Research
If you've got a great idea it's tempting to rush over to your computer and start building straight away. Before you bury yourself in HTML, take some time to think about what you're going to make; it's important to research and plan your site before you start.
Why is research important?
Finding out as much as you can about your idea will help you to identify the right content and features for your website. It's better to spend time at the beginning of your project finding interesting information, than realising later on that you've built something no one wants to use.
Read around
Visit your school or local library and look for relevant books, magazines, newspapers, etc. Make notes or photocopy key information. Remember to write a list of the titles, authors and publishing dates so you can credit content you might use.
Search the Internet
The web is a good way to get information. Use search engines like Google, Yahoo or Ask Jeeves. Many subject areas have portals or weblogs (collections of links) based around a single topic.
Remember that not everything you read will be correct and you need to be careful to assess each source.
It's important to respect authors' rights. Be aware that, in most cases, it is illegal to take someone else's work and use it in your own site.
Talk to people
Talk to your audience to find out what they want to know about your idea and what really interests them. Keep notes of what they say and use this information when you're building your site.
Links
For search tips:
http://www.google.com/help/
Search engines:
http://www.google.co.uk
http://www.yahoo.co.uk
http://www.askjeeves.com
Weblogs:
http://www.robotwisdom.com/weblogs/
Step by step guide to researching your topic:
http://manta.colostate.edu/teen_research/Intro/introduction.htm
