Want to build a website?
There are many reasons why you might want to do so. Maybe you want to make a fan page for fun, or maybe you need a cutting-edge website for your new business.
If that’s what you want, then this article will walk you through how to make a website.
7 Steps to Build a Website
Follow these simple 7 steps to make an awesome website!
1. Consider How You’ll Host Your Site
When you have a website, you’ll need somewhere to host it. While it’s possible to run your own server, this is probably not for everyone.
In most cases, you’d work through a web hosting company such as RemarkableTEK. You pay the company and they operate the server for you.
So how much does it cost? Sometimes, you can get web hosting services for free.
Of course, if you host your site for free, there’ll be significant disadvantages. For instance, you may get less server space. If you want to host large files, such as audio or videos, it may not be possible to use a free host.
Another disadvantage is you may be required to show ads on your site. These ads will most likely be controlled by the hosting company and not by you.
Be sure to read and understand all of the terms and conditions whenever you use a free host. If you’re making a serious website for a professional company, you should consider spending a little bit of money for a hosting service. If you use a free host, you can’t really expect your website to be reliable.
2. Register a Domain Name
One of the most important things to consider when building a website is your domain name. This is what users will type into their internet browser to access your site.
Picking a good domain name can be challenging. Many of the good ones are already taken. Your website address also needs to be simple and catchy.
There are several websites out there that offer domain name registration. You can expect to pay between $8 to $35 a year for a domain name. In some cases, you might be able to work with a company that can offer both domain registering and web hosting at the same time.
Make sure you keep up with payments on your domain name. If you fail to pay the subscription, you could lose that website address and someone else could claim it.
3. Plan Your Website
When it comes to planning your website, there’s a critical question. Are you going to design the website yourself or are you going to enlist the help of a professional web developer?
For certain kinds of sites, you can get away with putting it together yourself as an amateur. For example, if you just want to make a fan site for your favorite band, you probably don’t need to hire a professional. If, on the other hand, this is a website for your professional business, you should probably bring in someone who knows what they’re doing.
When you’re planning your site, you’ll need to have some idea of what kind of site it’s going to be. How will you navigate through the site? How many pages is it going to have?
If you’re working with a professional, don’t worry if you don’t know how to describe exactly what you want. A good web developer can work with you to get the results you need, even if you can’t quite articulate your requirements.
With that being said, you shouldn’t enlist a pro until you have at least some idea of what you want to do. You should at least be able to provide examples of websites you like to the designer.
4. Build Your Website
Building the website is the most important step. It doesn’t matter how well you’ve planned or how good of a domain name you got. It’s all meaningless if you don’t build a good site.
If you’ve chosen to go with the DIY route, you should have good knowledge of coding languages, such as HTML and CSS. If you don’t have this kind of knowledge, there are plenty of great resources online you can use to learn.
But be warned: this isn’t the sort of thing you can become proficient at in an afternoon. Learning to design and code websites is a skill that can take years or even decades to master. If time is of the essence, you should consider bringing in a pro.
5. Put It All Online
When you have a site ready and good to go, it’s time to upload it to the internet. How you go about doing this depends on the hosting provider you’ve selected.
Your web host should provide you with all the tools you need to upload your site. If you have any trouble with this step, you’ll need to talk to your hosting company directly.
6. Promote Your Site
This is another critical step. You could have the best website in the world, but it’s meaningless if you don’t promote the site. How exactly you should promote your website depends on what kind of site it is.
One of the best ways to promote your site these days is through search engine optimization (SEO). This involves using the right keywords on your site, causing your website to rise to the top of Google search results.
You could try reading about SEO practices yourself or you could work with a professional SEO company. These companies can help you streamline your site to give you the best chance of exposure through Google.
7. Maintenance
After you build a website, that doesn’t mean the work is over. You’ll also need to perform regular maintenance of your site.
The browsers and hardware that people use to view your site are always changing. You’ll need to adapt to these trends if you don’t want your site to be left behind.
Of course, it goes without saying that content is king. If you don’t keep updating with new content, there isn’t much of a reason for people to visit your site.
Want more tips? Then check out our business blog!
