4 Steps to Setting Up a Website

You need a website. You just can’t put it off anymore. Fortunately, there has never been a better time to make your own website. You might be surprised at how easy website design has become. That is not to say there isn’t any pitfalls or complicated processes. But if you follow some of these basic steps you should be able to have an attractive and functional website put together in a relatively short time.

Step 1 Domain name: Before you can get started you need to purchase your domain name. This can be almost anything you like. You should make it memorable and relevant to the purpose of the site. Scribble down a few ideas. It is quite possible that you will have to try several options, considering there are 70 billion websites out there already. But there are also many domain extensions available. Such as .com, .org, .au and so on.

Step 2 Register your domain and web hosting: Once again, you will find many options for this service. There are several features that will be included under different hosting packages. Things like SSL certificates, email accounts, customer support, and various other things to consider. Your choices will depend on the needs of your webpage. A personal site requires much less effort than a big scale e-commerce site.

Step 3 Design: This is the factor that will really determine the effectiveness of your site. Web design has become big business, and web sites these days can be very intelligently assembled. Search engine optimization is a critical consideration to make sure your hard work can be discovered. Functionality and overall aesthetics are also critical considerations. Personal sites are very different from commercial applications and you really need to know your audience to deliver the experience that will bring them back. Research is easy though, spend time on similar sites and make lots of notes.

Expert help:  You might choose to skip this step, but you should consider if you really have the time and the skill set to achieve the level of website you require. Web design is a very specialized profession with many levels of sophistication. Professional sites are made by professionals and if your corporate image is on the line, hiring an expert will save you a lot of time and likely deliver you a superior result.

Whatever you choose to do, the resources available these days make both choices much more realistic than ever before. Good luck on your project and may the search engines always be in your favour.