There are many ways to create a website that range from extremely difficult and takes coding, to fairly easy for a non-developer. The difficulty of creating a website mostly depends on two things; the functionality that is needed, and if you choose to use a no-code/low-code platform to build your website.
A no-code/low-code platform is a software development platform that allows users to create websites without having to write code from scratch. Instead of programming, users can use visual interfaces, drag-and-drop editors, and pre-built components to create their websites.
Thankfully, today we are going to focus more on the fairly easy route. We are going to think of building a website as if you were building your brand-new dream home! Here are the basic 7 steps anyone can take to create a great website.
1. Domain
The first step to building any website is securing a great domain! You can think of your domain name as your house's street address. Your domain name is how people will find your new website. For your domain, you will want to choose something that is easy to remember and reflects your brand. Our domain name is https://projectshub.io because our company name is Projects Hub. You can buy domains on many websites, but I would recommend using GoDaddy or NameCheap.
2. Hosting Provider
Next, you want to find a good hosting provider. You can think of your hosting provider as finding a plot of land where you're going to put your shiny new home. Now since we're using an all-in-one website-building platform, you can skip this step because the platforms we suggest in step 3 will have hosting options as well!
If you were to build a website from scratch, you would want to use hosting platforms like Blue Host or HostGator.
3. Platform
Here we will decide on an all-in-one website-building platform to build your new website on. You can think of this as picking a general contractor to build your home. All-in-one website platforms will do most of the heavy lifting so you don't have to! WordPress, Wix, and Squarespace are three big competitors in this space that have their inherent differences.
WordPress is a free and open-source content management system that can be used to build any type of website, from simple blogs to complex e-commerce sites. It is highly customizable, allowing users to install a wide range of plugins and themes to add features and change the appearance of their site. WordPress requires a web hosting account, and it can be more complex to set up and manage than other website builders.
Wix is a cloud-based website builder that offers a drag-and-drop editor and a range of pre-built templates. It's designed to be easy to use, and it allows users to customize their site without any coding knowledge. Wix is an all-in-one platform that includes hosting, and it offers a range of features such as e-commerce, a blog, and SEO tools.
Squarespace is a website builder that offers a range of templates and a drag-and-drop editor. It's designed to be user-friendly and allows users to create professional-looking websites without any coding knowledge. Squarespace is an all-in-one platform that includes hosting, and it offers a range of features such as e-commerce, a blog, and SEO tools.
For these purposes, I would recommend Wix as it was the easiest to get up and running and the most user-friendly.
4. Design
Now comes the fun part, designing your website! You can think of this as picking the floor plan of your new house. I would recommend starting with a Wix template as this will dramatically cut the time down to complete your website. Once you select a template you can then alter the template for your specific needs. I would recommend at least starting with a landing page, pricing page, contact page, and about the company page. These are great starters, but you can add as many or as few pages that fit your business needs.
5. Content
After picking your template and editing the design and structure you will want to fill the website with your content including your text, images, videos, and other media. You can think of this as adding your furniture and decorating your walls as you move in! This is where you will make the template your own!
6. Test and Launch
Once you're satisfied with your content, you will want to test your new website on desktop, tablet, and mobile-sized browsers to ensure everything looks good on every screen size. You will want to proofread your work, as well as, ensure that every button works and goes to the correct links. When you feel comfortable it will be time to launch your website!
7. Maintenance
As your company grows and evolves you should also be updating your website. You've moved in and down the road, you'd like to do home improvements. Using an all-in-one platform will allow you to do this regularly without having to get others, mainly a developer, involved.
Congratulations on your new home! Keep in mind that creating a website can be a time-consuming process, and there may be a learning curve if you're not familiar with web design and development. If you need help, consider hiring a professional web developer or designer.