One of the common questions we often get from friends and families is ‘How do I start a website?’
Well, there are different ways and tools you can use, it all depends on what do you need the site for. In this post, we’ll run you through words like hostings, domains and all the jargon you need to set up a website.
Why do you need a website?
The first question you need to ask yourself is ‘why you need a website?’ Because it is not the same to have a static website than a blog or e-commerce. Are you are after a place to have your business information? This solution would be like having a business card or a brochure online, where you can send people that are looking for information about you. However, it’s good to know that static websites don’t rank well on Google because it looks for fresh content, so sites that often update their content get positioned higher up in a search.
If you need an e-commerce, it’s a whole other story.
What tools are out there for me to use?
There are hundreds of tools put there where you can create a website. We’ll mention few, the most used and their advantages and inconveniences.
Wix and Squarespace: These are two great tools for people that need a website cheap and cheerful and they want or can do it themselves. They have a lot of templates you can choose and are easy to use. Their fees are reasonably affordable and usually, you pay monthly. They will look after your hosting and domain. The downside is that you are tied up with them.
WordPress: WordPress engine is a great option, but requires a bit techie knowledge and isn’t as visual as the ones mentioned above. There are plenty tutorials online and also templates, free or paid, that you can plug into your website. You can download WordPress for free, but you have to buy your hosting and domain. You can get someone to set it up for you and because it’s an open source system anybody else can take over, so you are not tied up to one company. You fully own your site. Another advantage to adding is that WordPress can do pretty amazing things, so if you want a scalable system, it’s the one you are after.
HTML: This is the techiest version we’ll give you. If you know HTML, which isn’t a difficult language, you can create your site or even download a template and modified. You will still need to get your hosting and domain. The downside is that updating the site is a bit more fiddling. But if you need a static website this can be a cheap option.
Hosting and domain what are you talking about?
Hosting is the remote computer that keeps your website working 24/7. There are a lot of companies that do hosting and most of the time they offer domains too.
Domains are the visual address to your website. That ‘www.something.com’ that is the domain. If you are not confident on these techy things we recommend to purchase the domain and hosting in the same company, as they will set everything up for you.
We love SiteGround because they are useful and reliable. But there are lots of companies out there that provide hosting.
Plan your website
Once you have an idea of why you need your web, it’s time to sketch a sitemap and write the content. Don’t underestimate this bit of the process; writing takes time!
Having something is better than nothing
If your website is going to take longer than what you thought it might be a good idea to create a reduce version or adding a holding place with information.