How to build your own website: Complete guide

 

Creating a website is an important part of a company’s business. Whether you are a small business owner, have a start-up company or run a larger company, existing and future customers expect a fast, attractive and well-thought-out website.

 

In this article, we explain what you should keep in mind when creating a website. How it actually works and how long it takes.

 

4 steps to create your own website

1.   Find the right hosting

The first step is to get a web host that you can have your website on. A web host can be briefly described as the server where your website will be located. This is where the website and everything related is stored, and the company you hire makes sure that your website is constantly online.

 

If you do not have a web host, you must have a server or a computer connected at all times. This will cost significantly more and requires some technical knowledge when it comes to making settings on IP addresses and DNS (domain name system).

 

If you do not have the technical knowledge, we recommend that you leave this to a web host who takes care of all this for you.

 

2.   Buying a domain name

The domain name is the address of your website, ie the web address and this is also important for getting traffic to your website. Choose a domain name that suits your company and brand.

 

The domain name should preferably be simple and short as it makes it easier for potential visitors to remember and find your website.

 

Read more: This is how much a web page costs.

 

3.   Choosing the Approach to Creating the Website

Once you have found a good web host and domain name that suits your business, it’s time to start creating your website. There are several different ways to create your own website and we will go through the most common approaches overall.

Coding your own website

You can choose to create your own website by coding. This requires a high degree of technical knowledge and takes a relatively long time to execute. It can be anything from a few weeks to several months depending on the knowledge and how complex the website you are going to build. The advantage of this method is that you can create your own website exactly as you want it, without any restrictions and that you own everything from design to functions.

 

If you are technically savvy in PHP, CSS and Javascript, among other things, you can certainly create this yourself. If, on the other hand, you are in the seat of not having the time or knowledge, it may be worth buying a website from an agency that specializes in it.

 

Creating a website with website software

Using website software has its advantages in its simplicity. Here you can create a website easily and there is usually a “drag and drop” function which means that you can easily drag images and text into finished templates. You can also easily work with color fonts and fonts.

 

However, there are some limitations where you can not completely choose what your website should look like and if you are looking for more complex functions, these may not be available, or it costs extra to make them available.

 

Usually a monthly cost is associated with having these website programs where it costs to access all the design templates, features and in some cases you do not own your own domain.

 

Creating a website with a CMS system: The

last approach we will go through is the Content Management System (CMS), also called a publishing tool. Through these CMS systems, you can manage your website and its content such as images and texts. The largest and most popular CMS system is WordPress, which is used by everything from beginners to highly experienced people.

 

We recommend that you use WordPress if you choose to create a website with a CMS system. Getting started with WordPress is relatively easy and many web hosts also offer “one-click installations”, which allow you to install WordPress in just a few seconds. These allow you to easily connect your self-purchased domain name to WordPress but also other CMS systems.

 

There may be a certain learning curve for you who are a beginner, but overall WordPress is the most competent system at a reasonable price, functional and good with extensions / plugins that can simplify your work with the website. We have also compiled the guide to the best WordPress extensions where you get tips on good extensions for your website.

 

If you feel that the time does not exist or that you want someone more experienced who creates your website with a CMS system, we at Looplabz can help you with WordPress or any other platform you want to build on.

 

4.   Develop the website

Now the simple job is done! You have chosen the web host, domain name and what approach you want to create your website. If you choose to either develop the website via coding or CMS system, we recommend that your next step is to create a prototype of the website, i.e. a graphic design.

 

This will of course facilitate how you want the website to look and how visitors should navigate. It also makes it easier if you want to make design changes as it is much easier to make changes in these prototype tools versus making changes directly in, for example, WordPress.

 

 

Additional tips for your website

An important aspect to take your website to an extra level is to work with its search engine optimization (SEO) to rank better on search engines, especially Google. This is a good way to get traffic to the website and should you need help with this, you can contact us to help you.

 

Another tip is to get an email marketing service. We are not referring to a private gmail or outlook mail. The purpose of having this type of service is to be able to design your email templates, manage subscriptions for newsletters, for example, create automated campaigns and analyze your email campaigns to optimize them.

 

Read more: 10 simple and quick tips on web design

 

Frequently asked questions

 

What steps should I keep in mind when creating a website?

There are four overall steps you should keep in mind when creating your website. The first step is to find a reasonable web host where you, among other things, store the website. The second step is to find a good domain name, which is the actual URL of your website. The third step is to choose which approach you want to create a website on, for example, code it yourself. The fourth step is to develop your website.

 

What approaches can I take to create a website?

The three most common approaches to creating a website are to either code your own website, use a website program or create via a content manager system. It is much more difficult to code if you do not have knowledge in this, while website programs and content manager systems are much simpler.

 

How long does it take to create a website?

There are many factors that affect how long it takes to create a website. What does your knowledge and experience look like in creating websites? How many subpages and functions should be included?

How much info in the form of text and pictures should be available? It can take anywhere from a few hours to create a very simple website to several months if it is a complex and extensive project.