Are you developing your first site and needs help or step by step guide from scrap to a professional business site? You are in the right place as in this blog you will get an easy and step-by-step guide to create a site. You can create a site in the following three simple steps.
In the first step to create a site, you have to choose a platform or better known as CMS from a huge variety of available CMS.
What is a platform or CMS?
A few decades back, we need to be a master of coding to create a site. As most of the sites were created in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and PHP at that time. And it was not easy for everyone to grip those languages (PHP, JavaScript, etc.). Nowadays, it’s as easy as one can imagine to create a site. And this revolution in Computer Science especially in building the website is beholden to website platforms or content management systems (CMS).
Platform - An intermediate medium that will be used to design a website is known as a Platform or website platform. The platform is actually a Content management system (CMS) or foundation to a website.
A website platform or CMS lets you create a site without prior knowledge of coding by handling all the data and coding by itself at the backend. So, you are lucky enough to enjoy this revolutionized CS arena, just log in to a CMS to create a site without learning any programming language like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, or PHP.
Most Popular Platforms used to create a Site
There could be many factors upon which let say platform X looks the leading platform in popularity but on some other factors Platform X may not lead the table.
To understand this, we may have to discuss each platform briefly to reach at some point. But before moving further let’s look at the pie chart below,
It can be clearly seen in the chart, that nearly half of the CMS built sites are using WordPress. It’s a huge number that shows the insane popularity of WordPress. This can also be verified from another source as shown in the graph below.
We will discuss the some of top-rated CMS to understand what’s makes them popular & better than others.
WordPress is an open-source (Free to use and customize) CMS. You don’t have to pay a single penny to use WordPress like other website builders. Just install the WordPress on your hosting with a single click and start work to create a site. In addition, it gives you access to thousands of free themes & templates to create a website for any kind of business.
WordPress is an open-source CMS and it lets you modify its code to create a site with unlimited customization. This makes it the best platform for those who are looking for a platform to create a highly customized site.
The WordPress admin panel is user-friendly and the maximum customization is done through drag & drop. You just have to install a theme and start drag & drop to create a site.
n this digital era, your site will get the maximum of its traffic through smartphones. That’s why we want to create a responsive site for our business that can auto-adjust its display according to the devices. And, WordPress understands this need for the time by helping us to auto-create a responsive site.
WordPress has a vast, vibrant, experienced, and helping the community. As a newbie, you can ask for help in case of any difficulty. And you will surely get a lot of helping hand that provides amazing and ultimate solutions to your problems.
There are some alternatives to WordPress to create a site with some varying features. Some of the WordPress alternatives CMS to create a site have been discussed below,
Wix
Wix is an easy-to-use CMS with a quite simple admin panel. It lets you professionally design and create a site via simple drag and drop. Choose a template that suits your business idea to design and create your site in no time. But it's higher cost and impossibility to migrate the site to any other platform in the future are the reasons that bar a majority of people to create a site on Wix as compare to WordPress.
Squarespace
Squarespace is famous for its aesthetical web designs. If you are looking for a website builder to create a site via drag and drop that’s have a professional and stunning design then Squarespace could be your choice. But it will come at a cost in case of a higher monthly fee. With that, it does not support site migration which means you have to pay forever to have an active website for your business without setting any 2nd plan to move.
Drupal
Drupal is a powerful platform with amazing features to create a site. But Drupal is considered best for experienced coders as it’s not as easy to handle by beginners.
Joomla
Joomla is another open-source and free-to-use CMS to create a site. Joomla is too similar to WordPress but it’s not as easy as WordPress. One needs at least basic knowledge of programming languages to properly design and create a site on Joomla.
After the brief discussion on some of the top-notch website builders, we can better understand the reasons or secrets behind the popularity and success of WordPress.
So, as a beginner, you have to choose WordPress as your site CMS to design and create a site. Stop! Stop! Don't be in a hurry to go in search of a WordPress to install. There is a lot more to know to design and create a site for your business. Move forward to Step-2 and Step-3 to get complete information.
To create a site and to get it online, you have to get,
WordPress is a free but not a self-hosted platform like Shopify or some others. You will have to buy a domain and hosting service to create a site on WordPress. But don't be worried as it will only cost $3 to $5 per month as a beginner.
Having a quality hosting service is one of the secret keys to the success of a business site.
There are some sites like 000Webhost that are offering free domain and hosting services for a limited time and space. You can use the free domain name and hosting service for practice to create a site. But it is strongly recommended to never use the free domain name and hosting services to develop a professional website. Always try to build your brand name from the very first day by buying a domain name to create a site for your business.
Buying a domain name and hosting to create a site is one of the most critical and complicated steps. But you will get out of this tricky situation with us.
Some of the well-reputed and trusted domain and hosting providers are listed below,
All the above-listed sites have a specially designed plan for WordPress users. But if you want to create a website for small businesses and are short of budget. Then you can go with GoDaddy 1$ hosting plan with a free domain for a whole year. In case you are working on any certain
business websites and confused to choose a perfect hosting plan, you can take the help of a website building agency to get a perfect and cheap hosting plan.
If you already have a domain name and hosting then, move to step 3.
What should be a domain name for my website? It depends - depends on the purpose for which you want to create a site. Let's look at the Following short & precise rule book to choose a perfect domain name that represents your website in a true sense.
.com, .org, .shop, etc., at the end of your domain name are known as extensions. Technically speaking, it does not matter which domain extension you have chosen to develop a website for your business. Psychologically, Extensions matters. General people are used to .com, .org, and, .net extensions and they will try one of these extensions while searching your website.
So, it is suggested to go with .com, .org, or .net for your business website.
A domain name is a first and foremost thing that will represent your business. Look at the following expert's tips before finalizing a domain name.
Choose a branded domain name for your site. That can give emotional vibes to your business site's targeted audience. Like Hollywoodfiction.com is a branded and perfect name for a science fictional movies website instead of best-hollywoodfiction.com
Choose a short, touchy, and easy to spell and pronounce Domain name for your site. It will stay in users head for a long time whom once visited your website.
Look at your competitor's domain name to find how they successfully represent your chosen niche in a word or two.
Spend time in search of an ideal name, brainstorm to get an out of box idea. Remember, Domain names are the identity or face of your business. So, take your time to come out with the best name.
Feel Free to contact us if you have any questions, help, or suggestion to complete your site.
Log in to the C panel of your chosen hosting provider and head to the Apps section. Click on WordPress to install. After installation, set login and password to access the admin panel of WordPress.
Choose a free or premium theme that suits your business to install on WordPress. You can go to the WordPress theme directory to choose an ideal theme for your site from thousands of available free and premium themes.
From the WordPress admin panel click on Appearance and then click on the theme from the sub-menu. Click on add new theme.
Appearance > Themes > Add new Theme
To customize the theme, click on Appearance > Customization. It will let you customize,
To get certain features on your business website, you can install the plugins to boom your site as a professional business site.
To look different among the thousands of business websites with powerful customized website design you should contact a website building agency.
If you want to choose a theme from the WordPress theme directory, it will take you to the theme’s directory page. You can find a collection of themes that suits your business as shown below.
If you are looking for some more options to find a unique, simple, and attractive theme that suits your business, you can explore the following sites,
After the theme installation and customization, you can add content to your site by clicking on the page menu.
Page > Add new
You can give a name to each page and content and images to that page here. After completing the content, you can publish that page to get that content live on your website. All the pages like Home Page, Privacy Page, About Us, and Contact us can be created here.
Post > Add new
To add blogposts to your website, you can go with Post menu. Click on Post and Add new to create a new blog and add content with images. Click on publish after finalizing the blog.
After completion of theme setting and finalizing the content, you can live your business site. For that, log in to the WordPress admin panel and click on Coming soon active at the top of the panel.
Feel Free to contact us if you have any questions, help, or suggestion to complete your site.
