Steps to Creating a Website from Scratch
For someone wanting to become a new webmaster, the process of getting started can be a bit daunting. After all, there are several stages to starting a website. This can make for a steep learning curve in the beginning. But with a little determination and perspiration, starting a website is not actually that difficult. The process of getting started can be broken down into 5 key steps.
- Register a domain – After you have come up with a great idea for a new website, whether it is for a blog, company website or any other type, the first step to get up-and-running is to register a domain name (i.e. www.domain-name.com). This will cost approximately £6/year.
- Find reliable and affordable web hosting – Once you have your domain name, the next step it so procure web hosting that will hold the site files. Your domain name will be point toward the web host’s server that holds your files and will allow web visitors to visit and navigate your site. There are literally thousands of web hosts in business today. Factors to consider when choosing a web host include reliability, cost, support and features. It is always smart to refer to web hosting reviews before committing to any web host. For shared hosting, costs will run between £3-10/month on average.
- Design the site – The process of getting an aesthetically appealing design for your new site has gotten much easier in the last 5 years, with the growth of WordPress and other content management systems. This is due to the thousands of templates that are ready-made and easily installed.This will change the entire design of a site and will not require any editing of HTML or any other code. For those who want a completely unique design, a web designer must be hired and can cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to several thousand, depending on the complexity of the design and number of pages.
- Create usable and helpful content – Maybe the most time consuming part of being a webmaster is the creation and editing of site content. In addition, this may be the most important of all the tasks. The point of a website is to share content, so it is important that it be unique, interesting and properly formatted. This will make for readable content that will keep both search engines and visitors happy.
- Promote the site – By creating unique content, you are already promoting your website. Search engines, which sends most of the traffic a new website gets, like to see new content posted regularly. More content will mean more traffic to your site! In addition to creating content, finding other webmasters with similar sites and letting them know about your site will also help to promote your content. Hopefully this will lead to links from their site to yours, which will let visitors and search engines know that have content that is relevant and helpful.
Creating a successful website can be very rewarding, but is also a challenging and time-consuming process. It can take years before it is getting regular and steady visits. The trick is to always create new content, promote it endlessly and then rinse and repeat. If you have been putting off starting your new website, now is a great time to get started. Go ahead and make it your New Year’s resolution to become a successful webmaster.