This article is going to discuss how to start a website. Let’s get started!
Around 5 billion people worldwide have internet access using various devices like laptops and mobile phones. The huge number has one thing to say for every company; being available on the internet is vital for business survival these days; otherwise, competitors will be there when your clients look for what you’re offering, and you’ll lose the opportunity to sell them.
Therefore, regardless of the business size or industry, having your own space on the internet is a must to establish a brand and open the doors wide for new prospects to find you organically or via paid marketing campaigns. Building a website has been a complicated issue requiring advanced web development skills for years. However, nowadays, even a beginner without coding experience can build a website in a couple of hours. This article provides a quick guide to help you get your website up and off the ground.
Website building steps
Check out the following steps if you consider having your website. Remember that hiring a professional is always an option to get things done quickly and correctly. Still, it would be better if you had an idea about the website development process before you take that step.
Identify the website type
You can develop a website in many different styles according to your requirements; big or small, modern or classic. It all depends on the purpose you have in mind for the website and the target audience who’ll be visiting it.
Understanding the brand is essential to building a quality website that delivers a specific message. In other words, the goals will help shape the message the website delivers; for example, if the goal is selling a product or service, an eCommerce design is required, while an informative website won’t need features like a shopping cart or online payment.
In general, a website can be:
Very small website
This website type is usually used for online resumes or freelancer portfolios such as copywriters, translators, digital marketers, and photographers. Those websites typically include a home page with some general details, a multimedia portfolio rich in images and videos, and a contact us page with all relevant contact information.
Blog
Blogs are popular for sharing thoughts frequently and are used in a variety of fields like food blogs, travel blogs, educational blogs, business blogs, and much more. Moreover, blogs can be either independent websites or a part of bigger websites. Usually, companies tend to have a blog on their websites to post new ideas, updates, and industry-related articles.
Large websites
Large websites are typically business-oriented. Sometimes, they are used to represent a corporation and reflect the extensive services it offers. However, in many cases, the website could be the business itself, like in the case of eCommerce stores, where the whole business relies on online shopping services.
Also read: How to Use Social Media to Improve Your Career and Business
Choosing a website building platform
There are two leading options to build a website for beginners without coding knowledge: website builder and content management systems(CMS):
Website Builder
The website builder platform is the easiest way; it provides a complete package of drag and drop editor, templates, web hosting, domain, email address, etc. The drag and drop feature makes the platform very easy to use and understand, and anyone can start without technical knowledge. Moreover, those websites are mobile responsive because of the included mobile-optimization features. Some of the popular website building platforms are Wix and Shopify.
Website builders were a revolution in the world of website development because they enabled any business owner or interested individual to start a website in a couple of hours. All it takes is following the steps, adding a few words, images, and maybe videos, then your website will be ready for publishing.
Content management systems(CMS)
CMS is better for larger websites and offers advanced tools to work with; one popular CMS is WordPress. It allows users to choose their own web hosting company and will enable them to utilize plugins, which facilitates adding new features developed by 3rd parties. For example, you can use a plugin to add online shopping features, another plugin to enable multiple languages on the website, and much more. WordPress is also pretty easy to deal with. Still, it’s more complicated than website builders because it might require some familiarity with web development concepts to finalize the website and get it ready for publishing.
Choosing host and domain
The hosting service providers offer the storage space where the website will be hosted before it goes live. Many companies worldwide provide comprehensive packages for hosting services, even website building platforms. Choosing the right hosting service depends on the website type, purpose, expected monthly traffic, available budget, and many other metrics you can check while entertaining various hosting offers.
Another crucial element is the “Domain,” which is basically the website name that usually has the form ”www. business name.com”. The best domain is ”.com,” but for some businesses with some epical requirement, it can be .net, .org., etc.
Website planning and design
As mentioned before, one of the steps is choosing a theme for the website. Website building platforms provide a variety of choices of free and premium themes, and when selecting, many factors must be considered; the theme must be relevant to the business type in terms of style, color, and design. Themes have some common features:
- Responsiveness allows websites to be compatible with any device and screen size.
- Retina-ready to provide a high-quality experience for website visitors.
- It supports the text with more space for images and graphics, making the website content more attractive.
If you need help in advertisement design and banners on your website, Adobe Express is an excellent tool to help you make it all by yourself.
Website punishing
Once the design is 100% ready, it’s time to make it official and publish the website online for the world to see. However, keeping your website up-to-date is essential, which takes some extra effort. After publishing your website, you need to consider SEO to improve your search engine results positioning and Google ranking.
Conclusion
Today, having a formal website for your business is essential to survive. Although it might seem complicated, the website building process has been simplified with the new website building platforms and no-coding technology; even beginners without technical knowledge can do it easily. So get ready and start building your website now.
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