You can easily create a professional-looking website with nothing more than an ordinary computer and some raw ambition. Want to build a blog, sell products, create forums, or promote an event? No problem! This friendly, jargon-free book gives you the techniques, tools, and advice you need to build a site and get it up on the Web.

The important stuff you need to know:

• Master the basics. Learn HTML5, the language of the Web.
• Design good-looking pages. Use styles to build polished layouts.
• Get it online. Find a reliable web host and pick a good web address.
• Use time-saving tools. Learn free tools for creating web pages and tracking your visitors.
• Attract visitors. Make sure people can find your site through popular search engines like Google.
• Build a community. Encourage repeat visits with social media.
• Bring in the cash. Host Google ads, sell Amazon's wares, or push your own products that people can buy via PayPal.
• Add pizzazz. Include audio, video, interactive menus, and a pinch of JavaScript.

Matthew MacDonald is a developer, author, and educator in all things Visual Basic and .NET. He's worked with Visual Basic and ASP since their initial versions, and has written over a dozen books on the subject, including The Book of VB .NET (No Starch Press) and Visual Basic 2005: A Developer's Notebook (O'Reilly). He has also written a number of Missing Manual titles on Excel 2007 and Access 2007 (O'Reilly). His website is http: //www.prosetech.com/.