How I Built My First Pond

I knew I wanted to build a pond. I had to decide where and how big and how deep. I knew i wanted to put fish and water lilies into it eventually, so I knew it had to be at least 2 to 2.5 ft deep. It had to be big enough and deep enough as well to hide the pumps and filters under the surface. The hole had to be hand dug because a bobcat couldn't get through a 3 ft gate or drive onto my boardwalk without crushing it.
My first pond was 7ft by 9ft by 2.5ft deep. If you have small children you may want to only have a small shallow pond. Some jurisdictions have restrictions on how deep you can make your pond. If you make it more than three feet deep, some places want you to have a secured yard (the same restrictions as having a hot tub or swimming pool).
I knew I wanted it to be near the house because of the availability of power connections, but mostly because you could see it out of the patio windows. Being the original owner of the property, I knew where the gas and electrical were and that the boulders were probably not going to be a problem. I was conscious of the fact that there were several trees nearby but wasn't overly concerned about leaves pollen or insects. I knew that those obstacles could be overcome with proper filtration.
I also wanted to experiment with live and artificial plants as well as lighting. Since summer was only 8 weeks long (at the most) I had to be savvy about what grows and what doesn't.
As you read through, interjected a lot of other considerations and information about ponds, accessories and pond building along the way just as if you were right there beside me taking a walk through.

I chose a place where I could see the pond and where it could be seen and appreciated. It shouldn't be where it is in the way of yard traffic and yet reasonably close (but not too close) to your electrical outlets for powering your pumps and lights.
I placed it so that you could view it from the fire pit. There was enough distance between the two features so that you could walk between them. The pond was close to the house so that power sources were close and dinner could be had at the patio with the wonderful sound of the water and the lighting at night.
An added benefit was that the pond was an extra water source in case the fire pit got out of hand (but that never was a necessity).

You can get either pre-formed ponds or pond liner to form your pond.
If it is your first foray into ponds, and you want to start small, you can go for the preformed pond kit route.
I chose the pond liner route since I wanted a larger pond with the ability to release koi into it later. Pre-formed ponds become more expensive and prone to damage when they are large. I also wanted to customize my pond to fit into my landscape.
If you go with the pre-formed pond you need to dig the hole exactly the same shape as the shell. If it isn't, you may have uneven pressure along the walls, leading to future cracking and leakage. Usually if a preformed pond does crack, the best and most complete solution is to put pond liner into the form.

All the sticks and sharp stones have been removed. Some people use horticultural sand to even things out. I am not convinced that this is really necessary.

This shows how the placement of the lighting on your features can change what you used to think about pond life.