The Steps of Building Your Website From Scratch …let us give you some facts…
You are in business to make money, not to lose it or give it away. While this is essentially true of all business enterprises, certain tasks could be costing you more when not handled professionally.
Keep reading to discover the pros and cons of creating a business website yourself as opposed to using a knowledgeable programmer.
“Can I Do This Myself?”
Nowadays, do-it-yourself is all the rage. From fixing plumbing issues to putting an addition onto your home, getting your hands dirty is preferable to call in someone who will charge you $75 just to walk in the door. The same can be said for website design. Companies offer templates that unfold with a click and do most of the work for you.
Constructing your website from scratch can save you money. With a few tutorials on coding, the basics can be learned. Setting up your website can take a few hours but if you already have a game plan and design strategy in mind, this can cut down on time.
You also learn something new. The brain is always in need of new neural pathways to keep it active and strong. What you learn about HTML and other coding languages can benefit the creation of future websites and blogs. If you develop a genuine interest, there are classes, books, and more in-depth tutorials for additional knowledge gathering.
“What Did I Do Wrong?”
There is also another side to DIY website creation. Let’s talk about that for a minute. Your website may not look as professional as you would like. Small nuances that a programmer might tweak are often missed by a novice. And, for your viewers, they can spot a less than professional job readily and will shift their attention to your competition instead.
Any task that you handle in business has a time requirement attached to it. When you are unfamiliar with the technical aspect of the task, such as website creation, there is also a learning curve.
What was meant to save you time and money will end up costing you more in lost revenue, time away from other marketing strategies, as well as the cost of bringing in a professional to fix what you have cobbled together.
Your website may come out looking great, on the other hand. But, if you’ve used a website design tool for ease of use, then the website most likely will resemble hundreds of others – but with your name on it. A business that is poised to make money and command its industry needs a unique aspect and branding. You won’t find that using cookie-cutter software and templates.
How will you handle the question of website creation for your company? The final decision is up to you.
Note: If I Can Do It-You Can, And I Did!
I want to blend it in here and let you know that it is possible to do it all by yourself. That is why we have written this post on Building Your Website From Scratch.
You must do a lot of research, reading, implementation, and trial/error. There are some good instructions online everywhere. However, you cannot purchase every good plugin you need upfront and usually need to start out with the free ones which are in WordPress.
It is important to know your skills and that you have the patience to get it right. Don’t launch your site until you know it is working if you do it yourself.
So you want to build that website – We are going to break it down a little more…
For whatever reason, perhaps you’ve started a business or simply wish to share pictures of the new addition to your family. Let me tell you it’s easier than you think – all you need are directions that you can follow and you will soon be online.
Let’s talk about what it will cost upfront. For $10 – $20/month, you can have a working website (Imagine: www.yourname.com), available to anyone in the world with internet access. That of course means your domain name.
That’s a trip to your favorite fast food joint. (Yes, you can afford it!) There are also some ways of getting a free site – still residing at www.yourname.com, but let’s learn about all those weird internet terms first.
There are 3 basic components required for building a personal, custom website
***The link above will tell you how to use WordPress…the most used website/blog platform. You might want to check out WordPress Engine for your hosting and you can locate them here. **
You need:
– A domain name
Let’s elaborate a little here- Most hosting providers will offer a free domain name at this time, as well as a certificate(this is required for safety reasons (secured). It means HTTPS: in front of your URL.
Hosting providers see this post
– A hosting account and
– Content is written in HTML or some other web language.
Weebly is a professional site where you can get a domain name and a hosting package at reasonable prices.
Here is an analogy I will tell you about FOR domain name…
Your website (a collection of individual web pages) sits on a hosting account that you rent. That hosting account is found at a specific address – called a domain name.
Your Home- Your Website – you did it
You have graduated – Your domain name: e.g. www.yourname.com/ https://personalfiancepost.com (our Domain name and URL address here)
Your hosting account and then your web content. I use HostGator and always have.
Here is the 3 step process:
STEP 1: Choose your address **buy a domain name
STEP 2: Rent some space on a computer connected to the internet
STEP 3: Build the website you want and place it on the space you bought in step 2 **WordPress is widely used
Let’s explain each step:
STEP 1: Choose your address (a domain name)
With the internet, you can choose what you want your address to be (your domain name). What are you selling? What would make a cool name? Understand that after over 10 years of public internet access – a lot of good names have been taken. So get creative, and be unique but understandable. An easy place to start with is your full name for a family/personal site or your product name for a business site. Make a list of about 10 possibilities that you like in this format www.yourdesiredname.com Move to the next step.
STEP 2: Rent some space on a computer connected to the internet (A hosting account)
WP Engine- Millions use WordPress as their space on the internet. WordPress Engine** now has this wonderful place to put your website also.
With a quick search for the words “Web Hosting” on the internet, you get a list of web hosting companies – all eager to sell or rent you some space on their computer. As stated WP Engine is one of the most recommended at present – feel free to look into others, but there are thousands upon thousands – so don’t waste your time searching for the cheapest (you pay for what you get, but $10+ will get you a decent hosting account.
Many of the hosting companies will either give you or sell you your choice of domain names at the same time you start your hosting account. Bring out your list from STEP 1, and when instructed in the purchase process, enter your first domain name choice.
You will be informed if that name is available or not. Keep trying out your names in order of your preference until you find one that is available. Finish the purchase process and let the hosting company instruct you on how to access your account. (They’ll send you an email – and if you go with one of the companies I recommended, you can call them with your questions.)
STEP 3: Build the website you want and place it on the space you bought in step 2
You have some choices to make here:
A – You can ask someone to build you a site.
B – You can build it yourself.
C – Use a free website builder – (like a blog)
Each has its pros and cons.
The first option is great if you can afford it and can find someone reliable. If you want cheap, post a job at your local high school – someone in the computer club will be able to help you for really cheap. The problem is that they may not always be around when you need them to make changes.
Enter choice B
It’s great to learn a new skill, and you can learn for free online – just invest a little time. Remember once you know how… you own that knowledge forever and you will never depend on someone else to build your site. Again search online for “how to build a website” They will tell you how to design, build and upload your site onto your hosting account from STEP
If you don’t really require a customized design and all you want to do is place some text and perhaps some pictures online. I suggest starting what’s called a blog – these are often free and have a really simple “HTML CODE FREE” way of adding your content.
All you do is write your content and publish it. You can often still have your own domain name here, but each blogging company is different. Again search online for blogging – and read what the various companies offer.
Free blog platforms – Reddit, WordPress.com, Tumbler.com, Medium.com, and more…
Content – the written material you add to your site
There is one thing that is super important, and that is the content you post. You must either do it yourself or hire someone with a lot of experience so that it is SEO friendly. You want people to read it. There is a lot of learning to do if you have never written content before.
You must focus on what you desire your readers to learn, study, and be interested in what you have to say. Think about what you have to offer and what problem it solves for your visitors and prepare your content so as to answer that problem.
What you write about should be in line with the website/blog niche/domain name. If you have a domain name about parenting, then your articles need to be about parenting.
Your writing must be honest, correct information, and not copied from another website. As time goes on, remember to keep your site fresh. Keep the content updated and relevant to your ideal visitors.
EndNote: Building Your Website From Scratch
The goal of this article is to give you easy steps on how to get a website for yourself. Naturally, you can learn more about each step, and there are many people who can give you help, but now you can start the journey. Create your list of domain names, purchase a hosting account (including the domain name you want) and build your site and keep the content fresh.
A journey of a million miles starts with one step – so go to step 1 and start. (Don’t worry – this is a long journey – but it’s exciting!).
Here to Help You!
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*This post has been updated 3-03-22
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