All three are entrepreneurs, but what do they have in common? They all need one. It's easier and more complicated than ever now. With site builders, non-designers and non-techies can Create Your Own Website. But just because it's simple doesn't mean it's right. We have a lot of experience and know what to avoid. Hostinger with WordPress is, in our opinion, the best way to start. Continue reading to learn how.
Why Make A Website?
Even if your company is new, a website is a wise investment. To expand your customer base and gain access to a global audience, you need an online presence that is permanent.
Sure, social media can help you reach more people. But you're still at the mercy of algorithms and ever-changing rules that don't provide the stability needed to grow your business.
Not to mention the thousands of other businesses, influencers, and profiles vying for your social media attention.
What if Instagram updates its algorithm again? For example, when your loyal fans can't interact with you on Facebook.
If you only communicate with your fans via social media, you risk losing them if an algorithm changes.
But a website is yours. Worry about changing algorithms or if your loyal readers can still see your content? You gain control and flexibility while building a trustworthy brand.
Create Your Own Website is an important piece of online real estate that also sells you. You decide how it looks and works, and it keeps you in touch with your customers and fans.
The Cost Of Creating A Website
We do not recommend building a website for free. For starters, you may not be pleased with the outcome. For two, you can't use your own domain name, get limited storage and bandwidth, and must run ads.
The good news is that avoiding these limitations doesn't cost a fortune.
With just a few dollars per month, you can get reliable (and fast) web hosting and a domain name.
Hostinger is our preferred host for new sites. Starting at $1.99 per month, you can get four years of hosting for less than $100.
You'll also need a domain name, which costs $10-$15 per year. WHOIS privacy for that domain name is $10/year.
If you upgrade to Hostinger's WordPress Starter package, you get a free domain name. This one costs $3.99 per month, but it includes a free domain name and a server optimised for WordPress websites.
With an initial investment of $150-250, you can get four years of reliable hosting and a domain name.
That said, you don't have to sign for four years to get the best deal. If you have less than $100 to invest today, a one-year plan is an option.
The initial concept of the website can be up and running in just a few hours. Expect to spend three to five days designing, copywriting, and perfecting your website.
The exact time depends on the platform's complexity and how quickly you master it, but it's a good estimate.
9 Steps To Create Website
To get started, let's look at how to build a website in minutes.
Choose A Hosting Plan
Hostinger is a popular web hosting service with many advantages. It's reliable, has great features, and most importantly, is dirt cheap.
To visit Hostinger's website, click here. When the page loads, click Start Now and pick a plan from the list.
We recommend the WordPress Starter plan, shown in the image above. Hostinger offers all the convenience and features you need, plus a free domain name.
Remember that the rate is for a four-year plan. After selecting, you can see rates for one-year, two-year, and month-to-month commitments.
Follow Hostinger's Setup Wizard.
Complete your personal and billing information to complete your Hostinger web hosting purchase.
Fill in all fields carefully.
After you pay, Hostinger's easy setup wizard takes over.
You'll need to know who the site is for, what kind of site it is, and your Custom Build Website experience. These help Hostinger's wizard customise your setup.
Then pick your site's platform. Most sites should use WordPress. You can use WordPress and WooCommerce to create a web store as easily as a blog or business homepage.
On the next screen, you can choose a theme or template. You can also create a new WordPress site from scratch.
After that, you're almost done with the setup! Now we'll get that domain name from Hostinger.
Choose Your Domain Name
Your domain name is your URL. Ours is www.thecustomwebsites.com.
It's what users type into their browser to access your content. That's why it should be relevant, catchy, and closely reflect your business plan.
You may face difficulties here.
Firstly, your desired domain must be available. If you use common words and keywords, another company may already own the domain.
So choose unique domain names.
After choosing your site's platform and template, Hostinger offers two options. Hostinger lets you buy a new domain or connect an existing one.
The domain is free with the WordPress Starter plan! Simply select the left-hand option and enter a domain name in the field below.
After registering your domain, pay an extra $10 per year for WHOIS privacy. Yes, you pay a little more, but your private information (like name and address) is protected. It's worth it.
After that, Hostinger will finish the setup and you're ready to go!
Install WordPress
Hostinger, fortunately, instals WordPress. So there's nothing left to do but design and populate your website.
After setup, you'll see this screen:
- Cliquet et vous serez redirigé vers votre Hostinger dashboard.
- You can see the WordPress version Hostinger installed for you.
- You don't need to do anything now. The option to reinstall WordPress (or another site on your Hostinger plan) is located at the bottom of the same dashboard section.
- To begin editing your WordPress site, simply scroll above the WordPress version and click Edit Website. This will take you into WordPress to edit your Custom Website.
- Be prepared for more details! Rehydrate, and then focus.
- Examine every tab and section of the WordPress menu bar to learn the WordPress UX. Posts, Media, Pages, Comments, and Settings are self-explanatory.
We're fine-tuning basic settings to improve your experience. Here are three quick steps to get started:
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Title And Tagline For Your Website
On the WordPress black menu bar to the left of the screen, select Settings, then General. Fill in the Site Title and Tagline fields.
An optional tagline You can leave it blank if you don't have a tagline. You can also update them later.
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Create Website Permalinks
For those unaware, permalinks define the individual web page addresses or URLs of your website.
The best URL structure for SEO and aesthetics.
Consider the options: yourdomainname.com/about or yourdomainname.com/2018/aboutp.
Go to Settings, then Permalinks from the WordPress sidebar. On your screen are options. The post name field.
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Publish Your WordPress Site
Make your website public if you want Google to index it.
To do so, go to Settings and select Reading. Under the Search Engine Visibility field, uncheck Discourage search engines from indexing this site (or ensure it is not checked).
Installing A WordPress Theme
WordPress themes design your website. While you can change themes, you should choose one carefully. It's much harder to change themes and ensure all content is copied correctly once your site is live.
You have a default theme now. But with a few clicks, you can customise your site's appearance.
Go to the WordPress.org directory.
Many free and premium themes are available. You can also look into third-party websites like ThemeIsle and aThemes for more options.
If the theme you want is available on WordPress.org, you can install it by following the steps below.
Go to Appearance, then Theme on the WordPress dashboard. At the top, click New.
Enter the theme name (we chose “Hestia”) in the search bar and click Install under the theme name.
After the installation, click Activate to fully enable it on your website. After installation, this button will appear in place of the Install button.
The procedure for installing a premium theme is slightly different.
To download your theme, follow the steps. The files are usually downloaded in.zip format. Save it.
Return to your WordPress dashboard and select Appearance > Themes. On the Themes page, upload.
Upload Theme. This opens a file input dropdown. Click Browse… and select the downloaded.zip file. Install Now.
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Select And Install WordPress Plugins
Plugins make your website work better than themes.
At the same time, don't download too many plugins. Too many will only slow down your website, which you must avoid!
As you browse plugins, consider your needs. There are plugins for almost everything, from SEO to contact forms to social media sharing buttons. Don't forget that you can always add more plugins later.
How to get a plugin:
- Open WordPress dashboard.
- Click Plugin, then New.
- In the search bar, type the plugin's name.
- After clicking Install, click Activate.
- The plugin is now installed and listed in your WordPress dashboard menu. Click the plugin to edit settings, add content, etc.
Create Website Pages
This is where you create excellent website content.
Pages include Home, About, Contact, and Portfolio. Consider adding a blog page to your website to increase traffic and SEO.
Pages are a menu item in WordPress. Click Add New in the submenu that appears.
You can write and Web Design USA on the entire canvas. When you're done, click Publish.
You can edit and revise pages at any time, as well as create new pages.
Improve Navigation
You've completed all essential tasks at this point.
The last step is to tweak your website's navigation to make your content more digestible. Plus, getting brownie points with the SERPs doesn't hurt!
How to change menus and widgets.
Menu Rework
Depending on your theme, you'll have more or less options for customising your menu.
On your WordPress dashboard sidebar, click Appearance, then Menus.
The left side shows all the menu pages, while the right shows the menu structure and settings. Drag and drop the menu items to reorder them.
After that, click Save Menu to save your settings.
Modify Widgets
Widgets are content blocks that can be placed anywhere on your website. To access the Widget page, go to Appearance and select Widgets.
This is how it should look:
- To add a widget, simply grab it from the left and drag it to the right. Again, you have complete creative control over your Custom Designed Websites—just keep in mind the customer‘s needs.
- Your site isn't live yet, so you can preview it and tweak the menus, widgets, and themes until you're happy.
- The design and layout of your site takes the most time.
Go Live!
Hostinger installs WordPress and prepares your site for launch. Done tinkering with the design and adding content, it's ready to go!
Just make sure your domain points to the new site. You can find it in your Hostinger dashboard's WordPress section. Hostinger will notify you if any issues arise. If you can click Edit Website, your domain is properly connected.
And now it's time for visitors!
Follow-Up
The first thing you want to do is relax and enjoy your hard work. Isn't it stunning?
Next, use best practices to increase website traffic. Create blog posts and other marketing assets and publish them on your website.
This includes keyword research, SEO best practices, tracking progress, and building an email list. and so on.
Consider it a never-ending process of improvement and growth. Here are two The Custom Websites posts to help you succeed:
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