HOW TO CREATE A WEBSITE | STEP-BY-STEP-GUIDE
WHAT IS A WEBSITE:
A website is a collection of web pages and related material with a specific domain name and at least published on one web server. For example Google, Facebook, Amazon, etc. Billions of websites are on air on the internet. There are different categories of websites i.e. Weblog, E-Commerce, News, Educational, Gaming, etc.
With the advancement in technology, anyone can build a website by following step-to-step instructions. Building desired websites becomes easier day by day with the introduction of website builders and WordPress.
BUILDING A WEBSITE:
There are many ways to build a website like Coding in HTML, CSS, and Bootstrap, and Website builders like Wix, Squarespace, GoDaddy, WordPress, Nicepage, etc. In addition, the easiest among all are two ways i.e. Website Builders and WordPress.
STEPS TO MAKE A WEBSITE:
Three easy steps to make the desired website include:
- Choose a Goal for a Website.
- Choose Domain Name.
- Choose a Platform to build a website.
- Build Desired Website.
1. CHOOSE A GOAL FOR A WEBSITE:
Good websites need to be goal-oriented. You must have defined goals for building a website. Following are some goals for building the website:
- Generate leads
- Sell Products or Services
- Educational Platform
- Get Donations
- Provide the latest news
2. CHOOSE DOMAIN NAME:
To make the website functional, it must have a unique domain name that gives an address to a website on the internet e.g. mywebsite.com. Selecting a domain name takes less than five minutes but it is probably the most important starting step for building a great website.
Selecting a domain name is a critical task as it must be unique and related to the content of a website. Following are some tips for choosing the correct domain name:
- For selecting a domain name for a business website, must match the company name.
- For selecting a domain name for a personal blog website, choosing a personal name is a better choice.
- Do not use complex domain names.
- Select .com, .org or .net accordingly, preferably proceed with .com.
- Try to use only words in the domain name, and avoid symbols and numbers.
- Make it brandable by selecting a unique, memorable, easy, and trustworthy domain name.
3. CHOOSE A PLATFORM TO BUILD THE WEBSITE:
Choosing a platform to build a website is the next important step in building a website. The Platform selected must be flexible, easy and compatible and the most recommended platform is WordPress.
Why Choose WordPress?
WordPress is a free website-building tool to design and build the desired website easily, effectively, and steadily. If we compare market percentages of different website building tools, WordPress is on top i.e.
- WordPress 64.2%
- Shopify 6.4%
- Wix 3.4%
- Squarespace 3%
- Joomla 2.5%
- Drupal 1.9%
Moreover, here are some key details to support WordPress to build a website:
- It is free to use.
- It is best to build a website or online store yourself.
- It is extra adaptable so it can run any type of website.
- It is fast for building a website.
- It makes promotion on social media compatible.
- It is very powerful to handle any type of content.
STEPS TO BUILD DESIRED WEBSITE USING WORDPRESS:
Following are the steps to build the desired website using WordPress:
1) Sign-Up For Web Hosting:
Building a website using WordPress requires a sign-up hosting plan to reserve space for the website. The most recommendable hosting for WordPress websites is Bluehost.
- Firstly, sign in to the customer area of Bluehost and start creating a website by clicking on Create Your Website and then skipping the introductory initial setup guide steps.
- After signing in, the Bluehost customer area appears on the screen, then Select Login into WordPress.
2) Pick Domain Name for Website and Install WordPress:
Select desired domain name for the website according to content, to make it findable, accessible, and usable. After selecting Login into WordPress will download WordPress software and WordPress Dashboard will appear on the screen from where you can manage all aspects of the website.
3) Pick Theme For Website:
WordPress has many amazing themes and templates to use for your website; you have to select a theme according to the type and content of a website. Following are steps to use themes on WordPress:
- Go to Appearance on WordPress Menu and Select Themes.
- Pick a theme you like from the list of themes already available on WordPress or Click on Add New and install the desired theme.
- Customize the theme accordingly, by selecting Customize from Appearance on Dashboard.
4) Customize Basic Site Settings:
After selecting the theme, a website is running and then you can customize its basic settings according to needs.
- From the main WordPress Menu, Go to Settings.
- Select General and it will appear general settings window on the screen.
- Give site title, tagline, and time zone accordingly.
- Click on save changes.
5) Create And Customize Content and Pages:
You can add pages and posts on your website according to the theme.
- From the main WordPress Menu, Go to Pages.
- Page will appear on screen, customize and edit page accordingly.
- Preview the page by clicking on preview and then publish it.
- Select menus from an appearance on WordPress main menu; give menu name, and display the location of the page.
- For adding posts, go to Posts from the main WordPress menu.
- Click on add new post.
6) Install Required Plugins:
Plugins are bits of software to enhance the functionality of a website and take it to next level. WordPress has inbuilt thousands of plugins to add features to websites without knowing to code. Some of the common plugins are:
- Yoast SEO: It is for making a website Search engine optimized.
- WPForms: It is to introduce forms on a website.
- Optimole: It optimizes the images used in a website.
- Google Analytics: It integrates the websites with popular traffic analysis solutions on the web.
- Go to the main menu of WordPress and Select Plugins.
- Click on Add New Plugin.
- Select Plugin, install it, and activate it.
7) Make Final Checks and Publish:
After completing designing, customizing, and managing contents and pages, Review all the steps and check them accordingly. Make a thorough review of a website and check for all functional and non-functional requirements. After satisfactory checkup results publish the website and maintain it.
