Today, the Internet has taken a very important place in our lives. For a lot of people, it has even become a place where you can start and hope to make a career. This may also be the case for you.
Or maybe you just have a passion and you want to pass it on to other people around the world. In both cases, you want to create a website for it, but have no idea how to do it.
Well, the good news is that it's not that complicated. Above all, it does not necessarily require a lot of knowledge in the field. So, to help you, we will guide you in the 6 key steps to create a successful website as a beginner.
1) Determine how you want to create your website
The first thing to determine when you want to create a website is how you want to do it and for this there are several solutions that are preferred. The first and most expensive is to go through a professional.
The latter will create your website from A to Z. The advantage is that if you have specific ideas of what you want to do, he can integrate them very easily into the development of your website.
The main disadvantage of this method, however, is that it is very expensive. Therefore, if you are an individual or a business starting out, you may not have the necessary budget.
However, this does not mean the end of your dream. Indeed, the second solution is to go through a tool that is widely used on the net, WordPress. This allows you to create a website simply, quickly and above all by guiding you throughout the process.
The weak point is that you will not necessarily be able to customize it, everything is already predetermined. But as we will see later, you can still add some features with plugins.
Finally, if your goal is to create an e-commerce platform, WordPress, is not necessarily the most suitable. In these cases, we recommend tools such as Shopify which is the best known.
2) Reserve your domain name
Now that you know how to create your site, it takes you to the next step which is purchasing the domain name and hosting. To do this, you will have to go to a website host.
You will thus be able to buy accommodation for a period which will generally be one year. In addition to this hosting, you will also be able to buy a domain name. If you have one in mind, type it when prompted.
A check will then take place to find out if it is free and if so, you can buy it, guaranteeing that no one other than you will have access to it. If it is not free, you will generally be offered similar domain names that are not yet used.
3) Create a graphic identity
Well that's it, you have your domain name with hosting and the general structure of your website installed. Things have progressed well, but there are still a few small steps.
The next step is graphics. Indeed, you want your site to be pretty and your readers/buyers too! So, for that, you have to put the package on your graphic identity to stand out. Consider using CSS tricks for your images and for the interface of the website to highlight them and make them even more attractive to your visitors.
We said it, if you are on WordPress or Shopify, you will be able to go through themes that will modify the implementation of your site. Some are free and others are paid. Take a stroll through the store and see which one best suits your desire and your budget.
In addition to this, you will be able to personalize the display and for this, several solutions are available to you. The first is to go through a professional who can do this for you. The second is to have knowledge in the field to do it yourself.
4) Customize your website
That's it, we are at the last stage of creation, that of personalization. As we told you, with WordPress and Shopify, you will still be able to customize your creation a little and this goes through what are called plugins.
These are small programs that have been developed by users and that will add functionality to your website. Let's take an example, you want to make a backup once in a while in case something goes wrong.
Well, you have a plugin to help you do that! Another example, the contact forms that you see on all sites. Well, you can also implement them on your site using plugins!
Be careful though because some plugins are not compatible with each other. What we advise you is to install them one by one and check that everything works correctly. In this way, in the event of a problem, you can quickly find the cause!
5) Once the website is created, do not neglect the content
That's it, your website is created and ready to use! Be careful now not to neglect the content. Indeed, this is also planned in advance. If you have an e-commerce site for example.
You will have to determine what you are selling and go through the creation of product sheets for each of the products you are going to put on sale! This is a very important step to exist on search engines.
Same thing if you are a site where articles will be published. You will need to create an editorial line, as well as have an idea of the rhythm of publication. In both cases, you can do it yourself or go through a professional. The advantage of a professional is that he will master SEO which will help you rank better on Google.
6) Secure your website
As the final step to building a successful website as a beginner, security is crucial to ensure user data is protected as well as site data.
It is important to have security measures in place to protect against common cyberattacks, such as SQL injections and brute force attacks.
This can be accomplished using a SSL certificate to encrypt data transmitted between the user's browser and the server, by configuring server-side firewalls and using security plugins for content management systems such as WordPress.
It is also important to regularly update the website and its components to ensure that the latest security vulnerabilities are patched. By ensuring security measures are in place and regularly updated, you can help protect website against potential attacks and ensure user trust.
Create a free website, a good idea?
Finally, let's conclude with a false good idea. You will see offers on the net offering you to create free websites. But this is not a good idea for several reasons.
The first is that these sites are overrun with advertisements and are therefore not very user-friendly. The second reason is that you don't have your own domain name. This plays in particular on the referencing of your site on Google.
Finally, performance and customization will be really bad. So avoid going through this solution, especially since between the domain name, hosting and a few additional expenses, it is possible to have your own website for a few dozen euros per year.