The hype you've probably heard about the web is sort of like the old vending machine scam. Just buy a machine, put some stuff in it, and you'll make money hand over fist! Many people who fell for it paid three or four times what the machine was worth and wouldn't have made a profit even if they had paid fair market value.

A web site is not a vending machine. It is a tool for communication. And just like any tool, the better you know how to use it, the better your results will be. Whether you're looking to run a site for fun or run it for profit, you need a good plan. And that's what this online tutorial is about -- developing a plan for building and marketing your site. As Leonardo Da Vinci once said, a painting is only as good as the drawing underneath.

Over the next eight chapters, we'll explore the web in plain English with a minimum of techno-gibberish, using the self-questions at the end of each chapter to help you plan out your site and its promotion. If you're looking for technical help, check out the "Useful Links" section. But if you're looking for a good, clear, easy to understand intro to planning and marketing a web site, just click on the "Move On" button below.