Did you know there are now more than a billion websites on the internet? Tens of thousands of new ones are created every single day. Whether you run a business or a blog, people are building websites faster than we can read them!
If you’re reading this page, then you’re interested in getting your own online presence. Congratulations, you’re about to join millions of website owners, and start your journey. We’ll take you through the bare basics of starting a website. We’ll keep it simple, straightforward, and to the point. Let’s get started.
Start with an idea
The first thing you need is a great idea. You need a compelling reason to start a website. Remember, there are a billion of them out there! What is your website adding to the noise? It really pays to tighten your ideas and goals before you start building. Otherwise you’ll find yourself tweaking and rebuilding for months to come. What will your website do? And what do you hope to achieve? Is it a personal blog or portfolio? Is it a business or sales page? Or is it an online store?
Domain name
If you’ve never heard of a domain name before, it’s the address that visitors will use to find you. It’s www.your-brand-new-website.com! Think long and hard about the right url for your site. It should be short, simple, and descriptive. Once you’ve got a few ideas, use a domain search to see if it’s available. You can typically buy a domain for less than $5, and it’s yours for a year.
Web hosting
Web hosting is the trickiest part of the journey, but it is an essential part of your website. We like to think of hosting as buying a plot of land. If you want to build a website, you need a plot of internet land to build it on. A corner of web space to call your own. A web hosting company sells (or rents) this plot of internet space to you. This is where you’ll build your website. The beginner prices are pretty low, and you can upgrade as you grow. You can purchase bigger, faster, and more private web space that will provide a better service.
Platform
That’s the behind-the-scenes stuff taken care of. Time to build your website. The best place to start is a platform like WordPress, Wix, or Drupal. These platforms will give you templates to choose from, and will help create your website. We’d recommend doing this rather than trying to build it from scratch. It will save you a lot of time when running a small business. And it’s easier than you think. All you have to do is input content, upload images, and drag things to where you want them.
Design
The last part is the fun part. You can design your website exactly how you want it. The website-building platforms offer you all sorts of templates and designs to choose from. You pick your favorite, and tweak it to how you like it. Choose your fonts, layouts, and color schemes, and work on it until you’re happy!
Finally, you can hit the ‘publish’ button, and your website is online for the world to see. Congratulations!
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