Setting up your mod's site tutorial

[page=Introduction/Finding a Webhost]
Alright, the time has come for you to make a site for your modification, and you are lost. You don't know where to begin. What do you do? Why of course, you read this tutorial!

In this tutorial, I won't go into actual website coding. My HTML skillz are very limited, and my php skillz are non-existent. Instead, i hope to give you tips on making your site give a good impression to visitors.

Before you can start making a site, you obviously need a webhost. You can of course use the generic ones, like freewebs, or geocities. Or you could invest a little more time, and make an unforgettable site. Remember that the first impression that most people will get of your modification will be your site.

If you have some spare change, invest the extra few bucks into a domain, and a high-bandwidth/storage host. For paid sites, virtually all hosts are the same, except for the bandwidth and storage limits. As in most cases, the more the merrier!

Also, be sure to invest in a site with atleast one mySQL database, php-scripting capabilities, and either Invision or phpBB forums. Forums are not something you will wan't to skimp on, because it is where all of your fans can give you suggestions, or just rave about your mod. They are also a very handy tool for private dev. discussion with your team, assuming that you choose forums that allow different permission levels (nearly all do).

One very good, very easy to use webhost that comes with a custom made CMS is www.squadengine.com.. My mod DrugWars resided there for the duration of six months, and I was so impressed with how easy to use it is. Your site looks awesome literally in minutes, complete with seamlessly integrated forums, a gallery, among other spiffy features.

If you don't have that spare change, however, go for a free server that still has most of those features. As a major fan of PHPNUKE (a free content management system that lets you make uber-cool sites without any php skillz!), I highly suggest a host that lets you choose in either make your own php or html site, or installing some sort of a CMS (Content Management System). Again, you will need at least one mySQL database, php functionality, and plenty of free room on your ftp, to install PHPNUKE, or any other CMS.

[page=Design]
Once you have found a webhost, and either installed a CMS, or learned how to code your own website, it is time to start thinking about what kind of a layout you want. This isn't quite as easy as it may sound. On the front page you want to have plenty of information, but you also definately don't want it to look crowded. Here are some tips:

• Limit the news-posts on the front page to 5. If you let it get beyond that, it starts looking crowded. Alternatively, you could put all of the news posts into a seperate "divider", with a seperate scrollbar. This looks pretty good usually, but doesn't work on all browsers. For the code to do this, visit www.webmonkey.com..


• Create a scrolling headlines box at the top, with any small news updates that don't warrant making a whole news post for. The HTML code for scrolling text is < marquee > Text Here < /marquee >


• If you are using PHPNUKE (or a similiar CMS), make some blocks on your site with screenshots, Progress updates, and even help wanted ads. Don't give too much room to any of these, however, because the site will start looking cluttered.

[page=Navigation]
Simple, user-friendly navigation is essential on a modification site. Don't let the number of pages in your navigation bar exceed 6, or some of the less tech-savvy visitors of your site may feel confused, even dizzy. Also make sure that each page of your site has links to the other pages.

You should have a page in the navigation bar for these following pages:

• Home (instantly directs you back to the main page)


• Info (an in-depth summary of your modification)


• Media (a page dedicated to screenshots, etc.)


• Downloads (for release downloads, trailers and wallpapers, both of which you can also put into the media page, if you are into that kind of thing)


• Forums (directs you to the forums)


• Team (a page with a list of everyone working on your mod, preferrably with a short bio for each member)

[page=Those little things...]
I've seen plenty of sites that had all of the necessary elements that usually make a site good, but still sucked. Spend extra time on making your forums intuitive, your banner spiffy, and on making a flash intro, if you know how to make flash animations. A screenshot box on your home page with the latest screenshots is also very, very cool.

For this part of the tutorial, be creative. If you think of something hairbrained, try it out on your site, and see if it looks good.

[page=Conclusion]
I hope that this tutorial has given beginner modders an idea on how to start off their site. Do me a favor and do not skimp on your site. While the argument that you should spend more time on the mod rather than the site may be valid, the time it'll take to find serious members while using a freewebs site far exceeds the time it takes to make a more individualistic site.