A well-built website will spread the word about your business and will let you build better contact with your audience.
There are multiple ways to build a website.
Your selection will depend on your business need. Don’t worry if you don’t have a big budget: the cost to build a website may range from $75 to $115,000.
In this article, we’ll discuss the main things you need to know to build a website from scratch.
Let’s get started!
Determine what your website is built for
According to Kerry Benjamin from StackedSkincare, to figure out what your website needs, you need to ask yourself about the basic features and functions that a customer will need in the first place and the features that you can wait to add until you have more money, customer data and time.
The answer will determine how your website will look and function. You will then have a clear picture of what to put first and where to focus your attention.
For example: if you run a photography business, such a feature as a photo gallery will be of utmost importance. If you build a website for a private skincare business, you may also add a gallery with pictures of your facilities and procedures, yet, it won’t be on the home page.
Create a domain name
The domain name is the first thing people need to know to find your website. To select the right domain name, follow a 3M rule, or make it:
- Minimal – the name should be short and straightforward, easy to copy and type in. The best variant is to keep it between 6-14 characters.
- Memorable – it should represent the name of your brand. For example, the Forbes website has the domain forbes.com.
- Manageable – you can use your domain name for search engine optimization. For this, include a keyword that will best represent your main services.
The next step is registration. You must register the domain name via a service provider like GoDaddy, Namecheap, or Domain.com. The yearly fee is not high – usually. It is around $10.
Note: the domain name you want to select may already be taken. You may have to revisit your idea after you try to register the domain name on the above-mentioned resources.
Select a hosting provider
Hosting providers place your website on their servers to be available on the Internet. The most popular industry players in the domain are HostGator, Bluehost, SiteGround, and DreamHost. You can select any based on their prices, reputation, and quality of customer support.
Customer support is an essential factor to consider. Make sure your web host is genuinely available in your region 24/7 so that any issue to appear will be solved in real-time.
Advice: avoid cheap providers. Small business owners usually don’t want to pay top dollar for hosting. Sometimes they get excellent quality for small money. But it can also happen that a provider is not equipped well, and you may face a website crashing during peak hours.
Play with tools
There are numerous tools on the web to build a website. WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal are some of many. You may select an option to your taste, yet most people select trusted providers: 42.8% of all websites on the Internet were built using the WordPress platform.
Remember that once you create the website, you’ll have to manage it with the same tools.
It is essential that you feel comfortable using them.
Try to play with different options to determine your favorites and decide which suits best for your needs. For example, platforms like Wix, Squarespace, and Shopify position themselves as a one-stop website-building solution. You can register the domain name within the system, and they will take care of hosting too. With WordPress, you can select a wider variety of features, benefiting from 59,117 free plugins offered in their Plugin Directory.
Set up a website
This step is the most important, but it’s also simple with website builders.
After you’ve selected a hosting provider and registered a domain name or selected a builder that can do it for you, you may start with building a website.
All you have to do is go to a website builder provider, familiarize yourself with their dashboard and follow instructions.
With most builders, creating a website looks like a drag-and-drop game. It’s better to start with a limited number of functionalities for the beginning and make necessary updates as the project evolves.
It is recommended to install plugins for SEO optimization and analytics. You will need SEO to make your site better visible on browsers, and with analytics, you’ll see how many people visit your website and more.
When that is done, add content and publish the website.
Let the world know about your website
Creating a website is the first step of your journey and may take some time until it brings your first profit.
Yet, you may speed up this process by posting the news on social media or setting up advertising campaigns on Google. Also, you’ll have to invest money in search engine optimization. There are things you may do without hiring an SEO specialist. They are:
- Including proper keywords in your content
- Updating the website frequently to signal to search engines that your website is relevant
- Using optimized images to prevent slow loading
- Place internal and external links to make your site more relevant to the user and better connected with other resources.
These steps will let you make the first steps in customizing and utilizing your website in the right direction. As you become more competent about what your user wants, the site will become more professional and polished.
Final words
Whatever strategy you’ll choose for the further development of your website will need much work, time, and proficiency, but it will bring a reward too. A site is not just your brand face – it’s a valuable communication medium with your audience that will make you closer to the customer and give great visibility on future progress and prospects.
Author’s bio: Anastasiia Lastovetska is a technology writer at MLSDev, a software development company that builds web & mobile app solutions from scratch. She researches the area of technology to create great content about app development, UX/UI design, tech & business consulting.