However, building a website doesn’t have to be hard or complicated. In fact, with the right tools and guidance, you can build a website that is attractive, functional, and easy to maintain in no time. Whether you need a website for personal or professional purposes, here are 10 tips that will help you build a website easily.
1. Choose a website builder or a CMS
The first thing you need to decide is how you want to create your website. You have two main options: using a website builder or a content management system (CMS).
A website builder is a solution that offers everything you need to build a website in one package, such as domain names, SSL certificates, and templates. You pay a monthly or yearly fee to use the service. A website builder is ideal for beginners who want to build a website quickly and easily without coding. You can customize your site with drag-and-drop interfaces and built-in tools.
A CMS is a platform that lets you manage your website’s content and media files. You need to buy domain names, SSL certificates, and hosting separately. A CMS is suitable for advanced users who want more control and flexibility over their website. You can access and edit the website code, as well as install third-party themes and plugins.
Some of the most popular website builders are Wix, Squarespace, and Weebly. Some of the most popular CMS platforms are WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal.
2. Select a hosting plan or sign up for a website builder subscription
Once you have chosen your platform, you need to sign up for a plan that matches your needs and budget. A plan is what gives you access to the features and resources of your platform.
If you use a website builder, you need to sign up for a subscription that includes hosting, security, support, and other features. Hosting is the service that stores and delivers your website files online. You should choose a subscription that offers enough storage space, bandwidth, performance, and customer service for your site.
If you use a CMS, you need to buy hosting separately from your platform. You should choose a hosting provider that offers compatibility, reliability, speed, security, and support for your site.
Some of the best hosting providers are Bluehost, HostGator, and SiteGround. Some of the best website builder subscriptions are Wix Premium, Squarespace Business, and Weebly Pro.
3. Get a domain name
A domain name is the address of your website on the internet. It is what people type in their browsers to visit your site. For example, www.example.com is a domain name.
Getting a domain name is an important step in building your online identity and credibility. It should be related to your website’s purpose and goals, easy to remember and spell, and unique among other websites.
You can get a domain name from different sources such as domain registrars (companies that sell domain names), hosting providers (companies that offer domain names along with hosting plans), or website builders (companies that offer domain names along with their subscriptions).
Some of the best domain registrars are Namecheap, GoDaddy, and Domain.com. Some of the best hosting providers that offer domain names are Bluehost, HostGator, and SiteGround. Some of the best website builders that offer domain names are Wix, Squarespace, and Weebly.
4. Choose a theme or template for your site
A theme or template is a pre-designed layout that determines how your website looks and functions. It includes elements such as colors, fonts, images, menus, buttons, headers, footers, and more.
Choosing a theme or template for your site is a crucial step in creating a website that reflects your brand, style, and personality. It should also be compatible with your platform, responsive to different devices and screen sizes, and easy to customize and update.
You can choose a theme or template from different sources such as in-house themes or templates (those that are provided by your platform), third-party themes or templates (those that are created by independent developers and sold on marketplaces), or custom themes or templates (those that are created by yourself or by a professional designer).
Some of the best in-house themes or templates are Wix Templates, Squarespace Templates, and Weebly Themes. Some of the best third-party themes or templates are ThemeForest, TemplateMonster, and Elegant Themes. Some of the best custom theme or template creators are 99designs, Fiverr, and Upwork.
5. Customize your theme and templates
After choosing a theme or template for your site, you need to customize it to make it your own. Customizing your theme or template involves changing the elements such as colors, fonts, images, menus, buttons, headers, footers, and more to suit your preferences and needs.
Customizing your theme or template can be done in different ways depending on your platform and skill level. You can use the built-in tools and options that your platform provides, such as drag-and-drop editors, color pickers, font selectors, image uploaders, and more. You can also use third-party plugins or extensions that add extra features and functionality to your site, such as contact forms, social media icons, sliders, galleries, and more. You can also use code editors to modify the HTML, CSS, and JavaScript code of your site if you have the technical knowledge and experience.
Some of the best built-in tools and options are Wix Editor, Squarespace Style Editor, and Weebly Editor. Some of the best third-party plugins or extensions are WordPress Plugins, Joomla Extensions, and Drupal Modules. Some of the best code editors are Visual Studio Code, Sublime Text, and Atom.
6. Add pages to your site
Pages are the main sections of your website that contain the content and information that you want to share with your visitors. Pages can include elements such as text, images, videos, audio, links, forms, and more.
Adding pages to your site is an essential step in creating a website that is organized, informative, and user-friendly. You should add pages that are relevant to your website’s purpose and goals, such as home page, about page, services page, products page, blog page, contact page, and more.
You can add pages to your site in different ways depending on your platform. You can use the built-in tools and options that your platform provides, such as page builders, page managers, page templates, and more. You can also use third-party plugins or extensions that add extra features and functionality to your pages, such as SEO tools, analytics tools, security tools, and more. You can also use code editors to create custom pages if you have the technical knowledge and experience.
Some of the best built-in tools and options are Wix Pages, Squarespace Pages, and Weebly Pages. Some of the best third-party plugins or extensions are Yoast SEO, Google Analytics, Wordfence Security. Some of the best code editors are Visual Studio Code, Sublime Text, and Atom.
7. Write content
Content is the substance of your website that communicates your message and value proposition to your visitors. Content can include elements such as headlines, subheadlines, body text, images, videos, audio, links, forms, and more.
Writing content is a vital step in creating a website that is engaging, persuasive, and converting. You should write content that is relevant to your website’s purpose and goals, such as introducing yourself or your business, explaining your services or products, sharing your expertise or stories, answering common questions, and inviting action. You should also write content that is clear, concise, and compelling, using simple language, short sentences, and active voice. You should also write content that is optimized for search engines, using keywords, meta tags, and headings.
You can write content for your site in different ways depending on your platform and skill level. You can use the built-in tools and options that your platform provides, such as text editors, image editors, video editors, audio editors, link builders, form builders, and more. You can also use third-party plugins or extensions that add extra features and functionality to your content, such as grammar checkers, spell checkers, plagiarism checkers, and more. You can also use code editors to format and style your content if you have the technical knowledge and experience.
Some of the best built-in tools and options are Wix Text Editor, Squarespace Image Editor, and Weebly Video Editor. Some of the best third-party plugins or extensions are Grammarly, Hemingway, and Copyscape. Some of the best code editors are Visual Studio Code, Sublime Text, and Atom.
8. Fill in general settings
General settings are the basic configurations that affect how your website works and appears on the internet. General settings can include elements such as site title, site description, site logo, site favicon, site language, site timezone, site privacy, site permalinks, site comments, site email, and more.
Filling in general settings is an important step in creating a website that is consistent, professional, and user-friendly. You should fill in general settings that are relevant to your website’s purpose and goals, such as giving your site a name and a tagline, adding your logo and favicon, choosing your language and timezone, setting your privacy and permalinks, enabling or disabling comments, and providing your email address.
You can fill in general settings for your site in different ways depending on your platform. You can use the built-in tools and options that your platform provides, such as settings panels, dashboard menus, customizer tools, and more. You can also use third-party plugins or extensions that add extra features and functionality to your settings, such as backup tools, caching tools, performance tools, and more. You can also use code editors to modify your settings if you have the technical knowledge and experience.
Some of the best built-in tools and options are Wix Settings, Squarespace Settings, and Weebly Settings. Some of the best third-party plugins or extensions are UpdraftPlus, WP Rocket, and WPBakery Page Builder. Some of the best code editors are Visual Studio Code, Sublime Text, and Atom.
9. Install extensions, plugins, or add-ons
Extensions, plugins, or add-ons are additional software components that extend the functionality and features of your website. Extensions, plugins, or add-ons can include elements such as contact forms, social media icons, sliders, galleries, calendars, newsletters, ecommerce tools, security tools, SEO tools, analytics tools, and more.
Installing extensions, plugins, or add-ons is an optional step in creating a website that is more powerful and versatile. You should install extensions, plugins, or add-ons that are relevant to your website’s purpose and goals, such as adding a contact form to collect leads, adding social media icons to increase followers, adding a slider to showcase your work, adding a gallery to display your portfolio, adding a calendar to schedule events, adding a newsletter to build an email list, adding an ecommerce tool to sell products or services, adding a security tool to protect your site from hackers, adding an SEO tool to improve your ranking on search engines, adding an analytics tool to measure your traffic and conversions.
You can install extensions, plugins, or add-ons for your site in different ways depending on your platform. You can use the built-in tools and options that your platform provides, such as extension managers, plugin managers, add-on managers, and more. You can also use third-party marketplaces or directories to find and download extensions, plugins, or add-ons that are created by independent developers and sold or offered for free. You can also use code editors to create or modify extensions, plugins, or add-ons if you have the technical knowledge and experience.
Some of the best built-in tools and options are Wix App Market, Squarespace Extensions, and Weebly App Center. Some of the best third-party marketplaces or directories are WordPress.org Plugin Directory, Joomla Extension Directory, and Drupal Module Directory. Some of the best code editors are Visual Studio Code, Sublime Text, and Atom.
10. Launch your website
Launching your website is the final step in creating a website that is ready to go live on the internet. Launching your website involves checking for errors, testing for functionality, and publishing for visibility.
Checking for errors means reviewing your website for any mistakes or issues that might affect its performance or appearance. You should check for errors such as broken links, missing images, spelling errors, grammar errors, layout problems, and more.
Testing for functionality means verifying that your website works as intended and meets your expectations. You should test for functionality such as loading speed, navigation, responsiveness, interactivity, accessibility, and more.
Publishing for visibility means making your website available and discoverable to the online audience. You should publish for visibility such as connecting your domain name, enabling your SSL certificate, submitting your site to search engines, sharing your site on social media, and more.
You can launch your website in different ways depending on your platform. You can use the built-in tools and options that your platform provides, such as launch buttons, publish buttons, preview modes, and more. You can also use third-party tools or services that help you launch your website, such as error checkers, speed testers, responsiveness testers, and more. You can also use code editors to fine-tune your website before launching it if you have the technical knowledge and experience.
Some of the best built-in tools and options are Wix Launch, Squarespace Publish, and Weebly Publish. Some of the best third-party tools or services are W3C Markup Validation Service, Google PageSpeed Insights, and Responsive Design Checker. Some of the best code editors are Visual Studio Code, Sublime Text, and Atom.
Conclusion
Building a website can be easy if you follow these 10 tips. You can create a website that is attractive, functional, and easy to maintain with the right platform, hosting plan, domain name, theme or template, customization, pages, content, settings, extensions, plugins, or add-ons, and launch process. However, building a website is not enough if you want to grow your online presence and reach your goals. You also need to maintain, update, and optimize your website regularly to keep it fresh, relevant, and effective.
If you need help with building a website or any other web-related tasks, you can always rely on Webfity, the ultimate web solution for small businesses. Webfity is a web design agency that offers affordable and professional web design services for small businesses. Webfity can help you create a stunning website that suits your needs and budget. Webfity can also help you with web hosting, domain registration, SEO, social media marketing, email marketing, and more. Webfity is your one-stop shop for all your web needs.
To get started with Webfity, simply visit their website and fill out a short questionnaire. Webfity will then contact you with a free quote and a mockup of your website. You can then review the mockup and request any changes or revisions until you are satisfied. Once you approve the mockup, Webfity will build your website within 7 days or less. You can then enjoy your new website and watch your business grow online.
Don’t wait any longer. Contact Webfity today and get ready to build a website easily.