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Starting my first website was like skydiving into the middle of Tokyo and trying to build a business without knowing the language. There seemed to be no end to the technical jargon and complicated terms that only a professional would understand. It seemed that their was no definitive book or online tutorial that could simply tell me where I needed to start. Yeah, I could have just used something like Weebly or Shopify, or the hundreds of other supposedly ‘free’ website creators. To me, those generic and costly packages just screamed laziness and unprofessionalism. Anyone can create a mediocre website with a free subdomain (yourwebsite.weebly.com) but, only people who really want their website to instill trust and professionalism in their customers can appreciate the need for a site that accurately depicts the originality of their company.
For this reason, I’ve broken down the entire process of website creation into four key components along with their corresponding service providers that I’ve researched through my own experience to find the most affordable and supportive services out there. This process requires no previous knowledge of coding or technical know-how. Here are the steps (this works for creating an online store, too);
Listed below are the necessary steps to creating a website accompanied by buttons that will open (in a new tab) the recommended service for each. Let’s get started. But first, I wholeheartedly encourage anyone having trouble with this guide to add me on Skype by clicking here. If I’m not available, leave me a message and I’ll respond shortly.
Domain Name
This is the easy part. The button on the right will open a window for NameCheap’s domain name service. From there you can search for an available domain name for your website. Register the domain that most interests you. Once you’ve acquired your domain name, it’s time to get hosting.
Hosting
Now that you’ve registered your new domain name, you’re ready to sign up for a hosting account. Having a hosting account will enable you to bring your website online. For this step, I’ve recommended HostGator as my go-to hosting provider. They may not be the absolute cheapest (although they are close) – they definitely know how to offer SUPERB customer service; great for beginners. I’d bet they would send you milk and cookies if you asked. Oh yeah, enter coupon code INTROPOD25 for 25% off. Once you’ve signed up for your hosting account, you need to connect it with your domain. To do this, log into your HostGator control panel and copy your nameservers at the bottom left into your namecheap account under “Domain Name Server Setup.” Done.
Content Management
Domain: Check. Hosting: Check. Now we need an easy way to organize content on our website. For this, we are going to use a content management system called WordPress. You may think WordPress is only for blogs, however, this is not the case. WordPress can be used for a multitude of applications; ranging from online stores, to photography portfolios, and business directories. Installing WordPress couldn’t be easier with HostGator’s one-click-install feature (can you tell why I’m obsessed with HostGator?). To do this, log into your HostGator control panel and under “Software/Services” click “QuickInstall.”
Design
You mat have noticed that WordPress offers its users a plethora of free themes that you find suitable for your projects. However, just about everyone and their cousin is using these free themes… because they are free! To be honest, these free themes don’t really cut it for me. They aren’t very professional and they are overused. There are some great marketplaces to find beautiful and professional themes online, one of these places is ThemeForest. Clicking the button on the right will open some of the cleanest, premium themes that will surely make your website stand out, so long as you’re willing to invest $30-50 to get that quality feel for your website.
And that’s it. If you know someone who’s struggling to create their website, help them out and show them this guide. Don’t forget to add me on Skype if you have any further questions.
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