Option : Setting Up A Website With A Website Builder
Lets start with the easiest option: a website builder. This is an all-inclusive package, so to speak: a single company will usually provide the template , drag and drop editor, web hosting, domain name, email address and support. The web builder takes care of the difficult tasks.
This isnt only useful for beginners. It simply depends on the project. Why complicate your life if there are easy ways to do things? Almost all site builders let you create a free basic website on a subdomain , which is ad-supported. Using such a plan you can try it in detail before deciding if the cost is worth it.
However, if you want to take your business online, you should consider a paid plan. Prices start at around $8/month, but it includes all the essentials. Add around $1-6/month on top if you need a for your business website.
To better understand exactly how it works, please watch our step-by-step tutorial to website creation!
Pros:
- Its very easy to use.
- You dont need additional software or even a web host.
- You can start without technical knowledge.
- Updates and security aspects are handled by the website builder company.
- Predefined themes that you can adapt as you like.
- Mobile-optimized version included by default.
Cons:
2. Click on Edit
3. Sign up with your email address and choose a password
4. You are now in the website editor. Start replacing text and images with your own ones.
Tip: find a much more detailed Wix Tutorial here.
Will I Need Technical Skills
This depends on the purpose of your website. The most complicated way would be to learn how to code HTML, CSS, JavaScript and PHP the basics of practically any website.
But this isnt the only way to create a website: even if you arent very familiar with the technical side of things, you can easily set up a good website.
But how?
By using a website builder. If you can use Word, Facebook, or PowerPoint, youll be able to use these tools without any problem. These easy-to-use platforms offer a visual editor, hosting, and you can get a custom domain name through them: a one-stop-shop.
What Is A Website Builder
A website builder is an online tool that helps you to create a website without any coding skills. Once youâve chosen which one to use and downloaded the template, you can drag and drop various components into your new sites such as images, YouTube videos, forms, and more. Each one has its own set of âlayersâ that you can mix and match depending on your needs.
Check out these website builders.
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Choose The Right Domain Extension
When picking the extension or TLD for your domain name, .com is still the best choice unless you have a reason to choose something else. Roughly 43% of all domains have a .com extension, making it what people expect to see the most.
While Google confirms that your choice of TLD will not impact rankings, it does affect consumer perception. Many people view other TLDs as less trustworthy.
That said, .net or .org extensions are not uncommon, so they can be good secondary options if you find the perfect name and the coveted .com isnt available.
But if you do decide to go with an extension other than a .com, make sure you take a look at what type of website is currently on the .com extension. Someone is bound to go there accidentally while looking for your brand. If the site holds fishy or offensive content, you might want to steer clear of that name altogether.
Finally, avoid those niche domain name extensions like .space, .club, .pizza, unless you really think theyll enhance your brand.
Sign Up For A Wixcom Account
Signing up for a Wix account is simple and easy, all you have to do is fill out a few fields of information about yourself, choose a login name and password. You’ll be able to access your account under your email/login or Facebook if you choose that option.
The second option is to sign up using your Facebook account, this will allow you to stay logged in and keep your time spent on Wix much quicker. It won’t take you as much time as the first step, but it may be a bit more difficult since FB asks for a lot of information, but it’s still not hard.
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Why You Need A Custom Domain For Your Website
Yes, it is true that you dont necessary need a domain name for your website. In fact, there are many website builders that offer free plans with free website addresses. But these free website addresses come in the form of a sub-domain. For example, if your website builder is example.com , they may create a sub-domain called john.example.com for you to use on your website. Visitors typing in http://john.example.com will end up at your website.
The sub-domain is free and it is not owned by you, but rather by the website builder and they can create and delete any sub-domain they wish. When a website builder decides to delete a sub-domain, the website that is associated with it is deleted as well. You may say, Simple enough, Ill just build a new website on another website builder.
But you may not realize its not that simple.
When you lose your website address, you lose all your regular visitors people who bookmarked your website and return frequently for updates and new information. When they click on their bookmark link, they will end up at a browser error page.
Not to mention all the marketing work you have to do to publicize your new website and get your visitors back. It will be awhile before your website gets back to what it used to be.
Cost To Register A Domain Name
According to HostGator, domain name cost ranges from free to tens of thousands of dollars, with the average domain name settling around $10-$12 annually. These factors will affect what you’d pay for a specific domain:
- The demand for the particular name you choose
- The TLD domain extension
- The domain registrar you’re purchasing from
- Whether the domain has already been purchased by someone else
- Whether you commit to an annual payment or another payment schedule
- Add-ons such as privacy
Whether you choose a free or paid domain will depend on your budget and your website’s purpose. For example, you might need a basic website or something simple and temporary. In that case, a free domain name might be a good option.
However, paid domain names look more professional and are more likely to grow with your brand. You should ultimately decide what will work best for your business and goals.
Pro Tip: You can get free hosting and link your custom domain to your site for free when you build it with HubSpot CMS.
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Three Simple Steps To Make Your Own Website
You’ll learn how to…
Creating a website from scratch isnt as difficult as you might think.
Why?
About ten years ago, website building was still pretty much in its infancy. Nowadays, even a complete beginner can learn how to create a website without any technical knowledge or basic computer skills.
Whether youre a tech-savvy person or a novice, this guide will help you get started and build your own website.
I have also covered the most common mistakes people make when building a website, so you can avoid them.
If you ever get stuck setting up your website, dont hesitate to contact me.
Full disclosure: Im partnered with some of the tools and services that are listed on this page. Ive used most of them for my own purposes. This helps me to provide free help via email and keep this guide up to date.
Publish Your Website And Go Live
To go live and start building your online presence, click on the Publish Website button.
Once this is done, your website will be live and accessible by anyone who has your site URL or domain name.
If you choose the option to get a free wix.com domain, your website should be ready to publish, but if you did choose the option to add your own custom domain, then you will be directed to the page where you can add your domain name.
Whichever the case is for you, just click on the publish your website button if its visible to you straight away. But if in any case you do not see the publish website button, simply navigate back to your website maker dashboard, you will see it there.
Congratulations, you have successfully created your own website free of cost.
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Create Email Accounts With Your New Domain
Using an email address with your new domain name, such as email@yourdomain.com,will increase your credibility, whether you use it as a contact address or to communicate with business partners.
If you use Hostingers hosting service, you can easily create an email address:
If youre looking for a more premium email service, feel free to check out Titan business email hosting here.
Pro Tip
Use a password generator like LastPass to create a random and secure password for your business email address.
S To Get A Free Domain Name
Getting a free domain is easy, and it only takes six simple steps.
Hostinger is a great option to get a free domain, since it comes bundled with their most affordable web hosting packages. These bundle deals are really valuable, because youll still still need someone to host your future website once you secure your domain name.
With a bundle you kill two birds with one stone. Plus you keep domain registration and web hosting with a single provider.
Hostingers low-cost bundles also includes WordPress, free email accounts, and other tools youll need to build a great-looking website.
The signup process for Hostinger is incredibly easy. Everything is geared toward beginners, so you dont need any technical experience to get started.
Theres no sign-up risk, either, since Hostinger offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. If you arent happy for any reason, get in touch within a month of the start date to receive a full refund.
Hostinger keeps it simple: Click Start Now and purchase one of the plans with a free domain! But Ill walk you through getting your free domain name with Hostinger below.
Read Also: How To Buy Your Domain
How Much Does It Cost To Upgrade A Website
Each company charges a different amount to upgrade a website. Generally, you will have to pay for a domain name, which can typically be purchased for $12 to $60 per year on a website like GoDaddy. The simpler and easier to remember the domain name, the more expensive you can expect it to be. Upgrading to Wixs Pro plan will cost $23 per month , while upgrading to Weeblys Professional plan will cost $16 per month .
Select A Web Hosting Plan
After selecting the appropriate type of hosting, you need to choose the right plan.
Hostinger offers a few different options for shared hosting. If you want to get a free domain, dont select the Single Shared Hosting plan, as it does not come with one.
The cheapest plan is a steal, no doubt, but if you want a free domain, its the wrong way to go. That leaves you with the Premium and Business Shared Hosting plans.
Heres what each plan offers.
Premium Shared Hosting
- Create up to 100 websites
- 100 GB SSD storage
Either of these plans is a solid option. Id lean toward the Premium plan if you arent expecting to hit your resource limits in terms of storage or monthly traffic.
Id recommend the Business plan for folks that are regularly updating their site or expecting a significant amount of traffic. Business plans include automatic daily backups for the last seven days and weekly backups for the last seven weeks.
The ability to restore your site is crucial. Handling backups on your own is a hassle you can avoid with Business plans.
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Structuring And Optimizing Your Content
On a website, we are generally less formal than in a book or a letter. We must help the busy visitor find the information they need.
Things you should do:
- Make it scan and skip-able: structure your pages using titles and subtitles because your visitors love to scan the content to skip to the most relevant sections. It feels just as good as skipping YouTube ads and Netflix intros.
- Short sentences with a generous amount of line breaks. This makes it easy to read.
- Bulleted lists: just like this one. Another way to consume content with little effort
- Effective fonts: as mentioned in part 5, our design section, use a reduced number of fonts that are easy to read on screen.
- Own your content: make it clear who is behind the website and generously use photos even if it makes you slightly uncomfortable. Also show relevant qualifications.
Things you should avoid:
- Using complicated language just to sound smart. This will drive visitors away from your website faster than a bullet train.
- Not using call to actions: too many websites lose business because their visitors are unsure of how to get in touch or initiate a transaction. You should make it as easy as possible! Use CTA-buttons, contact forms, online booking tools, live chat. Whatever works for you and your customers.
Find more tips in this article about how to write for the web.
Outsourcing content creation
Ways to find a good copywriter:
How To Register Your Website’s Domain Name
When you register a domain name for your site, you make it a lot easier for people to find you, ensuring that you reap the branding and marketing benefits of having an online presence.
A domain name is the address that visitors type into their browser address bar to arrive at your website. It replaces an IP address: a random, unique string of numbers that specifies where your sites files are located. While a website domain can be an investment, you can also find one for free, especially if you purchase it with hosting.
In this post, youll learn everything you need to know about registering your websites domain name either for free or for a low cost.
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Is It Easy To Build A Website
Yes. Wix offers a few different ways to create your own free website, so you can choose the creation process that works best for you. Need to get online fast? Answer a few simple questions and Wix ADI will build a professional website for you in under 10 minutes. If you want 100% design freedom, start from scratch and drag and drop the website design features you need in the Wix Editor.
What About The Website Design
However you choose to create your website, you will need to make some design decisions.
Creating visual web designs is no easy task. In fact, Id say that online, there are more examples of terrible designs than good ones. Dont let your website be one.
Just like bell bottom jeans were stylish in the 70s, they were ridiculous in the 80s and 90s. The same happens with web design. You have to remember that what was considered good practice 5 years ago, can now seem kind of old or out of date. Check out this article to know what practices to avoid.
Here are some tips to make a design your visitors will love:
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How To Get A Free Domain
This article was written by Travis Boylls. Travis Boylls is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. Travis has experience writing technology-related articles, providing software customer service, and in graphic design. He specializes in Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and Linux platforms. He studied graphic design at Pikes Peak Community College. This article has been viewed 67,739 times.
While a free domain may be sufficient for a personal website, professional businesses should look into web hosting plans that come with a safer, more secure domain. This wikiHow article teaches you how to get a free domain name.XResearch source
Why Is Websitecom The Best Choice To Make My Website
With Website.com, experience the freedom to create a unique and professional website on your own. You can start with a designer-templateand personalize it, or hire our design experts to make your website for you.
When you choose Website.com, you’re choosing the best tools to create a professional website: a drag and drop website builder, royalty-freeimages and video backgrounds, free secure web hosting, and a committed support team. You can even make an online store entirely for free.
With over 1 million websites built with Website.com, you’ll be in good company.
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