How To Create A Website From Scratch | A Short Introductory
It may seem intimidating but creating a website really isn’t all that hard! Going back to when I was in school, I had always found coding and designing websites rather interesting and I was fortunate enough to be able to take a few classes that taught me the basics.
However, I was never really taught exactly what you needed to know when creating a website from scratch. Now, exactly one year later I have graduated from school and have launched my own website with a bare minimum amount of knowledge.
So, if I can do it I am sure you can as well. In this blog, I will be covering the basic steps that you will need to know in order to get the ball rolling.
Since I am familiar with WordPress, I will be telling you the basics of how to create a WordPress website from scratch, but these instructions can be followed for any type of website you plan on creating.
Find a Domain
A domain in the most basic of terms is simply what you are naming your website.
It is what your audience will type into their search bar when they want to access your website. The fun part is that you can have your own custom domain! You have the ability to choose what you want your website to be called.
However, what you want to call your website might not actually be available and we will get into that right now!
So, you can purchase a domain from numerous websites. GoDaddy.com, Bluehost.com, Hover.com, Dreamhost.com are all websites where you can purchase your own domain name.
(I personally used Bluehost and I will tell you why later!)
The good news is that websites like GoDaddy will give you alternative options for what you initially wanted.
The Pricing:
Domains can range anywhere from $4.00-$1,000, all depending on how broad the name is and what extension you choose. Quick fact: Google once forgot to renew their domain name and a man bought it for only $12.00.
Extensions Are:
- .com
- .org
- .us
- .lol (yes you can have a domain extension called .lol)
Check to see if the domain name you want is available right now!
Choosing A Hosting Service
I don’t know that much about the Internet, but did you know that it isn’t just some crazy thing that resides on a satellite in space?
In an effort for people to be able to access your website, you are going to need to acquire a hosting service that can put your website on their server.
A server is just a fancy term for a special type of computer where data (like your website) is stored. And guess what? That space isn’t free.
The next step in creating a website is finding a hosting service. Just as there are websites to purchase domains, there are businesses that sell hosting services.
Bluehost.com, HostGator.com and Hover.com are places that offer hosting services.
So, back to what I mentioned before, I actually didn’t purchase my domain name because I signed up for a hosting service with Bluehost and got a custom domain name for FREE!
That’s right, these companies figured it out and are a one-stop-shop for everything you need…who would have thought?
Pricing:
Depending on the amount of space you want, the additional features you need and other factors will influence what service you purchase. Hosting services typically range from $2.00/month to upwards of hundreds of dollars a month. You most likely will just need a basic package.
Most website hosts charge everything upfront but break the payments down by month when advertising to make you think it is a great deal! All hosts have different features. Do your research and make a choice based on what you need.
Basic Starting Prices:
- BlueHost – ($2.95/month)
- HostGator – ($4.17/month)
- WordPress – ($3.95/month)
- A2Hosting – ($3.92/month)
Find a CMS (Content Management System)
A content management system (CMS) is the program you will use to create, upload and manage your website content.
The most popular content management systems are WordPress, Drupal and Joomla. All offer different features but basically are used for the same thing.
WordPress is what I chose because it is what currently 30% of what all websites use, plus it is easy to learn. So, unless you want to be different, I suggest going with WordPress.
Now diving more into CMS, you are going to need to know the basics of HTML and CSS. There are plenty of tutorials available to use for reference.
Setting Up Your CMS
Everything up to this point is the basic universal steps you need to follow to begin building a website from scratch. Now we are going to begin talking about designing your website with WordPress.
Download WordPress from WordPress.org and upload the files to your File Manager on your hosting service. Type the URL into your search bar that takes you to your WordPress dashboard.
Now, what you are going to want to do is select a free WordPress theme. This is what is going to make your website layout and functionality. Each theme is different and there are plenty of cool ones to choose from.
Once you select a theme you are going to want to make a child theme and activate that. Learn more about that here.
Next, you are going to want to install plugins. WordPress plugins add cool features to your website and can make the designing process that much easier. For example, I used Elementor for designing pages and Yoast for SEO guidance.
Styling
Styling is probably one of the more complicated parts of creating a website from scratch, especially if you have no prior knowledge.
CSS is what is used to make your website look the way you want. Color, links, titles, fonts and more is what you can do with CSS.
If you ever get stuck or need to learn CSS, there are plenty of guides, tutorials and help forums that will teach you the basics.
Uploading Content
Your website needs pages, words, images, videos and links! You can create and upload content directly through the WordPress dashboard.
When creating pages make sure to create a very descriptive URL. SEO tip: Refrain from using numbers, special characters or all-around non-descriptive URLs when creating pages.
All WordPress themes have functionality built into them that allow you to create posts. Typically posts are what you use to blog. What you’re reading right now is actually a post page.
Creating A Navigation
All the web pages you create a not useful if your audience can’t find them!
Create and style a navigation menu, found in the dashboard. A rule of thumb is to place the most valuable links up at the top of your website. WordPress also allows you to create sub-menus. Say you have a main portfolio page of your work but want a separate page for photographs specifically.
You can create a child page for the parent page and apply the same hierarchy to your menu layout.
Parent Page:
www.wykasworld.com/portfolio
Child Page:
www.wykasworld.com/portfolio/photography
Submitting a Sitemap
The last basic step you need to do for creating a website from scratch is creating and uploading a sitemap.
Your sitemap consists of all the PAGES (not posts) that are on your website. The purpose of them is to help Google bots and other search engine bots crawl your website.
Crawling is when Google or other search engine bots “crawl” the Internet to find the valuable information that they believe to be relevant enough for what people are searching for.
In simpler terms, a sitemap is what contributes to increasing your website’s visibility on search engines.
Congrats!
Congratulations you now have some basic knowledge on how to start a website from scratch. A lot of what I have covered can be confusing but I will continue to upload blogs in an effort to help you with more advanced aspects of launching, designing and managing your website.
For now, take the time to learn the basics and begin building your own website!