As useful as the internet is, it can also be incredibly confusing, especially when it comes to creating websites. In the past, people needed to know HTML code to design a webpage, which if you’ve ever seen HTML code looks like gibberish. Thankfully, several companies have created user-friendly sites to help you create a website. They give you a template and have the code already set for you. Creating a space for your business in the World Wide Web is important. It means being able to carve out a niche that’s dedicated just to your product. How do you create one though?
Photograph from LiveInCostaRica.com
The very first thing that you need to do to create a website is reserve your domain. If you don’t know what a domain is, it’s the site name (like ours is creativeincomeblog.com). You’ll need to use a domain registry like Go Daddy, NameCheap, or 1&1, to search for the domain name you’d like and then purchase it. The prices can range from $8 bucks a year to $24 or higher. If you’re set on a domain name and it’s already taken, don’t worry. They usually give you the option of asking the person or company that has the domain name if they’d sell it to you. If you don’t want to deal with that hassle, you’ll have to keep searching for another available domain name.
Once you’ve got your domain, you’ll need to decide what type of website you want. While there are various options out there, it’s safe to say there two dominant or popular types: Blog and static website. A blog is like this site. It has content that’s constantly being added to it, it enables comments from visitors, and goes from top to bottom with the newest content on top of the page. A static webpage is less interactive, kind of like a brochure online. Think of a restaurants website – they’ll have a few pages with their menu, address, and back story of the restaurant. It’s all information that will most likely not change often or at all. There are hybrids of the two, sites that have the standard pages and a blog. It’s up to you what you’d feel most comfortable with and what would work best for your business.
After you’ve gotten your domain and decided what type of site you’d like, it’s time to build! Unless you hire someone or know HTML and plan to do it on your own (even then you need software), you’ll want to use a host or management system. There are plenty of companies and software you can use. As far as blog hosts go, WordPress and Blogger are definitely two of the more popular choices. This site uses WordPress. It’s super user-friendly and completely free (unless you upgrade). They also are offer a lot of features to make your blog look more like a website with plugins, widgets, and other gadgets. Tumblr is another blog form that gives you the option to make your blog look more like a website, but still function like a blog.
If you’d rather steer clear of the blog route, you could check out sites like Jimbo. Whereas the free blog hosts generally give you more limited options as far as design, this doesn’t. Jimbo gives you the ability to add chat, social links, maps, music and more, to make it more interactive. It also gives you far more options as far as design. Both options give you the ability to create a link to an online store.
If you’re looking for more information on how to create a webpage check out these articles:
Do you have a website? How did you create it?
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