How to Create a Website

There’s basically three ways to create a website yourself. I’ve been creating websites for a living since 2004 and have made dozens of sites by each of the following methods.

Recommendation: Use a website builder if you’re new to making websites – use WordPress if you’re more comfortable with coding

1. Make html pages using a text editor or html editor software. You don’t need an html editor, it just makes coding easier. Dreamweaver is the best in the industry. This site has tips for creating columns, site layout, formatting, etc. After you create web pages and link them together into a website, you’ll need a web host to store your files and make them available on the internet. There are lost of good quality cheap hosting sites available. Typical cost is about $5 per month to host any number of pages and receive any amount of traffic. I have used Hostgator for years and really like their service. They have been around a long time, offer quality hosting at an affordable cost, and have great customer service (which is something you may need more of when just starting out).

Advantages: Get to learn a new skill, the most hands-on approach, no black boxes – you see how everything works, cheapest way to make a website

Disadvantages: Most time consuming, most difficult to learn

2. Create a website by using a Content Management System (CMS). There are lots of content management system applications available for creating a website. Some are free and some are quite expensive. One of the most popular CMS platforms available is WordPress. It’s gotten to be so popular because it’s free, it’s really easy to setup and use, and it has such a large number of users creating applications for use with WordPress.

Having a large number of users is nice for at least two reasons. First, thousands of different applications have been created for WordPress. So no matter what type of site you want, or no matter what type of functionality you want for your site – someone has already figured it out and makes the solution available for free or low cost. Second, no matter what problem you may have with your site, someone else has already had the problem and solved it. Just visit any of the numerous WordPress forums to find the solution to any problem.

You’ll still need to sign up with a web hosting company to make your CMS website available on the internet. There are many web hosting options to choose from. Most web hosting companies offer a ’1-click install’ of wordpress on your web hosting account. This means you can just sign up with a web hosting service, click one button to have WordPress installed, and then start adding text and images to your website. It really couldn’t be easier. You’ll still need to learn the basics of wordpress, but again, since there’s so many users, lots of great wordpress tutorials already exist for free.

Advantages: Interior site linking is managed for you, ability to quickly make changes to your whole site by editing the site’s theme, lots of free plugins available to extend your site’s functionality

Disadvantages: Not many, WordPress is one of the best ways of creating a website. (I recommend installing WordPress through HostGator.

3. Create a website with a website builder. Website builders are online software and web hosting companies in one. These companies make it super easy to create your website in no time. There’s no programming required and no separate web hosting company to deal with. Just start making your website right away by selecting a professionally designed template and adding text and images. You can upload your own images or use some of the thousands that website builder services have available. Create any number of pages (photo albums, newsletters, catalogs, etc) and click Publish and you’re done. You can also setup an online store and start selling products easily.

Advantages: Nothing to learn – just start designing right away, make your website fast

Disadvantages: Must keep your website hosted with the web builder company, more expensive (slightly)

Creating a Website Tutorial

If you’ve always wanted to create a web site, but you just didn’t know where or how to start one, I built this little tutorial just for you. It starts right at the very beginning and shows you how to make a free website with HTML code using tools that you already have.

If you are a Windows user, you already have NotePad and if you’re running a Mac, you’ll also have some kind of simple text editor in your accessories. That’s all it takes. A simple text editor and your browser.

First timers should start with the 3 lesson Beginner HTML  tutorial. You’ll learn to build a basic website in the Intermediate tutor. The code is all copy and paste, but by the time you’re finished, you’ll be writing code by hand.

You can open the tutorial in your browser, open your text editor next to it, and work at your own pace. I set it up just so you could do that.

I’m also developing a series of free web templates using the HTML and CSS presented in the tutorial. When you complete the tutorial, you’ll have the basic knowledge needed to take a template and turn it into your very own website. You’ll learn the following:

• How to create a website template and then use it to create a three page working web site.
• Hosting your web site and putting it on the web. There are many website hosting options to choose from.
• How to link your webpages together, use color and add pictures to your web pages.
• How to set your web page up with a style sheet so that it can be redesigned just using the style sheet.

The tutor is divided into beginner, intermediate, and advanced phases. In turn, you’ll create your web site template, create a website (3 pages), and then edit the site to your liking and get it online.

Most people are surprised to see how fun creating a website can be. And it’s certainly a lot more affordable than hiring website design services. I’ll bet you like it too!

Let’s Get Started!!

Latest Posts

• 4 Tips for Keeping Your Email Organized August 5, 2014 Email has become integral to our lives. We get everything from job offers and bonus notices to PTA information. If it is important, chances are an email is one of the fastest means to get it to anyone in the world – right after phone calls, IMs and short message services. Because of its popularity, we all get lots of emails – both solicited and unsolicited. The unsolicited emails would be more tolerable if they were ...
• Bad Internet May 19, 2014 You don’t have to be an IT specialist to know that the Internet environment is a very complicated and full of traps place. Even kids know that they should be careful during the Net surfing and communicating with others, especially with strangers. But is this knowledge enough to prevent every bad thing coming from the Web? In this article I would like to shortly describe parental controls on computer kind of software that is able ...
• Starting an Online Business from Scratch April 2, 2014 With the unprecedented power, reach and scope of the internet in 2014, many of us are turning to the World Wide Web in order to either make a little extra income or to in fact start our own businesses and become our own bosses. The idea of breaking away from the 9-5 rat race and running your own business from home is of course an enticing prospect for anyone with even an ounce of entrepreneurial spirit, but ...
• Restaurant Website SEO: What it Can and Cannot Do March 29, 2014 Restaurants run websites for a very limited number of reasons. Understanding those reasons is actually far more important than funneling hundreds of thousands of irrelevant, disinterested and “not going to buy” visitors to your site. There is still reason to optimize your restaurant website, but that doesn’t always mean optimizing for search engines. Optimizing for customer experience and marketing are likely just as – or more – important to your restaurant’s bottom line. For industries that were ...
• The Digital Marketing Newbie’s Guide March 4, 2014 Today we live in a digital world, where our previous ideas of everything from the way we communicate, educate ourselves, and even do business, have undergone drastic changes. With a global audience of over 2 billion, the internet has opened up huge marketing avenues, which almost any business can enter. With the rise of the internet and related technologies, a new form of marketing, known as digital marketing, has become a powerful tool in the world ...
• Getting Traffic from Online Advertising in Australia February 25, 2014 Any company that wants to get increased website traffic will need to engage in at least a few forms of online advertising. Following are the most common website advertising options to pick from, along with pointers that will help a business owner get the most value for his or her hard-earned cash. Google AdWords Google AdWords is the most common form of online advertising and companies the world over have found that it is effective in reaching ...
• Backing Up Your Computer February 20, 2014 Now more than ever it’s critical that you have a reliable means of backing up your computer files. Presented by NovaStor
• What to Discuss With a Web Design Company December 20, 2013 As recently as 2012, the Australian Government Department of Communications found that less than half of the country’s businesses had a website. Whether you have a new business, need to have your site redesigned, or have finally decided the time is right to have a website designed for your existing business, be sure to cover the following topics with any design companies you’re seriously considering: How Do They Handle Mobile and Tablet Design? According to one of ...
• Social Media and the New SEO December 6, 2013 Search engine optimization must always be on the move. It must be able to react to the ever changing ways in which internet users interact with the world wide web. The popularity of social networking sites has revolutionized the way people use the internet, and social media platforms offer webmasters new opportunities to deploy their SEO strategies in order to improve their business’ online visibility. Social media sites like Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter have become ...
• Different Methods of Affiliate Marketing December 2, 2013 Affiliate marketing has been around in one form or another since the 1990′s but now the majority of the work is done online. The benefits of affiliate marketing are obvious. Not only are you expanding your potential client base by undertaking an unconventional form of marketing but you’re also utilizing the services of a skilled salesman, who you’re paying on a commission only basis. Affiliate marketing can be as complicated or easy as you want ...

WP Premium Theme by Premium Wordpress Themes