Building your own website is a daunting task. There are many people who’ve studied for years and years to know how it’s done properly. However, you’re just starting out with your new company and you don’t have the means to hire someone. Or you just don’t want a third party interfering with your website. Don’t want to follow a whole course on how to build a website? Then we have listed six easy and achievable steps for you.
1. Start with a plan
If you want to build your own website, you need to make a plan. Write down why you want to create a website, what the goal is, what visitors of your website need to see and read and what you want your website to look like. Also decide when you want your website to go live. If you experience troubles during the process of creating your website, you can always go back to the basics and remind yourself why and how you’re doing this.
2. Select a domain name
You need to decide what the name of your website is going to be. The domain name (or internet address/url), needs to show what business your company is in. Let’s take the website e-Carnavalskleding as an example. This is the website from a Dutch company that sells party clothes (Dutch: feestkleding) and accessories. e-Carnavalskleding is specialised in many different themes. At the end of the year parties such as halloween, oktoberfest and christmas are celebrated. Then you’re going to need octoberfest clothes (Dutch: oktoberfest kleding) and a halloween costume (Dutch: halloween kostuum). So that’s why it’s important to show in your domain what can be found on the website.
3. Register your domain name
If you’ve found a good domain name, you should check if it’s still available. Is that the case? Then you should register it. A registrar can do this for you; they also arrange a hosting package for you.
4. Select a content management system (CMS)
Selecting the right CMS is important for your website. With the CMS (content management system), a smart software application for your website, you can manage and adapt your website even if you don’t have a lot of technical skills. You can pick a content management system like Magento, WordPress of Joomla.
5. Create a nice design and fill the website with content
Once you’ve selected a CMS, you can start designing your website and fill it with content. It’s important to keep SEO (search engine optimization) in mind when you’re creating your website. You want your website to look good and to be informative for potential customers, but you also want it to rank good in the search engines.
6. Arrange hosting for your website
The last step to go live with your website, is arranging the hosting. With a hosting package, you get a spot on the server. You have to pay for hosting, but don’t worry, it doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. The exact price depends on the size of hosting you need for your website. If you have a simple website, the prices start at a few euros a month. You can purchase a hosting package at the same company that has registered your domain name.
Good luck with creating your own website!