5 ESSENTIAL THINGS TO HELP YOU BUILD A WEBSITE
If you have a business or are considering a personal website, here is our article for why you should have a website. Check them out and come back here!
Why Writers Must Have A Personal Website.
Here’s why your business needs a website.
Rest assured, this is our guide to help you create your website. If you keep this 5 things in mind, you will have a much better experience as you build your website.
1. GRAB YOUR DOMAIN NAME
When you’re planning to get a domain name, research what’s out there and if it’s available, make sure you grab it immediately. If you don’t and you come back to it later, you might find it’s already been registered and in some cases, the domain might still be available, but at a higher price, sometimes a lot higher.
2. USE SEPARATE HOSTING
If you got your preferred domain name, congratulations! There are a few things ahead to keep in mind. Firstly, don’t blindly rely on the domain name registry for your hosting. While many places that sell domain names also sell hosting, it’s a better idea to have your domain name separate from your hosting. This gives you more control if something goes wrong or changes at your hosting provider.
It’s better to get your hosting with companies that specialize in hosting itself for maximum efficiency. For example, GoDaddy is one of the best places to register a domain but it’s not one of the best places for hosting. As for hosting companies, Bluehost is probably the one for you. Otherwise, Green Geeks is also solid. Green Geeks is located in Californian and they are a green energy provider. That will appeal to some people too.
3. CHOOSING A PLATFORM
Once your hosting is set up, you will have to think about the platform you want to use. I have a bias towards WordPress but it’s not the only option. If you want to build a basic site with some simple functionality and some e-commerce availability, WordPress is the best option.
If instead, you want to build some major sites, you need to research the different platforms for building the site on. If you don’t have the capabilities to design it yourself, you would save yourself hundreds or even thousands of dollars and a lot of your time by talking to a consultant that provides such services.
Besides WordPress, other options include platforms like CMS’s as Drupal or Joomla. They offer a different functionality than WordPress, which might be too simplistic for some people. As an example, Joomla offers a great deal of control over the layout of the site, but unless you’re a person who loves fine control, you might be better off with a site such as WordPress.
4. Functionality
The next thing you will have to consider its functionality. What do you want your platform to have? Some examples are email systems, eCommerce, membership functions, etc. What is the ultimate goal of your website? You need to think about what your website wants to achieve down the line. Do you want to have eCommerce? If you do, you have to plan accordingly. You want to build out a framework for it so it’s in place when you’re ready to take that step.
5. DESIGNING YOUR WEBSITE
After you have thought about everything above and settled on a platform, it’s a matter of design. If you want to design the site yourself, you might want to take advantage of a plethora of preset themes available on the web. Depending on the nature of the theme, they might be a perfect match for your site as-is. However, some others might need some tweaking or you might wind up with a theme that’s close to what you want, but need a designer to create the customization you have in mind. Some options for themes are: Themeforest, WOOThemes, Thesis, Moboom, Genesis
Instead, you can also hire a designer for your site straight away. This is a great option if you want to start a very professional, customized business website. Do your homework before you hire a designer. Find out about their history, their quality, how long they’ve been in business, if they have testimonials, etc. New designers can be great and inexpensive though you usually get what you pay for as a rule.
