Many today create websites on the Internet to show themselves and connect with other users. Modern companies cannot afford not to have their own online resource, as this is an effective way to attract more potential customers.
If you want to create your own website, you must be worried and assume that it will take a long time. Many people think so, but this opinion is erroneous. In fact, there are no big difficulties in this matter. Below is a detailed instruction, following which you can learn how to make websites from scratch.
First of all, remember the following:
- you don't have to be a computer expert to build a website from scratch;
- you don't need to know basic code, manage hosts or servers;
- you don't need a lot of money.
If you want to create a website, you just need to know where to start. Follow the instructions below and you can have your resource up and running within a few hours. Whether you are interested in creating websites for business or foryour personal needs, the process will be similar.
If there are no programming skills: choose an automatic constructor
Auto builders are the easiest, cheapest and fastest way to create a website. Some of the most common such services are Wix, Squarespace, Weebly, and Jimdo. Currently, these builders are at the heart of millions of sites created by ordinary users. If you are not a web programming expert, this is the best choice for you.
Thanks to the designers, the work of creating site pages is actually reduced to dragging the elements around the screen with the mouse. The entire workflow is as simple and intuitive as creating a PowerPoint presentation.
The developers have created the special software needed to create a site from scratch on their own, so now you just need to use the cursor on the screen and drag slideshows, blocks of text, images or videos in the order you choose. You can insert your own text, upload any images, embed videos (from YouTube, for example) and click Publish.
It is believed that the organization of the site requires knowledge of HTML (Hypertext Markup Language - a common coding language for text fonts and styles) and CSS (Cascading Style Sheet - used to compose web pages). It takes many months to create the code (and requires special skills), and using it to create a website is complex and time consuming.
How to choose such a constructor?
Using a high quality builder means that any user can create their own resource automatically. That is why choosing such a service is your first step when creating a website from scratch on your own. Any of them does not require the introduction of codes. This means that you won't need to spend a lot of money on hiring freelancers to figure out how to design and build a website.
When choosing a constructor, be guided by the following parameters:
- which interface do you find easiest to use;
- what templates and design features do you like the most;
- does the builder functionality help you create the site you have planned.
It's also useful to check how each of these builders works for mobile versions of sites. Since today a large number of users (potential visitors to your site) access the Internet using smartphones, it is very important that your resource looks good on any device. Before you make a website, explore the capabilities of each service.
In this regard, all Squarespace themes are mobile-sensitive (meaning that pages that load will automatically look the same no matter what device your visitor is using). Jimdo and Weebly offer a wide range of mobile versions, while Wix and GoDaddy provide mobile editors that allow you to customize how your site appears to look more mobile friendly or hide it altogether.certain content from mobile browsers.
Good builders allow you to switch between full and mobile versions so you can make various customizations. Learning how to create websites with these services is very easy. It is worth noting that the above services have very limited free features. If you want to create a large site, you will have to pay monthly for their use.
You can also create your site using an engine (such as WordPress), but only if you have basic technical knowledge, or use the help of a site creation studio. Simple CMSs can be of great help, but sometimes they require code changes to fix bugs.
If you have basic skills: choose an engine
What languages are used to create websites? Back in the mid-2000s, most websites were built using HTML, CSS, and even Flash. It took a lot of time, and it was not easy to master these skills. Today, only a basic superficial knowledge of these languages is sufficient. How to learn how to make websites using such platforms?
If you want to quickly make a functional, mobile-compatible and user-friendly resource yourself, you will need to choose a platform or engine. These days, these services have made website building accessible to everyone, as they allow you to set up a large amount of HTML pages automatically without writing any code.
According to the latest statisticsAccording to data, WordPress is the most popular content management system (55%), followed by Joomla (20%) and Drupal (11%). All of them are completely free to use. That is why it is best to use WordPress, especially for creating an information site.
Drupal is a very powerful platform, favored by experienced coders and professional developers, but its interface is quite complex, making it not the best choice for beginners. Joomla is similar to WordPress and works well for creating an online store site, but you will need at least a little bit of technical coding skills to create the customizations you require.
WordPress customization is the most lightweight and simple platform yet flexible enough to cater to the needs of each user. Further instructions for creating a site will be given using this engine as an example.
Getting Started: Domain and Website Hosting
To set up your site, you will need two items:
- domain name (web address, for example yourname.com);
- hosting (a service that connects your resource to the Internet).
So, how to learn how to make websites? The engine itself is free and available to everyone, but the domain name and hosting will require you to pay a small amount. Owning your own domain name looks much more professional than naming your site on a third-party domain (which will be third level). In addition, independent hosting guarantees that your resource will load quickly and will notturn off for several hours in a row. This will have a huge impact on his attendance.
As soon as you register your domain name, you will simultaneously receive a new email account that will be your own. It looks more professional than the shared inbox on Gmail and other services. Further step by step the creation of the site is performed as follows:
- Select a hosting provider.
- Register with the service of your choice.
- Go to the page where you can choose a hosting plan according to your needs and financial possibilities.
As a rule, for beginners, the basic version is quite suitable, which costs a very modest amount. You can always upgrade to another plan later.
How to choose a domain name?
If you are building a website for a business, the domain name must match your company name. You can choose an international registrar, then your site name will end with.com,.org or.net. Or, opt for the more popular.ru or.su. It is also worth noting that a very large number of domain extensions have recently appeared - from.agency to.pizza. However, it's best not to opt for them if they don't describe exactly what you have to offer. For example, when creating an online store website, it is better to limit yourself to the standard.com.
If you already have a well-thought out domain name, just enter it and click on "Next" in the appropriate form on the registrar's website. If you notready to pick it up right away, you can do it at a later time.
How to register hosting?
To create your own account, simply fill in your personal information on the hosting provider's registration form. You will need to provide your first and last name, country and city of residence, as well as address, postal code, telephone number and e-mail. A confirmation request will be sent to the email address you enter. After that, you need to enter your payment information.
The next step in registration is to choose a plan (tariff) and hosting package. After that, pay attention to the additional options available in creating and maintaining sites, such as protecting the privacy of the selected domain. Then make payment. That's it, you can start creating a site.
Upload engine to hosting
Once you have registered a domain name and set up the selected hosting, you can begin to work directly on creating a website. The main thing you need to do at the beginning of the process is to install WordPress (or another platform) on your domain. There are two ways to do this, one of which is much easier than the other.
First of all, almost every reliable and reputable hosting company has an integrated one-click installation of WordPress and Joomla, which greatly simplifies the download process. You can find this site building service on your profile dashboard.
The following are the steps to follow,which you need to complete (they should be the same for all major providers):
- Log in to your hosting account.
- Go to the control panel in it.
- Search for the "Site" icon or WordPress.
- Select the domain you want to upload your resource to.
- Click the button called "Install Now" and you will have access to your new WordPress site.
Second, you can do a manual installation. If, for one of the reasons (some services do not allow one-click installation), you are unable to download WordPress automatically, you will have to do it yourself.
Setting process
So, how to make a website? Once you have successfully installed WordPress or another engine on your domain, you will be able to view a very easy to manage but clean web resource. For it to have any distinctive features, you need a theme - a design template (template) that tells the platform what your site looks like. The choice can be creative and interesting. There are thousands of attractive, expertly designed themes that you can download and customize for your site, based on its theme and purpose.
How to find a pattern you like and fit best:
- Go to the WordPress toolbar.
- Open access to free themes. To do this, view the Appearance sidebar, then click Themes. If you need something more professional ororiginal, you can go to ThemeForest.net, which has a huge library of templates available at various prices.
But before you do that, it's a good idea to spend a little time browsing the free templates. Many of them are professional and of high quality. You can search for specific keywords or apply filters to find topics that suit your style. Finding the perfect fit can take some time, but it's worth it.
When learning how to build websites, you should consider the following: you need to look for templates that look "responsive" to the format of the site, as this means that they will look good on every mobile device.
Start a new topic
Once you've found a template you like, you can easily download it. To do this, you need to click on "Install", then click on "Activate".
Remember that changing the theme will not affect your previous posts, posts, pages and content. You can change them regularly without worrying about losing the content you've already created.
How to add information and make new pages?
How to learn how to make a website when all the preliminary work is completed? Once the template is installed, you will be ready to add data. Here are some of the basics to consider:
- Adding pages and editing them. So, you want to create an "About" or "Services" page (for example, in the menu at the top of the site's interface). This can be done in the following way. Look at the side menu in the WordPress toolbar, select "Pages" -> "Add New". As soon as you click on these items, you will see a screen that is very similar to the Microsoft Word interface. Enter text, upload images and other content to create the page you want, then save it when you're done.
- Adding to the page menu. If you want your newly created page to be in sync with the navigation bar, save any changes you've made to it by clicking Refresh. Click "Appearance" -> "Menu" in the panel on the side of the WordPress Dashboard interface. Find the page you created and list it by checking the box next to it, then select Add to Menu.
- Adding and editing messages. If you have a blog on the site, all "Posts" will be displayed one by one. You have the ability to use different categories to group similar messages. So, it is possible to use different categories and headings. Let's say you want to create a category called "Blog". To do this, add it to your menu and start posting. To do this, go to the "Posts -> Categories" section or write your blog post by going to the "Posts -> Add New" section. When you've finished typing your post, you'll need to add it to the appropriate category. Once you create your category, add it to the menu and everything will be displayed on the site.
Change title and page names
Page titlesexplain to visitors what your site is about, and they also directly affect how search engines see your rankings. For this reason, make sure they contain the keywords you wish to target. You should use a unique title on each page of the created resource. Site building meta tags or captions are also included at the end of headings on any web page. To change the title and signature on your site, go to "Settings" -> "General" and write the data in the form that opens.
Disabling comments on the resource
Some website owners (mostly business-related) don't want their visitors to be able to comment on pages. To disable comments on WordPress web pages, follow these steps:
- If you are creating a new page, click "Display Options" in the top right menu.
- Click on the Discussion field. "Allow comments" will be displayed at the bottom.
- Disable Allow Comments.
If you want to disable comments on each newly created page by default, you can do it like this: find the section in the "Settings -> Discussion" menu and uncheck the box called "Allow users to leave comments on new articles".
How to customize the home page?
If you're using WordPress, you probably don't want your home page to look like a blog post. You can fix this if you make it "static". Unlike the standardblog, where the first freshly created article will be displayed at the top every time, the configured "static" page displays the same content every time someone visits the site.
To set it up, do the following:
- Go to the section called "Settings -> Reading".
- Make a selection of the static page you saved. "Home" displays your home page, "Posts Page" is the first part of your blog (unless your entire property is a blog).
If you don't designate a static page with your settings, WordPress will copy your newest posts and display them on the front page.
Change settings in the sidebar
Most WordPress themes have a sidebar on the right side (sometimes on the left side). In the case when you want to get rid of it or edit elements, removing unnecessary ones, do the following:
- Go to "Appearance -> Widgets" in the WordPress tools menu.
- At this point, you can use drag and drop to include different "boxes" in the sidebar, or exclude unnecessary items.
There is also an HTML field, a text field where you can apply HTML code. If you have the knowledge to do so, just leave it alone.
Install plugins for better functionality
Plugins are extensions designed to improve the functionality of WordPress by adding new features and functionality to your site that are not automatically built into it. These are shortcuts so that your resource can do what you want without having to develop a feature from scratch.
You can use a variety of plugins to do just about anything, from enabling a photo gallery and submit form to serious site optimization and online store development.
Installing such a plugin is easy. To start the installation, look for the "Plugins -> Add New" section and then start searching. Remember that there are approximately 25,000 free and varied extensions available. Installation is very simple - once you find the right plugin, just click "Install".
Which extensions are the most popular?
The following are popular WordPress plugins that many webmasters find in demand:
- Contact form. This is an amazing feature, as visitors can fill out a form and then send you an email without logging in to their personal email provider. In case you want to create something similar, be sure to install this plugin.
- Yoast SEO designed for WordPress: When you want to make your site more SEO friendly, this plugin is a must. It's available for free and works amazingly. You will be able to edit title tags, all meta descriptions, and much more, and all actions will be from the page itself. Thus, you no longer have to deal with WordPress settings for a long time.
- GoogleAnalytics: Would you like to track all visitors to the resource and their behavior? To do this, putplugin, sync it with your Google account and you're ready to go.
If you followed the steps in the above guide, you should have a fully functional WordPress site. Keep updating and improving it for success.
