The step by step guide to create your website, from scratch and without knowing how to program.
Making a functional website for your business or project is one of the most important tasks, think of it as a shop in a very busy avenue, so you will surely want it to be an eye-catching, functional and professional page.
If you still don’t have one because you think you should take years of courses on programming or hire an entourage of experts to make it for you, we can tell you that it is not necessary to do this, because now there are several ways to make a website all by yourself, or at least without knowing how to program.
Therefore, here we present a guide to make the process of creating your website more bearable.
1. Choose and register a domain name
Before you start worrying about the design and content of your future website, you need to create and register a domain name. Remember that the domain name is the address that appears in the search bar of the browsers and serves to identify your website.
A domain is made up of two elements: the name itself and an extension, which can be geolocation, such as .mx, .es, or .ar; or which indicates the type of business, for example .com, .net, .org or .edu.
Remember that there are some tips for choosing a good domain name such as: choose a short and easy to remember name, do not use abbreviations and, very importantly, check if the domain we choose is available. The latter can be done by using the tool Whois.
Once you have chosen your domain and checked that it is available, it’s time to register it, for that you have to choose one of our accredited registrars, you can find a list here.
Check the prices in each one and evaluate which one is more convenient for your project and budget, it is also convenient that you choose the same platform for the hosting.
It doesn’t matter which provider you choose, anyone will ask you to fill out an online form in which you have to put yourself as the domain administrator and not the programmer or designer of the page, so you don’t have legal problems.
2. Hire the hosting service
Another important part before having your website is to hire a hosting service. You may wonder what it is and what you need it for. Imagine that your web is like a conventional business, the hosting would be the street where your office is located.
A hosting service is the payment for hosting on the Internet; that is to say, you are hiring a company to rent you a space on their servers so that you can save the files and data that allow your website to function correctly.
In most cases you can hire the hosting service in the domain registration platforms, paying an extra fee.
You may suspect that the correct functioning of your website also depends on the hosting. Choosing the wrong one can bring many problems to your website, such as not loading images, having problems with plugins or simply your page not opening.
Here are some tips to help you choose the right hosting service for your web project:
Shared web hosting, which means that several web pages are hosted on the same server, is the most common and accessible in terms of cost, and is ideal if your site doesn’t require very complex features.
The Virtual Private Server (VPS) is a server that you can use as if it were your own. It is more flexible and powerful than a shared server, but the disadvantage is that it is more expensive.
The last one is the dedicated web hosting, a type of service in which you do not share the server with another website. It is the most flexible and you can use the operating system you need. The disadvantage is that you need professional technical knowledge to use and maintain it, plus the cost is much higher.
Another thing you have to consider when choosing the ideal hosting is the operating system of the server. For this you have two options: Windows and Linux.
The first one, the hosting with Windows operating system, is ideal for sites that use ASP and ASP. NET and in general for pages built with HTML. While the Linux hosting is recommended for pages created with PHP programming language; that is, in general for pages built with WordPress.
Of course, you also have to choose a provider that offers you between one and five gigabytes of storage capacity. If you find these choices overwhelming, don’t worry, most providers offer technical advice.
3. Choose the platform
Nowadays you don’t need to know how to program to have your own website. There are many online platforms that allow you to create a website without any knowledge of programming, for example: Duda, Magento, PrestaShop, Weebly and WordPress. All of them offer a free version.
Before you decide on one you should check whether it allows you to implement plugins on your website, i.e. additional functions such as a store or a subscription system. Also, some specialize in different types of pages, for example if you are interested in a corporate website you can use Wix, WordPress or Duda; but, if you are looking for a page to sell online you can use PrestaShop, Magento or WordPress itself. Therefore, it is important that you have in mind the type of site you need for your business, before you start designing.
It doesn’t matter which platform you choose, you can use all of them without knowing how to program, because they have a very graphic interface, you just have to select and drag the elements you need.
It is very important that you reconsider making your page in a platform that promises to have it for free, because in the end they are platforms that do not allow you to have your own domain or hosting, which makes it more difficult to position yourself in Google.
The most famous platform to create websites is WordPress, because it allows you to create any kind of site, supporting different plugins and has more than 6,000 templates. You will find it incredible, but even websites like those of CNN, Disney or the New York Times, are built with this tool. So, don’t underestimate the capacity of this platform! Here is a quick guide to make your website with WordPress.
4. Start creating your website in WordPress
- Download and install WordPress. You can start by downloading the program from https://es-mx.wordpress.org/download/ or the application for your mobile from the PlayStore or the Appstore
- Choose the theme and design of your website, from one of the 6,000 fully customizable templates from the Appearance section, which is in the control panel.
- Add the content you need. In the media library upload the images, videos and sounds you will need throughout your page.
- Create the page and entry sections you need. Remember that pages are the most basic content on your website, they regularly have static content, for a long period of time, for example in the “History”, “Mission” and “Vision” tabs add the text and images you need. The entries section refers to the part of your website that may change periodically, for example news or posts about new products.
- Add plugins and extensions, in the section of Plugins select add new and choose between those that already come installed or install new. This helps you to give your website special functions. Some of the most used are: Yoast SEO which helps you to position yourself in search engines by adding meta tags to your content. WooCommerce allows you to transform your website into a virtual store. Contact Form 7 that helps you stay in touch with your customers by providing them with a form to fill out.
5. Publish and monitor your page
Once you have created your website and you are satisfied with its design, it is time to publish it. However, your work does not end here, because having a website is a constant work of revision, correction and updating, so do not neglect it and keep improving it little by little.
With this guide you have the general steps to lose your fear and start creating your website with your own hosting and domain name.
What did you think of the guide? Are you ready to create your very own website?
