Planning to make you own site?  Here are some tips that can help you make a good website.

1. Having a nice layout means organized, and easy to navigate.  If the visitors can't figure out right away how to navigate, then they will leave, and be discouraged from returning.
2. DO NOT put neon text on a white background.  Colors should be in a scheme, such as all warm or cool colors.  Too many vibrant colors makes the text hard to read, and it hurts people's eyes.
3. Using other people's layouts and pictures on your own site is ok  IF THE WEBMASTER/MISTRESS GIVES YOU PERMISSION.  AND LINK BACK TO THEM!  There is a little thing called copyright laws.  OBEY THEM!  If it's not yours, credit the person to whom it belongs.  But try to make your own stuff!  That's part of the fun in making webpages.
4. Don't direct link to other people's files.  Download them yourself and upload them to your own site, or link to the page where the files are located.
5. If you decide to join a bunch of fanlistings/clubs/clique,s keep them on a seperate page, rather than say, the splash page.  That way, if visitors don't want to see them, they don't have to.
6. Don't force people to vote for your site on top sites PERIOD.  It's a really bad way to get hits to your site, and it's very annoying to deal with any pop-ups in the process.  Pop-ups can freeze people's computers, even very good fast ones.
7. Don't feel bad about using an html editor.  Writing all your html (like some do), takes a LOT of time.  Using an editor (such as Front Page) can save a lot of time if you don't have a lot of it.  Do whatever is more comfortable for you.
8. DO NOT use pagebuilders found on geocities or other places of the like.  Make them by yourself.   Learn HTML.  You can start by buying HTML for Dummies (worked for me!)  Or use and html editor (such as Front Page) to help you until you learn on your own.
9. DO NOT buy a domain name until you are an accomplished webmaster.  Domains are popular nowadays because they are inexpensive, and it's not fair if a person with no web making skills gets a domain that a more advanced person wants.  I had made web sites for 2 years before buying a domain name.
10. If you are going away or putting your site on Hiatus for whatever reason, DO NOT take the entire thing down.  Keep it up so people can explore.  One thing that really ticks me off is people putting their sites on Hiatus and say it'll be back in a week, and 3 months later, nothing has changed.  You can put up a big message if you wish on the main page, but at least let people into the site.  There they can keep themselves occupied until you return/make changes/whatever.  That way, everybody is happy.
11. Don't follow layout trends.  Be creative.  People like to see originality.  Even if this new trend is very likable, it gets boring after a while.  It's like an overplayed commercial.
12. Watch how images effect the overl impact and loading time of your site.   Graphics-rich sites can be an annoyance on a dial-up modem if there is a lot of them and/or they are large in size.  Try to upload them as the smallest size format possible without losing clarity, and in a format most browsers support.
13. Make sure graphics/text/tables line up right in different size windows.  Though most sites now are made for 1024x768, some people still use 800x600.  If you can't do this without doing a lot of reworking, make sure you state that your site was made for that kind screen size.
14. Try to make your site compatible to as many browsers as possible.  In other words, don't use such coding in that only the newest version of whatever browser can see it.   Yes, I believe people should update browsers whenever possible, but this can't be counted on all the time.
15. Don't use sticky caps (WoRkInG eXaMpLe).  And keep the caps lock text to a minimum.   Use it sparingly.  And make sure text is readable.
16. Scripts are evil!  The ones that allow you to change the color style of the site are ok, but the types that allow you to change the title of the page, create those pop-up messages, or something stupid like that are to be avoided.  Those are a waste of html and annoying to viewers.  If a script is RELEVANT to the site, and IMPROVES it, then it's ok.  But ones that have no point whatsoever are a waste of time and annoy people.
17. When looking for a host, TRY to get one with little or no adds.  Yes, I know this is hard nowadays, but they are out there.  My first website was on an html only host (no templates, you just copied and pasted the html), and AD FREE.  Some of these don't give you a ton of space, I know, but you shouldn't NEED that much space.  My entire domain takes up maybe 60 megs, and it contains 10 sites total.
18. To add to #17, see if a good friend or someone looking for a hostee will host your site.   These people tend to be domain owners and are almost always Ad-free.  I am also accepting hostees, you can check it out on the hosting page.
19. When you feel you are ready to buy a domain name, shop around a bit.  Some of the best plans are from companies who DON'T publicize too much.  My host, for instance, for $40 A YEAR gives me 1 gig of space (that's 1,000 megs folks), 5 subdomains, lots of bandwidth, and a ton of extras.  I have yet to find a better deal.  Most places are like $15 a month or so, and don't give you this much.  But then again, you might not need that much.  So do some searching, maybe go to other domains to see where they host theirs (most tend to have it on an About or FAQ page).