introduction to web2.0

Internet Basics

Ever buy yourself a new wallet? You start by looking around for one that's designed the way you like. Then when you're happy with one, you say, "This is the wallet for me!" You hand over some money to seal the deal, and then what?

You get to work making that shell of a wallet your own personal space. You slip your license in here. You put a credit card there. You insert a picture of a loved one over there. In other words, you accessorize, you customize, you fill up the shell with your own stuff.

That's what a template website is like.

First, a template website company goes through the trouble of making up a bunch of website templates - shells, designs, call them what you like, but they're basically like an empty wallet. The design is sitting empty, just waiting for you to take over and fill it with your stuff.

So you look through all the website templates available until you find one you like based on its style (corporate? fun? sophisticated?), its colors, its lines, just as if you were sizing up a new wallet.

Then once you've picked your template and signed up to be able to make it your own, you get to go in using your browser and put photos or logos or graphics where you want, text where you want, and so on. And just like your own wallet, you can go in anytime to rearrange things, add things, take things out. It's your website, so you should be able to make it the way you want!

And template websites sometimes include web hosting and email support, so you're getting all that stuff in one package.

And that's why a template website is like a new wallet.

Copyright (c) Grant Pasay 2005. All rights reserved. You may forward this article in its entirety to anyone you wish.

About the author: Grant Pasay is a writer, musician, moviemaker, and author of the new eBook, "The Internet Is Like A Refrigerator: And Other Weird Comparisons That Make it Easy to Understand Everything From AOL to Zip Files."

Check out Grant's free/brandable ebook at: http://grantpasay.com/refrigerator/

Check out Grant at: http://grantpasay.com/