It is easier than you think to make a website. All you need is a little time, access to the Internet and a willingness to try.
Most small and startup businesses do not have the funds to pay for large, complex web design projects. Even finding budget for very reasonably priced web services can be a challenge so it makes sense for you to learn how to make a website.
Now, there are many routes you can follow. For the purpose of this article I intend to explore the easiest option that I believe will give you the best results.
Step 1 – Begin With the End in Mind
Before diving in decide what you want a website to do for you and your business.
Do you want it to be nothing more than an online brochure? Do you want it to generate sales? Do you want to be able to sell things over the Internet? What exactly are you trying to achieve? Once you know this you’ll know how much you need to learn and you won’t be side tracked. If you don’t need to set up a shopping cart you know you don’t have to waste time learning about the vagaries of ecommerce!
Step 2 – Keywords
These are the words and phrases that web visitors will use to find you. What are web users likely to type into the Google search box? If you are a small or startup business this is almost certainly not your trading or company name. It will be a phrase describing what you offer or identifying a problem you can solve.
The best keywords are those that have a decent volume of traffic but few competing pages. Applying these criteria you will find it easier to get your own web page well ranked by the search engines.
Keyword research can be undertaken using a free tool provided by Google you can also use this tool to see what keywords your competitors are ranked for in Google.
If you are going to make a website you may just as well make one which is going to be found by those searching on the web. Spending time on keyword research is the way to do this.
Step 3 – Hosting
Free hosting, the sort where nobody is paying anything, has to be funded somehow. Free hosting is funded by advertisements. You will have adverts plastered over your site and you will have no control over whether they are appropriate for your market or not. In short, I really do advise you to stay away from free hosting.
It’s true that some of my web packages offer free hosting BUT I am paying for that service. Your site will not be used as an advertising platform.
For reliable hosting I recommend Hostgator. Yes, there are lots of reliable hosts out there. I recommend Hostagtor because I can recommend them through personal experience. My own sites are hosted with Hostgator and I have always found them to be fantastic in both pricing and service quality.
Wherever you go for hosting be sure they offer cpanel access and fantastico. (I know that means nothing to you right now but it will save you a lot of heartache later).
You’ll need a domain name (see next step) to set up a hosting account.
Step 4 – Domain Name
You should not be paying more than $10 for your domain name.
A .com domain name can be purchased from Namecheap for less than $9 (one year registration) using their current coupon code (Contact us using the contact form on the site to find out what the current coupon code is – it changes every month).
A .co.uk domain name is registered for two years and should cost less than £7 including VAT. For .co.uk domain names I recommend 123-Reg.
When choosing your domain name think carefully before you register your business name as your www address. A domain name based on the best keywords you have identified (step 1 above) will give you a boost in the search engine rankings for that search phrase. It’s worth considering…..
Once you have your domain name registered you can set up your hosting account and set up the DNS information on your domain registrar account to point to your hosting. (Any problems with this you can view this tutorial. You did use Namecheap, didn’t you?)
Step 5 – Make a Website
You have your hosting set up and your domain name pointing to your hosting. You are now ready to make a website!
In cpanel look for the Fantastico link. Click it and then look for the link to install Wordpress (Usually near the top of the left hand column).
Follow the steps for a new installation filling in the details when requested. Wordpress installs itself and makes building a website very easy.
NB NB NB IF you purchased your hosting using our Hostgator link we will do this wordpress set up for you – free of charge
That’s 5 simple steps to make a website. Yes, there’s some form filling to be done at the various stages and it will take some of your time but when time is the resource you have plenty of it is better spent than the cash that is in short supply.
Over at Internet Business Education you’ll find all manner of training materials designed to show you, in depth and step by step, how to make a website. This is a low cost service designed to support those who want to build their own web sites and is well worth checking out.