How to Create a Website in Five Easy Steps in 2020

Create a Website in these Easy Steps

Need to create a website? Here is how you go about doing it…

If, like me, your New Year’s resolution involved creating your own blog or website, then you have come to the right place for advice. Each day, thousands of websites are being added to the billions that already exist across the globe. There is, therefore, absolutely no reason for you to be left behind. If you are still agonizing about whether or not to start annoying the world with your own brand of creativity (social media has turned us all into pseudo philosophers), then you can read this article to find inspiration. So, what does it take to create a website and how do you go about doing it?

How to Create a Website

• It used to be that only Information Technology gurus could create websites, while the rest of us were relegated to gawking at the wonderful wonders of the technology world.
• Fortunately, today, that is no longer the case. While technology still confounds even the best of us, it is a fact that almost everyone who has an internet connection can create a website in a few minutes. Here is how you create a website in a few easy steps;

[spacer height=”20px”]

1. Get some motivation

[spacer height=”20px”]

The very first thing that need in order to create a website of your own is motivation. While there are thousands of blogs out there, most of them are idle, having been made by people who, for one reason or the other, lack the motivation that is needed in order to turn the venture into a success. I do have to admit that, a few years ago, I was in this category.

• I think I heard about blogging and the like while Googling, which was nothing unusual. I like to think that I am a professional Googler, and pick up bits and pieces of information all over the place. That is one of the reasons why I, towards the end of the year 2016, decided to create a website of my own. If I can pick up so much information, why not pass some of it to others?
• In any case, when I heard about blogging, I set out to try it, using Blogger (or is it called BlogSpot?). That blog has about 4 posts and it’s still floating around the internet. Unfortunately, I do sometimes forget what it is called. I can probably find out if I think hard enough about the issue, but what’s the use?
• The last time I checked on the thing, through my Google account, or somehow, I had even made 30 cents through AdSense over the course of ten or so years! Anyway, the whole point is that there are thousands, or even millions, of blogs out there that contribute to the number of blogs that are in the world, but that have long since been abandoned by their owners.

[spacer height=”20px”]

That is the reason why it is important for you to get some motivation before setting out. Mine (the latest one) came in the form of a revelation that I received while I was on top of a mountain. Should you decide to abandon the effort after only a few posts, you probably won’t be sued by anyone, so this point is no big deal.

2. Choose a Domain

The next thing that you need to do in order to create a website of blog of your own is choose a domain. This is a very important steps, since your domain is how people will be able to find you on the vastness that is the World Wide Web.The good news is that a domain can be anything, although there are a few best practices, as you can see in the above article.

• Another piece of good news is that no one will assassinate you for choosing one domain name or the other. The important thing that you need to think about is that your domain is an important part of your brand, and if you are serious about your blog or website, you should seriously think about the issue.
• I must tell you, however, that, as I found out while trying to decide on a name for my blog, a large chunk of the domains that you would have chosen have already been grabbed by someone else. Some were available for purchase for as much as $3000, which, I believe, is rather excessive, considering that I can call my website cows.com and get away with it.

[spacer height=”20px”]

Domain.com

One of the things that I discovered while preparing for the launch of my site is that Domain.com has one of the best tools that you can use to check out the availability of your chosen domain. The best thing about this site is that it covers a wide range of top level domains, including .com, .net, and new offerings such as .ninja and .website. It also offers useful suggestions, which you can use, should you smack into the brick wall that is domain unavailability.

• We should point out here that you can check out your domain using the tools that are available at any of your chosen web hosts.
• Some companies, such as Bluehost, offer free domains with their hosting packages, while others, like InterServer, charge negligible amounts.
• Whatever you do, don’t let the price of a domain stop you. Even with companies that offer free domain registrations, prices revert to normal (around $13 per year) after the first year.

[spacer height=”20px”]

3. Head over to InterServer (Or any other web host of your choice)

Now that you have settled on a name for you site, the next thing that you need to do is head over to InterServer, with which this blog is hosted), or any of the other web hosts of your choice. I have previously written a page on some of the best web hosts that can be used to create a website in the year 2017. Feel free to check any of them out.

4. Choose a Hosting Plan

Web Hosts offer a wide variety of hosting plans, and you should choose yours depending on what you hope to achieve with your site.  Although they may come in a wide variety of names, the hosting plans that can be found out there are basically the same;

a.  The Standard/Shared Hosting Plan

Standard Web Hosting happens on shared servers, and is usually the cheapest that you will be able to find with any company.

• Standard hosting packages are usually enough for most hosting needs. We do, however, recommend that you go for one that covers the security of your site.
• There are many threats lurking out there that can be costly should you neglect to secure things right off the bat.

[spacer height=”20px”]

b. VPS and Dedicated Hosting

If you think that your site is going to be big enough, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors every month, then you should opt for either VPS or Dedicated Hosting.

• With Dedicated Hosting, you get your own private server.  VPS hosting, on the other hand, involves having a virtual dedicated server.
• The good news is that, with most of the web hosts that are out there, you can start with the cheaper standard hosting package, and move to a VPS or your own Dedicated Server as you grow.

[spacer height=”20px”]

c.  Managed WordPress Hosting

For this blog, we chose to go with Managed WordPress Hosting. We made this choice mainly because, although slightly more expensive than Standard Hosting, Managed WordPress hosting comes with a number of advantages;

• One of these advantages is the fact that the servers that are used with this type of hosting are fully optimized for WordPress. This translates into faster page load speeds.
• Another major advantage of Managed WordPress Hosting is the fact that you get better security than is the case with Standard Web Hosting. With InterServer, as an example, the security of this blog is guaranteed; including cleanups should the site ever get infected by malware.

[spacer height=”20px”]

5. Register and Configure your site

Once you have decided on the best hosting plan for your site, the only thing that remains for you to do is register with your chosen host; make your payment and configure your site. If there is anything with which you need clarification, there will usually be someone who is on standby to help you.

For this blog, we had gone with the Managed WordPress hosting option, as we have already mentioned. If you are going to be using anything else, such as Drupal or Joomla, for your site, all that you need to do next is install the necessary scripts, or get someone in Support to install for them. Installations are usually easy, involving only one click, which should simplify things on your behalf. 

6. Begin Making Your Posts

From there, the only thing that remains is for you to begin working on your site by making the posts that you have been dying to make for so long. Getting everything setup can be easy, or a bit difficult, depending on your level of expertise. If you would rather not go through the trouble, you can choose to go the hosted website creation route. This simplifies hosting in that all that it takes to create a site using, as an example, WordPress.com, are a few easy steps. This route does have its limitations, however. The main one is that you are restricted in terms of how much you can customize your site. You can read all about Hosted and Self Hosted websites in this article.