How to Start a Website, a Guide for Novices
Build Your Own Website, No Web Design Skills Required
Aug 29, 2009
Website design might seem like a dark art to many people, but starting a website is relatively easy with the wealth of low-cost and free web hosting companies and web builder packages now available online.
Whilst time poor small businesses and individuals may need to use professional web design services costing thousands of dollars, those with the time and dedication can have fun building their own websites and save a small fortune along the way.
Create Your Own Website Using a Blog
A blog is just a website under a different guise using frequent updates which are often hot topics in the news. Popular blogging sites are Wordpress.com and Blogger.com where anyone can set up a blog and domain name for free. Users have access to a variety of templates with different options to customize their blogs and, using simple cut and paste tools, they can quickly set up a site then just type away to create the content.
The downside of using free blogging software is the limitation on domain name which always carries the name of the host site e.g. site name at wordpress.com plus the fact that free blogs don’t allow users to use advertising like Google Adsense on the site.
Start a Website Using a Free Web Hosting Company
Individuals and small businesses needing a low-cost information website for marketing purposes may want to consider free web hosting companies like Yola.com. These web design companies make it easy for the novice to start a website using customizable templates and drag and drop tools to place text and graphics within a variety of one, two or three column layouts.
Graphics can be uploaded and contact forms and various other options added for a user-friendly simple website. Yola even allows advert and affiliate link placement so users can monetize their sites if desired.
It is advisable to purchase a personalized domain name for around $10 which is best done through the chosen web hosting company as additional charges are incurred to transfer a domain name from one host to another.
Use Yahoo Sitebuilder to Build a Website
Many people use Yahoo Sitebuilder to quickly build a website using their own domain name. With a variety of templates to choose from, simply select a design, choose a layout, determine the number and names of pages, enter text, add a logo and photos if required then build the site.
Yahoos Sitebuilder tools are free and although web hosting costs from $8.96 per month, many users prefer the simple set-up where you effectively fill in pre-defined boxes according to template layout rather than having to drag and drop text and graphics to obtain the required layout.
Downsides of Free Web Hosting and Web Building Packages
Whilst building and even hosting a website for free sounds attractive, it’s important to understand some key limitations associated with “free” sites:
- Template designs are usually quite basic, after all they are free!
- Unless users purchase their own domain name, the name of the web hosting company stays as part of the URL. This does not make for a short catchy domain name nor is it very professional.
- Free hosting companies sometimes go offline due to technical problems or because of their small size relative to the number of users. Businesses that have to be online 24/7 should take note.
- Free sites have lots of restrictions in terms of size of website and graphic upload capabilities not to mention lack of opportunity for ad placement. Many also require web owners to display the web host name and link on each page plus advertisements to link partners as this is how they make money.
- Good SEO (search engine optimization) techniques need to be employed to drive traffic through correct choice of keywords; free hosting sites give little or no help on this critical topic.
For the novice who wants to take a basic website to the next level, many of these restrictions can be overcome by upgrading to a “premium package” with the chosen web host. Enjoy unlimited page space with hundreds of high-tech templates, get a unique domain name without the name of the host company and receive dedicated SEO support; all at a price of course!
Create a Website
A low-cost or even free website can be created by anyone with a few hours to spare using one of the above options. Provided the limitations are understood and users simply want to build an information site with limited commercial opportunities, they offer a cheap way for thousands of small businesses and individuals to build an online presence.
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