Your business or organisation is invisible if it does not have a website. The cost of paying a professional website developer puts many off from creating a website. Fortunately, you no longer have to choose between a professional looking website and the bill for a pro. We’ll tell you how to create a website from scratch with no experience.
Secure a Domain Name
You can’t create a website without a domain name. While it is possible to set up a blog on a domain you don’t control, a professional website must sit on a unique, private domain to be taken seriously. The ideal domain name is short, easy to remember, and reflects the purpose of the website. Once you decide on a domain name, you’ll need to register it. You may want to register related domain names so that others can’t seize those names and create confusion with your online brand.
Get a Web Host
A web host is the server that hosts your website and handles internet traffic to the site. You need to be careful in your selection of web host. A web host that serves a lot of spammers or scammers will be blacklisted by many services, so while your site is legitimate, it may be downgraded because of the association.
You’ll also want to work with a web host with good customer service, excellent performance and near perfect uptime. If their servers are slow or down, you’ll lose potential customers. If they have poor customer service, you won’t be able to resolve problems quickly when they do arise. If your site starts attracting a lot of visitors, you’ll appreciate the ability to reach someone immediately to request more bandwidth or memory so that your new visitors don’t see degraded website performance.
Start with the Essentials
All you’ll need to create a website from scratch is an outline of what you want. You don’t have to have a complex diagram or graphic design files ready for upload. Instead, you need to have a basic plan that could be fleshed out when you’re using the tools that let you build a website without knowing how to code.
A quick and easy website creator, such as WebEden, will allow you to pick from their array of templates, populate it with your text and images, and create a professional looking website. An easy-to-use “what you see is what you get” editor allows you to make a website and alter it at will while understanding what the final product will look like.
Your website should be clean and clutter free. A site like that is easy to view on a mobile device though it isn’t specifically designed for mobile users. A simple user site with a few attractive images will suffer fewer errors and translation problems when viewed on various devices.
The site’s purpose should be obvious to the visitor. If you’re setting up an online store, they should be able to tell immediately what you sell and how to buy something. If you’re promoting a service, they should know in a glance that you’re offering what they’re seeking. No one is going to scan your site for sixty seconds trying to determine what you’re selling or doing.
Start to Learn About Tools and Widgets
Successful complex systems arise from simple working systems. Once your site is up and running, you can start to look at built-in widgets and integrated third-party applications. For example, once your online site is up and running, you can start adding new payment methods or interactive content. However, that should wait until after you’ve watched online tutorials and taken the time to know what you’re doing. If you decide not to add certain functions, you haven’t delayed your site’s launch. And if you do make a mistake, you have the fall back of restoring the old, working site.
It is certainly possible to create a quality website on your own without learning to code or bringing in a pro. All it takes is the right tools and a little research.
