How to create a website - A Complete Guide for Beginner

How to Create a Website?

Learning how to create a website is a simple process that, at its simplest, just involves following straightforward instructions. Usually people get intimidated with the process of creating a website, thinking that they need to be great designers or HTML gurus. The truth is that you want to create a website so that it can fulfill a function. Unless you're going for the arty look, your business or personal website would do much better with a simple but professional design that helps your visitors get directly to the point you're trying to make (or product that you're trying to sell) without distracting them with bells and whistles.

Of course, there are some technical details associated with creating a website. Firstly, you have to select a domain name and find a web host suitable for your needs. And then, you need to create your first web page. Let's look at all these one by one.

Step 1 - Internet domain name registration

Just a few years ago, Internet domain name registration would cost you close to US$30 per year. Today, you can find domains for as cheap as $9.95 and many web hosting services provider even comes with free domain names if you choose to host your website with them.

Choosing your Internet domain name

Your Internet domain name is very important; it will identify your website and your business, and as a marketing tool it can be very powerful. If you're building an online business, take care not to select an Internet domain name based on your "area". For example, if you run a business consultancy practice, naming your website business-consulting-florida.com might make help a little with the search engines ranking, but it doesn't "sell" your business. Instead, choose an Internet domain name that can become your brand identity. Even if you're not a big online business, having a brand and an identity can help your business and give it a professional edge.

Registering domain name

Once you've selected an Internet domain name that properly defines your business and can be marketing as your brand identity, registering domain name is the next process. At this point your choice of registrar (a company that will register your Internet domain name) depends quite a lot on your hosting package. Many cheap web hosting services offer bundled solutions that give you a free domain name along with their web hosting packages. The catch, which is not so bad when you think about it, is that you have to host your website with them at least for a year. Not only the web hosting provider will register your domain name for free (keep in mind that the ownership of the domain name is still belongs to you), some will even renew your domain name every year as long as you continue to host your website with them.

As an alternative, you can also register your Internet domain name independently. Registrar like GoDaddy gives fantastic deals on Internet domain names, with prices as low as $9.95 per year. If you register a domain name with the intention to sell it for a profit in the future, this way you can simply park your domain with the registrar while you decide what to do with it without paying for hosting. Otherwise, if you plan to setup a website with the registered domain name, you would still have to look for a web hosting provider to host your website. Having said that, you can register your domain name with a regsitrar, while hosting your website with another web hosting provider. In other words, domain name and web hosting can be independent from each other. You can read our article on cheap domain name registration for more details.

Step 2 - Low cost web hosting services

Some top of the line web hosting packages can cost you an arm and a limb - yet for prices such as $25 or even $50 per month, these web hosting services can be worth their weight considering the services they offer. However, when you're starting out and especially when you're creating your first website, you'd want to stay within your budget.

Step 3 - Design web pages

Designing web pages can seem terribly complex until you build your first one. And then your second one. By your third web page, you start getting the hang of it and before long, designing web pages becomes a simple task.

How to design a web page

The best way to start with designing a web page is to use a visual HTML editor like Macromedia Dreamweaver or Microsoft FrontPage. These are also known as WYSIWYG editors, and are extremely easy to use. If you are not prepare to pay for these popular HTML editors, you can always search free website builders from the Internet. Many of these HTML editors come with predefined templates so that you don't even need to know at the beginning how to create a whole website from the start; all you do is select a template, fill in your information and site content, do some minor customization and your first web page is complete. Best of all, you can find many free HTML templates on the Internet where you can download and use too.

How to create a website? It is easy once you understand that your website is not the end goal. Your business is. Your website is just a tool to get your business message across, and like all tools, all you need to know is how to use it properly.

To create your website, it is important to choose the right solution that match your skills level. Below are three options you can consider to create your website depending upon your level of skills in web development:

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How to Create a Website?

Step 1 - Internet domain name registration

Step 2 - Low cost web hosting services

Step 3 - Design web pages