How To Guide
How To Create a Website
A free step-by-step guide to creating your brand new website in 30 minutes or less.
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This free, step-by-step guide walks you through every step you need to create a website (or a blog) for your business or brand in 30 minutes or less.
Step 1: Register a domain name
Step 2: Get a web hosting account
Step 3: Set up website through web hosting
Step 4: Add web pages and customize your website
Step 5: Connect your website to Google Search Console
Step 1: Register a domain name
Before you can create your next website, you will need a domain. A domain is the name of your website that people will use to search for your website. While you can sometimes get a domain name from your web host, we recommend purchasing your domain name separately because it’s usually cheaper in the long run and you will have full control over it.
If you find a domain name that works for your business or website, it is always a good idea to purchase it right away to ensure that no one else gets it before you. If you do not find the exact domain name you are searching for, don’t get discouraged. You can sometimes make minor tweaks to find a similar but workable alternative.
Where to register a domain name
Namecheap is a low-cost domain registrar. You can search their site for available domain names and register your domain name at very little cost.
No nonsense domain registration. You can also purchase SSL certificates.
Step 2: Get a web hosting account
There are hundreds of web hosts that offer WordPress-specific hosting. A web host will be a serve where your website will live on the internet. This is needed because without a server, your website will not be accessible to everyone on the Internet. A web host also offers added security and protection for your website. Choosing one can be overwhelming and time-consuming.
Depending on the traffic volume you expect to generate for your site and the size and complexity of the site, you will need to determine what kind of hosting to get. Most new websites will start out with a shared hosting environment which is more affordable and then migrate to a more robust cloud server environment as their site and traffic grow.
Shared hosting is available on:
- Siteground
- Hostinger
As you grow, you may want to move to a cloud hosting service where you can get your own server environment. Cloudways is among the most popular of these services.
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Try NameCheap
In addition to domain name registration, Namecheap also offers affordable hosting for your website.
We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
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Try SiteGroundInexpensive shared hosting web hosting with email. They also include a free domain with every account.
We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
Step 3: Set up website through web hosting
There are several platforms that are available for building a website. The one we recommend is WordPress. Creating your site using the free WordPress platform on a hosted server gives you the most creative freedom and control over your website. WordPress offers more themes and plugins than any other platform. These days you can often do anything you need in WordPress using an off-the-shelf solution that someone has already developed for you. Many of these tools offer free versions that your download and experiment with before purchasing the pro version. This means you can often try out your ideas with little up-front investment.
WordPress is a software that makes it simple for you to create your own website. Installing WordPress is typically pretty easy. Most web hosts offer a one-click solution for installing WordPress. If you already purchased web hosting, ask your web host how to install WordPress using their service.
If your web host does not have a one-click solution then you will most likely need to install WordPress manually. This is also pretty straightforward. Here’s how to install WordPress manually.
Step 4: Add web pages and customize your website
When you build your website in WordPress, there are many themes that you can use. There are thousands of free themes available. But you will probably want to purchase a professional theme to give you the most options. There are several themes that we recommend incuding:
- Kadence Themes
- Astra
- GeneratePress
In addition to the theme, you should also use a page builder. WordPress comes with its own page builder called Gutenberg, but if you something with more options and drag and drop simplicity you can never go wrong with Elementor. There is a free version of Elementor, but we highly recommend upgrading to the pro version.
Step 5: Connect your website to Google Search Console
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