Starting With A Website
In order to get online, you need to set up a website, to start with. Having your own website is the most accepted and permanent way to have a presence on the internet. Whatever you add to your website is your content, which stays a part of your personal online-world.
Today, anyone can build a website with zero knowledge of coding, web design, or web development. All you need is guidance and the proper tools, and you will be able to have a workable website in an hour. Programs like Wealthy Affiliate promise you a website that can be set up in 30 seconds, and it is not untrue. The basic structure takes just 30 seconds. The rest of the improvements can come later, and the development of your website literally never ends.
Well made and developed websites today are called ‘property’ and often sell for thousands or even millions of dollars. These sales happen every moment, and you can check out sites like Flippa and Shopify Exchanger Marketplace, which specialize in buying and selling websites, to see what I am talking about.
But why build a website when you can buy one then? Good question. Buying a website will be expensive (remember the thousands of dollars we talked about) while building one can be free, or cost very less.
Of course, there is no upper limit to the amount you can spend on making and developing your website, but the minimum would be between $10 to $20 annually, for a functional website with a purchased domain name. More about all that a bit later.
Building Your Website
What We Need
- Domain Name (a custom web address, www.YourWebsite.com)
- Web Hosting (a service that hosts your website)
- Website Builder (commonly used website platforms like WordPress, Wix, SquareSpace, GoDaddy, etc)
Domain Name & Web Hosting
You will need to buy a domain name (web address) and a web hosting account. The domain name is your website’s address. The hosting service will keep your website accessible to the world, on their servers 24×7.
Domain names cost between $10 to $40 annually. Usually around $15.
Web hosting services for new websites cost between $3 to $10 a month. That’s equivalent to a cup of coffee.
A lot of people are familiar with big names on the Internet like GoDaddy and Google products, for example. These companies offer domain names and website hosting and all connected requirements. The best web hosting services are:-
You can check out the cheapest plans available here.
Website Builder
To choose a good website builder, we must look at a comparison between the ones generally available and used by people. The Website Builder Comparison Tool is a good place to check that out.
Associated Issues With Having A Website
A lot of times, all this gets confusing for a newcomer, and therefore, there are ready-made solutions available, where all the systems are available in one place. Such programs take care of web hosting, domains, security, renewals, custom email accounts, sufficient bandwidth and speed, and customer support, etc. Therefore, it sometimes makes sense to get a full-solution by joining programs such as:
- Shopify (for normally making an eCommerce website)
- Wealthy Affiliate (for normally making a blogging website)
- GoDaddy (all types of websites)
- BlueHost (all types of websites)
The Way Ahead
The route ahead is not easy, but it’s a great start to have your website up and running. Almost 40% of all websites in the world are built on the WordPress platform. You probably too, would have built yours on WordPress. Now, you have to customize your site for what you want it to achieve for you. You would generally follow the steps given below:
- Test Your Website By Typing in Your Domain Address
- Verify your SSL/HTTPS security Settings
- Customize Your Website Design and Structure
- Choose a Theme for Your Website & install it
- Add a Logo
- Change the Website Color Scheme and Fonts if you want
- Add Widgets & Plugins; probably a sidebar
- Start adding Content/Pages/Posts to Your Website. These are the Pages that will come up:
- About Me Page
- Contact Me Page
- Disclaimer Page
- Privacy Policy Page
- Support page
- Blog Pages
- Shop Page
- Home Page
- Set up a Navigation Menu
- Add an Online Store/eCommerce space, if you want
Introduction To Getting Online
This was a very basic introduction to how you can get a website, and start your online journey.
If the question in your mind is why would you want to go through so much trouble, ask yourself why you have been reading this article till now. How badly do you want a piece of the millions of dollars being made online? If you are content with hearing about Jeff Bezos and his success, so be it. But if you wish to reach out and change your destiny, this is where you can do it.
Do not forget your dreams. Work on them. Nothing comes for free. No one knows anything before they start out. Each and every one of those who are today’s internet millionaires and billionaires started out like you and me. With nothing else but stars in their eyes.
Congratulations!
You have just succeeded in learning how to set up a website on your own. Now, a quick recap of the main points.
Assisted Learning
If you want to join an online community that has completely simplified website making, and wish to be taught step-by-step with videos and text, then check out Wealthy Affiliate for FREE. Not only will you be guided and taken along, but there are also 2 million members who are doing the exact same thing each day, with whom you can chat and discuss and get help anytime. Ahead, the program also teaches you how to set up an online business empire, and become an expert in Affiliate Marketing. And this training is completely FREE. You will only have to purchase a .com domain, that too if you wish to. Otherwise, they provide you with .siterubix domains in any case. Therefore, Wealthy Affiliate provides you all the tools to make your own websites free of cost.
Independent Learning
If you wish to take your own route and set up a website independently, then go to GoDaddy Web hosting and Domain solutions. Here too, you will get all the tools you need to set up a website of your own.
