Update: Since I wrote this article (which needs some up-dating), I have had a positive response from many Muslim women who are interested in building their own websites. This has encouraged me to begin a column dedicated to teaching others how to do this. Visit this page for regular lessons on how to build a website with an Islamic theme and let me know what you think.
One of the most amazing aspects of the Internet is that anyone who uses it can build his own website for free. There are hundreds of companies which offer free space for this purpose, and it is a great chance for ordinary Muslims to spread the message of Islam to all corners of the Earth. May Allah reward the thousands of Muslims who have already taken advantage of this extraordinary opportunity to share Islam with the world.
There are different approaches one could use in building a website. Some sites require that the builder be familiar with HTML, a special computer language. Fortunately for computer novices, this is not a requirement everywhere. Sites like ZyWorld show you step by step how to build your site, providing you with a variety of attractively pre-designed templates, graphics and fonts. You may also upload your own pictures and graphics. ZyWorld allows you to choose the name of your website and helps you to submit it to the major search engines on the web. If you're a beginner, you really cannot lose with ZyWorld.
For a fee, Zyworld and most other web-building sites may offer you more space, technical support and features. Click here to learn about other companies which provide space for your websites.
Learning HTML
As I have just explained, it is not at all necessary to be familiar with HTML in order to construct a website. However, there are a lot of neat things you can do if you have some basic HTML skills and if you know how to use a program like Front Page Express. Less than one year ago, I knew nothing about HTML and I had never heard of Front Page Express. But now I am comfortable with both, and it did not take major effort on my part to reach this point. Make use of the many on-line tutorials designed to teach you basic programming skills.
Some Tips for Building an Effective Site
One of the most amazing aspects of the Internet is that anyone who uses it can build his own website for free. There are hundreds of companies which offer free space for this purpose, and it is a great chance for ordinary Muslims to spread the message of Islam to all corners of the Earth. May Allah reward the thousands of Muslims who have already taken advantage of this extraordinary opportunity to share Islam with the world.
There are different approaches one could use in building a website. Some sites require that the builder be familiar with HTML, a special computer language. Fortunately for computer novices, this is not a requirement everywhere. Sites like ZyWorld show you step by step how to build your site, providing you with a variety of attractively pre-designed templates, graphics and fonts. You may also upload your own pictures and graphics. ZyWorld allows you to choose the name of your website and helps you to submit it to the major search engines on the web. If you're a beginner, you really cannot lose with ZyWorld.
For a fee, Zyworld and most other web-building sites may offer you more space, technical support and features. Click here to learn about other companies which provide space for your websites.
Give some thought to what kind of site you'd like to construct and spend the time necessary to make it as good as possible. "Islam" is a very huge subject so you may prefer to focus on a particular aspect of Islam rather than on the whole thing at once. Start slowly (you are not in a race) and add pages as you are ready to do so. It may help to familiarize yourself with what is already out there so you can contribute something unique to the deluge of information already available to Muslims and others interested in Islam.
