How to Build a Website

 

Choosing the best web hosting provider is only one of many steps required in building a site, but it's an important step nonetheless. There are other things to consider like choosing a platform or service such as WordPress, Squarespace, Wix, etc., which offers the most user friendly interface (UI). Then there are various plugins/applications available on those platforms that can enhance functionality, usability, performance, SEO ranking, etc.

The following is a list of some basic tips to help get you started with how to build a website from scratch. This article will focus on using SiteOrigin Web Builder for this example. It’s not meant to be comprehensive — just something to give you an idea of what to expect. If you have any questions about specific features, please ask us! We're here to answer them all.

1. Choose a Platform That Suits Your Needs And Budget

There are hundreds of websites out there hosted by thousands of different companies offering countless products and services. All these sites run on similar technologies and frameworks so picking the right company is an essential first step when deciding where to host your new business website.

SiteOrigin has been around since 2004 and hosts over 1 million active domains worldwide. Its customers range from small businesses to global enterprises and include Fortune 500 Companies, Law Firms, Non-Profits, Startups, Universities, Schools, Churches & Synagogues, Physicians, Dentists, Real Estate Agents, Architects, Engineers, Restaurants, Retailers, Publishers, Travel Agencies, Charities, Financial Advisors...and more.

2. Sign Up For A Plan That Suits You Best

After signing up for a plan, you'll receive access to SiteOrigin's intuitive UI editor called "My Site". The My Site tool allows users to create their entire website without needing programming knowledge. Users simply drag elements onto the screen to add text boxes, images, buttons, links, forms, galleries, videos, maps, audio, video clips, social media icons, widgets, etc.

3. Pick a Design Template You Love

You don't need to spend hours trying to find a suitable design template among dozens of designs offered by SiteOrigin. By default, you'll see six templates including Business, Professional, Portfolio, Blog, Magazine Layout, and Gallery. Each design comes with multiple color schemes, layout options, header styles, background textures, page backgrounds, fonts, colors, logos, icons, animation effects, and much more.

4. Customize Your Design With Apps

One way to personalize your design is through customization apps. These tools allow you to change text, remove unwanted items, adjust font size and style, change image sizes, rearrange pages, move objects between pages, add additional pages, delete existing ones, hide certain parts, add photos, upload files, insert Google Maps, embed YouTube Videos, add callouts, use HTML code, add hyperlinks, etc.

5. Upload Your Own Content To Create Beautiful Websites

It may take time to learn how to edit each element within your design. Fortunately, once you've mastered the basics, it takes very little effort to customize your theme further. One of our favorite ways to do this is to add your own original content via custom fields. Once added, visitors to your site can fill out form details, signup for newsletters, request information, make purchases, submit articles, post comments, share posts, start discussions, send messages, connect with others, etc.

6. Add Multiple Languages Using Translations Applets

If you want to translate your website into another language, you must copy, paste, and modify every single word manually. But if you choose to install a translation applet inside SiteOrigin, then you'll never go through that process again because they already did everything for you. They automatically detect languages, load translations, update your content, show correct currency conversion rates, display correctly formatted dates and times, etc.

7. Control Who Can View Specific Pages On Your Sites

When creating a public facing website, you should limit who has access to certain areas of your site. Luckily, SiteOrigin gives you complete control over who gets permission to view certain pages. Just click on Settings " Security Center" and set permissions accordingly.

8. Install Extensions From Our Marketplace Of More Than 100 Free Plugins/Apps

Extensions come in handy when adding special functionality to your site. Some examples would be contact forms, live chat support, PayPal payments, photo gallery applications, shopping carts, etc. When installing a plugin, you can also select whether you'd rather keep it private or publicly visible.

9. Manage Your Domain Name(s)

A Uniquely Identifying Address Is Essential In Today's World Of Search Engines. Having a.com address means nothing unless your website appears at the top of search results. Choosing a catchy ".net", ".org," or ".info" domain extension means people searching online will often check out your site before clicking on yours.

10. Optimize Your New Website For SEO Ranking

Once your site is built, it's time to optimize it for better rankings in major search engines such as Google, Bing, Yahoo!, Ask.com, AOL, MSN, Digg, Deliciojus, Propeller, StumbleUpon, Technorati, Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Reddit, Ezilon, etc. Most importantly, optimizing your site makes sure that potential clients visiting your site know exactly what it is you offer.

11. Promote Your Site Through Social Media Marketing Channels

Promoting your website couldn't be easier than sharing news updates, blog entries, pictures, quotes, videos, podcasts, testimonials, invitations, coupons, surveys, announcements, press releases, etc. on popular social networking channels. Many marketers have found success promoting their products and services on social networks because it provides immediate feedback from interested parties. Additionally, social marketing helps increase brand awareness.

12. Make Money Off Your Website - Offer Subscriptions Or Advertising Space

Offering subscriptions or advertising space to third party providers is another way to generate revenue off your website. This method works well for ecommerce stores offering recurring monthly memberships. Other possibilities would include selling banner ads, displaying advertisements, providing free consultations, charging for events, showing local listings, offering consulting services, etc.

13. Sell Products Directly Via Checkout Processes

Selling directly from your site eliminates the hassle of having to deal with shipping charges, returns, refunds, customer complaints, product delivery issues, etc. Plus, you won't have to worry about processing credit card transactions or setting up merchant accounts. Simply collect payment from buyers after sending them confirmation emails.

14. Generate Reports For Analytics Purposes

Analytics reports provide useful data regarding traffic patterns, visitor demographics, sales trends, competition analysis, market research, etc. Reporting capabilities vary across platforms. For instance, SiteOrigin offers detailed statistics on visits, subscribers, orders, cart abandonment rate, etc.

15. Integrate Third Party Applications Into Your Website

Integrating third party applications is a great way to extend the usefulness of your website. An excellent place to look for good integration solutions would be the Integration marketplace. Here you'll find tons of readymade integrations that can easily be installed on your websites. Examples would be integrating PayPal Payments, MailChimp Campaign Management, Zoho CRM, Xero Accounting Software, Shopify Shopping Cart System, FreshBooks Online Bookkeeping Service, etc.

16. Keep Track Of Everything With Help Of Admin Panel

Admin panels let you manage everything related to managing your site. Features typically included are security settings, analytics, reporting, backups, upgrades, extensions, themes, etc.