown into an extremely useful content management system over the past few years. The strong point of WordPress is the abundance of plugins that have been designed by independent developers. Literally every aspect of site creation, organization and search engine optimization can be dealt with using WordPress plugins. These plugins are basically additions to the CMS, which enhance the functionality of the user interface.

With hundreds of WordPress plugins available, and new ones being created each day, it is easy to see why WordPress is easily the crowd favorite. Many people find it difficult to find the right plugins to simplify a specific task. Fortunately there is a large WordPress community that can offer advice on which plugins to use and how to use the WordPress content management system properly.

Drupal

Drupal is a unique advanced content management system that gives the user complete control over the development of a site. Unlike other CMS which utilize WYSIWYG editors and simplified interfaces, Drupal is made specifically for web developers. In fact, it is said that Drupal is actually more of a development platform than a simple CMS. Even though Drupal is not very user-friendly, it is perfect for professional web developers that need full control over scripting and advanced site design. One of the strong points of Drupal is the massive user community full of professional web developers that are constantly sharing advice and tips on how to use Drupal. When used correctly, Drupal can create the best websites on the internet, and due to its advanced capabilities there are very few limitations.

Conclusion

Both content management systems have their own pros and cons, however WordPress is generally seen as being the best choice for novice webmaster. More advanced web developers should consider Drupal, as it offers freedom and control not seen in any other CMS. Many webmasters use both Drupal and WordPress, depending upon their needs for a particular website. The limitations of both content management systems depend entirely upon the user’s experience and resources. With the right plugins WordPress can beat just about any CMS in existence. However, when utilized by the right developer Drupal can create sites that WordPress cannot even manage! Ultimately, the decision is left to the webmaster, their experience level, and their needs.

Although there is other blog hosting software, WordPress offers the functionality and robustness needed for a successful site. The following is a list of reasons to choose WordPress as your blog host:

• It’s free!
• Excellent support
• Plug-in optimization
• Choice to choose a theme
• Theme modification
• Link building

The most appealing aspect of the WordPress software is that it’s free to download and install. Users have two options, download the client to their paid web domain or utilize free blogging sites that add your website name as a sub-domain for the ultimate free hosting. Those that have their own paid web domain have access to many more features.

Just because the software is free, doesn’t mean the support is non-existent. There’s a plethora of information on various topics in community support forums. Since there are thousands of users, theme designers and plug-in developers, support is one of the strongest points.

Another reason to choose WordPress is the ability to add any plug-ins you desire. There are thousands of plug-ins available that can be downloaded for free. Installation is extremely easy and can be accomplished at the simple click of a button.

Also, there are many themes available that determine the look and feel of your site. Once again, these are all free. Unfortunately, these can only be utilized by those that host their own domain name. With other blog services, you can only display those themes they allow. On the other hand, WordPress has thousands of user-created themes.

Furthermore, themes can be modified to fit your exact standards and make the website even more unique. This can be accomplished by changing either the HTML or CSS code. If you’re not knowledgeable in these areas, hire a freelance designer to do this.

The final reason to choose WordPress is to build links to your own domain. If the blog is only in a sub-domain, links to the blog are improving page rank for the main domain. This is one reason to host your own domain.

WordPress is a fantastic blog creation tool with endless features. Themes, plug-ins and the actual software are constantly updated with new features being added all the time. WordPress is a great resource for both novice and veteran webmasters. The flexibility of the software is unmatched.

Analyzing Your Needs

The first thing you’ll notice when operating WordPress initially is that there are many features that are lacking or simply not convenient enough to make a significant difference in your daily productivity. As you browse through the control interface you’ll notice that you’re limited in creative control. For example, when posting content you cannot easily modify font or formatting by default.

Fortunately there is a plugin available called Super Editor that will amend the content management system so that there are options to change text size and font with ease. To get the most out of your content management system you’ll want to browse through the control interface taking note of any limitations you would like to eliminate. There is a good chance that there are plugins available that can greatly improve the features you need.

Finding Plugins

Once you’ve got an idea of what is needed you can begin searching through the plugin database. To do this, click on “Add New” in the plugin module on the left side of the interface. From there you can enter a query in the search box that appears. You can refer to the star rating and description to get a good idea of the capabilities and quality of each plugin. Many times there are plugins that are not in the official WordPress database, but that need to be found using a search engine such as Google. You can also learn a lot from the WordPress forums as well, where there are experienced members willing to lend advice. You can ask a question at any time and receive an answer in just a few hours.

Essential Plugins

When it comes to improving the productivity of your online business, simplifying search engine optimization and site organization is imperative. The All-in-One SEO pack is a prime example of an essential plugin that aids in search engine optimization. The Google sitemap generator plugin is also essential as well. For site organization, plugins like StickyPostOrderer, Date Exclusion, Category Pages, Exclude from Navigation, and Open in New Window are absolutely essential.