If you've just started your very first website, be it a small business, or a simple content site, you have probably encountered the phrase "search engine optimization." Search engine optimization and getting to the top of the search engines presents a dilemma for most new websites. Herein lies some information about the challenge of search engine optimization and some useful tips for webmasters.

If you've just launched your first website, you'll soon realize that there aren't many realistic ways to drive traffic to your site other than through pay-per-click advertising. It's nearly impossible for a new website to just climb to the top of the rankings on the search engines or to use cheap email marketing to drive tons of traffic to the site at little or no cost.

When the internet first came to be, all websites were written in HTML. HTML was the only programming language used to describe and display data on the World Wide Web.

As time progressed, programmers started to realize that they were being stymied by HTML. Web designers wanted to be able to describe data more effectively. This need for a better way to deal with data resulted in the development of a new specification called XML.

HTML forms, such as email forms and order forms, are perhaps the most important components of a website. Without forms, webmasters would not be able to collect information from their site visitors, and they would not be able to accept online credit card orders from their customers, which is the heart and soul of ecommerce. Imagine how useless the internet would be if it were just a bunch of information and pictures with no way to communicate or conduct business.

We have all heard of HTML. HTML stands for Hypertext Markup Language. What is a hypertext markup language, you ask? It is a language for specifying how certain text should appear. When you design a web page, you want certain content or text to be displayed in a specific way. You may want some text to appear in bold or italics, while other text you may want to display larger or in color.

I have been designing websites since 1996. In the beginning, it was so easy. Someone called me with a project, they sent me the content for their website, which I would then upload to Microsoft Frontpage or a text editor, insert some HTML tags for formatting and some graphics to make the site colorful, and the job was finished.

The wireless revolution changed everything.

Remember the good old days, when the internet consisted of nothing more than a few simple websites formatted in basic HTML? Web design was so easy. You could just slap some graphics and text into a file, insert some HTML tags into the document to tell the web browser how the text should appear and what the structure of the page should be, and presto, the job was finished.

The advent of wireless internet access has made web design a very complicated matter. Previously, all web browsers were created equal. HTML was the only language used to create web sites, and it was only possible to go online with a desktop PC.

Since the turn of the century, cyberspace has changed. It is now possible to surf the world wide web using a wide variety of wireless gadgets, such as cell phones, palm tops, laptops, computer screens in automobiles, etc.

My existence on this planet as a web designer was so easy when I first started developing websites back in 1996. Ah, those were the days. When someone wanted me to create their website, they would provide all the content and some simple design instructions, then I would transfer that content into a simple text file, use basic HTML to give it some formatting, throw in some graphics and a logo, upload the files and collect my money.

If you are a novice internet businessperson, and you just started an online business, you probably have no idea how to go about hiring a web designer. Who should you call? Should you look someone up in the yellow pages? Should you hire someone who works for a company that employs many different web designers under a single umbrella, or should you hire a sole proprietor? Or, should you hire a freelancer who does web design part time? How much does it cost?

If you need someone to develop a very simple, static website that is merely a personal homepage or just an informational site about your business, then you pretty much have carte blanche.

I find myself longing for the old days, when I could design a web site in 5 minutes on a Sunday and then go play golf for the rest of the afternoon, and still collect a full week of salary for services rendered. That was back in 1996, when the internet was still new. Websites were created exclusively with HTML. The client would email me the content for their website, which I would upload to FrontPage, then insert some tags and a template for formatting and layout, add some graphics, and that was it.