How to Set up, Build and Run a Website

A Step by Step Guide for Beginners

Hi and Welcome

Over the last few years changing technology has made website building easier, and you can now build a site without needing to:

• Master web design
• Purchase expensive software
• Become an HTML guru

Whether you're building a business, personal, or hobby website there are 4 main steps involved. They are:

• Decide on the site building technology
• Decide on the Domain Name
• Purchase hosting space and domain Name
• Build and publish the site

I would recommend you become familiar with each before you start

Step 1- Evaluate Website Building Options

One of the earliest decisions and important ones that you will need to make is how to build your site.

Even if you are having the site built for you by a designer/friend then it is important that you are aware of the different site building technologies, and the pros and cons of each method.

There are several different ways of building a website. The main ones are:  

• Online Site builder and Flash Websites
• Standard HTML template plus Webpage editor
• Content management system like WordPress, Joomla, Site build-it

See the understanding your website building options article.

Step 2-Choose and Register a Domain Name

Your domain name or web address is the name of your website and will look like this www.mysite.com .

There are three steps to getting a domain name:

• Think of the name.
• Check to see that it is available
• Register the name.

I recommend that you use the hosting provider as the domain registrar as it makes it easier to configure, and in most cases the provider will provide a free domain name with the hosting package.

See Domain Names before going any further, unless you already have a domain name.

Step 3 -Choose a Web Hosting Provider

There are many different hosting providers to choose from. If you are going to be using WordPress as the site building platform then you obviously need one that supports WordPress.

I use  1&1-UK for my UK sites (Linux business package now standard package) and Blue Host for my other (international) sites. Both providers support WordPress and standard html/php sites.

See Website Hosting

Step 4- Build and Publish The Website

How you go about this depends on your preferred  building option.

My recommended approach is to use WordPress as the site building platform as it is probably the easiest option for beginners. The process is covered in more detail here.

Ecommerce Websites

Ecommerce websites/shops are different from standard content based sites and there are many specialist solutions available. You should see the  Ecommerce  section for more details.

Website Building Know- How, Tools and Costs

You don't need to be a web designer to build a website ! as there are so many professional designs available in the form or themes( WordPress) and templates (HTML/PHP).

 Providing you don't want a bespoke design then It is simply a question of choosing a design for the site rather than creating a new design from scratch.

You will need to get a basic grasp of the various web technologies like HTML and CSS in order to modify templates/themes.

You can build a website using basic software that you should already have on your home PC, or that is available for free on the Internet.

 For small basic 1-10 page websites then the cost of website building software like Dreamweaver is totally unjustified.

However you should also note that free WYSIWYG editors like kompozer are good for learning but you cannot easily use them to edit modern templates.

Therefore you will need to use an older table layout if you go down this route, or purchase Dreamweaver or Microsoft Expression web.

If you create the site using WordPress then the web page editor is included as part of the platform (online editor).

If you do most of the work yourself then Making a Website for under £100 is easily achievable.

Getting Your Website Found

When you build your website it is important that you create a search engine friendly site so that you increase your chances of being found in the search engines.

You also need to be aware that your site doesn't just appear in the search engines, you need to take steps to get your site into the search engines.

Summary

With patience, willingness to learn, and a little technical know-how it is possible for anyone to build a professional looking website and get it found online.

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Regards
Steve

What if I get Stuck? Then Ask The Webmaster

A big fear of most is what will they do when they encounter a problem, and they get stuck.

The good news is that you aren't alone..

You can also ask me questions and I will do my best to answer as quickly and accurately as possible.  I offer several webmaster services, like hosting setup, email setup etc that are targeted at small business website owners

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