If you just bought a template and have no idea what to do next, this page is for you. We'll guide you through the necessary steps that need to be taken in order to make your new template into a website and put it online.

If you haven't already done so, you will need to unzip (extract) the template files from the .zip file you recieved from us. A good program for extracting files from a .zip is WinZip. If you would like an alternative to WinZip, try looking here.

After unzipping the template, you'll want to edit it and add your content. To do this, you'll need some type of HTML editor. A couple popular "What You See Is What You Get" editors are Dreamweaver and FrontPage. These two are some of the easiest to use and require little to no knowlege of HTML. It is also possible to modify an HTML document with Text Editors. This, however, requires some knowlege of HTML. For tutorials that will help you get started on editing your template and resources to teach you more about HTML, look through our Tutorials section.

When you're finished making your site out of the template, you'll need a space on the internet to put it for the world to see. There are two kinds of web hosts: free hosts and hosts that you pay for (usually by the month). If your site is a business site, anything large, or of importance, you'll want to pay for a host. Pay hosts generally provide you with more space, features, and a domain name (yourname.com). Most free hosts require you to put ads on your website in exchange for their free service. This is fine for many small or personal sites but if you are serious about your site or business, you'll probably want to spend a few bucks per month on a good web host. Prices generally start at about $5 - $10 per month. To find a quality host, browse through these sites and read the user ratings/reviews: HostSearch, HostIndex, HostFinder, HostChart, Web Host Directory. For an even greater listing of Web Host directories, go here. If you are looking for a free web host, click here to go to Yahoo's directory of free website hosting providers.

After building your site and finding a host for it, there is only one thing left to do: upload it. Your host should have provided you with FTP access to their server. If you're wondering what FTP client software to use for uploading your site, we'll make a couple recommendations: CuteFTP and WS_FTP. We prefer these two programs over all others but they certainly aren't the only two available. Take a look here for a list of other FTP programs at download.com.

Good luck and have fun with your new site! :)