For new businesses, building a website can seem daunting, and those lacking firsthand experience may feel lost. Luckily, with the right preparation, it’s possible to build a straightforward business website yourself. Thumbtack reports that a freelance web designer costs from $640 how to design a website to $1,000. Upwork reports a $15 to $30/hour range for hiring a web developer on their platform. This is on the low end and accurate pricing for building a small website. Last, it’s time to install an app from the HubSpot marketplace to extend the functionality of your website.
Because of that, websites built with Wix and Squarespace sometimes have that standard, templatized appearance that makes them all look the same. It’s tough to stand out to your target audience if your website looks like your competitors’. For example, if you’re building an ecommerce website, the purpose would be to list products through an online store.
Fundamentals of Creating a Website
Some designers use slick tools like Balsamiq or Webflow to create their wireframes. I personally like to go back to basics and use the trusty ole paper and pencil. The sitemap provides the foundation for any well-designed website.
While every CMS is different, it’s typically easy to add and remove pages on whichever platform you use. Let's take a closer look at the process on WordPress, for example. On more flexible platforms like CMS Hub, you'll be able to edit your theme's global settings to make sitewide changes. That means you can make changes to your font and other elements in one place and they'll be implemented across all pages on your site. You can visit a domain site, purchase and register a domain name there, and then connect it to your hosting account. Both Godaddy.com and Namecheap.com are cheap, secure, and effective options for buying a domain name, with added benefits such as SSL security and Office 365 inboxes.
Design your website elements
Nonetheless, both options save you a ton of time as well, as it would take months to learn how to code and create a website from scratch. However, those with some website design experience may opt to use WordPress.org since it supports full customization. It’s 100% free to use and offers complete control over your website’s design. These options give anyone the ability to design a website from scratch, tailoring it and optimizing it to suit their needs, whether it’s for business, personal or e-commerce.
Now that you’ve set the foundations for your digital design, it’s time to get practical and prepare the content that will be featured on your website. This includes all of your web content - images, text, logo, videos, and more. It will be useful if customers have a lot of questions related to your products and services. Little by little, a small community may even form around your business.
Step 1: Register a domain name (www.)
It allows you to publish all information on your goods or services, tell consumers about the main advantages, post photos and reviews from buyers. The visual design is a way to communicate and appeal to the site's users. Getting your keywords and key-phrases right is essential for the success of any website.
- Remember, however, that you can always come back later to write more content.
- This tool can analyze any website and determine which sections or elements users will focus on the most.
- The more content you create, the better your site will perform in the SERPs (all other things being equal).
- However, trends can vary over time, so it’s important to consider your brand identity and user experience when incorporating design elements.
- Once you've decided what type of hosting you need, you can pick a provider.
As far as actually doing the nuts and bolts building and design of your site, you also have plenty of options. You can hire someone to design and code a website, or you can try your own hand (if you're a novice, check out The Best Courses for Learning How to Build Websites). You can use an online service to create web pages, or build them offline using a desktop software tool. Or, if you're a coding dynamo, use a plain text editor to create a site from scratch. How you mix and match these decisions depends on your skills, time, budget, and gumption. There are user-friendly website builders like Hostinger, Wix, and WordPress with drag-and-drop functionality and pre-designed templates.