Your Guide to Building a Website

1. Easy Guide to
Building a Website

2. 2 | Easy Guide to Building a Website
Easy Guide to Building
a Website
If you’re a freelancer or a small business owner, you need to
have a website. In today’s increasingly social-focused internet
landscape, some might say that a Facebook page and a Twitter
feed are enough of an online presence to find you clients and
customers. A website often offers benefits and perks that social
networks can’t match.
For a small business owner or entrepreneur who doesn’t have a
website, the thought of putting one together can be daunting,
especially if it’s meant to give a first impression for potential clients
that find you online. But really, putting together a website doesn’t
have to be a big hassle, especially in 2015 when there are so many
reliable and customizable platforms and services. This eBook
will offer up an easy guide to building website, from settling on a
domain name, to populating your site with informative content.

3. 3 | Easy Guide to Building a Website
Get Your Domain Name
Your first step in building your
website is one you can most likely
do on your own: registering your
domain name. Ideally, your domain
name should be pretty close to the
name of your actual business. So if
you’re called Sarah Jane’s Bakery,
SarahJanesBakery.com would be
your preferred URL.
However, domain names aren’t always
available. It could be that a Sarah
Jane’s Bakery across the country
already has the address, or it could
have been picked up ages ago by
someone who isn’t using it. Whatever
the case, you’ll need to have a plan B
in case your name is taken.

4. 4 | Easy Guide to Building a Website
Get Your Domain Name
The good thing about having to come up with an
alternate name is that it forces you to get creative.
An alternative to Sarah Jane’s Bakery might be
SarahJanes-Bakery.com, VisitSarahJanesBakery.
com, or you can add your town (e.g.,
SarahJanesBakeryMinneapolis.com).
Also, remember that .com isn’t the only suffix at
your disposal. You can also use .org, .net, .us, or any
other suffix, except for .gov (that’s obviously only
for government officials).
After that, register your domain name with a
registrar. Some web hosting services will let you
register for a domain name through them, but some
people prefer to do this as a separate transaction
to ensure there’s no confusion that they are the
primary owner of the domain name.

5. 5 | Easy Guide to Building a Website
Decide on a Place
to Host Your Site
Building the framework for your website requires you
to think about the purpose of your site. Do you want to
make it a place where people can buy things from you?
Will it be used to show off creative, visual work? Or do
you need it to be little more than an outpost with basic
information about your business? Once you have a clear
picture of your site’s purpose, you can settle on a place to
host your site.
Many people go with companies like GoDaddy.com,
Amazon, or HostMonster.com for hosting their website.
These companies generally charge you a relatively low fee
to use their services (generally between $5.00 and $20.00
a year) and offer some level of customer service to help
those who aren’t familiar with the process. The company

6. 6 | Easy Guide to Building a Website
Decide on a Place to Host Your Site
you end up choosing will depend largely on your needs, so be
sure to do lots of online research, and maybe even ask a few
friends or colleagues which ones they prefer.
Another option is going with a platform like Squarespace,
or even Tumblr, which are essentially content management
systems combined with hosting services. Squarespace has
been getting lots of love for its stellar customer service, and
even has an ecommerce plug in, so if you’re looking for a plug-
and-play option that comes with lots of support, this may be
worth looking into. If you’re looking for a unique way to share
visual work, you may want to consider using Tumblr. Tumblr’s
social network makes it easily discoverable, and there are a wide
range of templates you can use that make it a good platform
for showing off creative work like videos and graphic design
samples.
All of these platforms and services - including Tumblr and
Squarespace - allow you to use your custom domain name.

7. 7 | Easy Guide to Building a Website
Time to Design
Once you’ve built the foundation
for your website, the next
step is making it appealing to
your current and prospective
customers. That means you
need to think about everything
from the colors and images you’ll
be using on your site, to the
navigation and page layouts.
First things first: if you don’t have
a logo for your business, now
is the time to make one. Even if
you’re freelancer who is doing
work on the side, a logo can help
you stand out and connect you
with customers. If you don’t know
where to start, you can hire a
professional who can help you
design a website that will get you
noticed.
Next, you need to come up
with an overall design vision for
your website. Whether you’re
using a professional designer, or
designing your website on the
own, make sure you have a healthy
brainstorming period where you
can narrow your focus on what
you want your website to look
like. Ideally, your website should
be a destination that will last for a
while. You want to make sure the
design is something you love and
think will be useful for at least the
next couple of years.

8. 8 | Easy Guide to Building a Website
Time to Design
Do research and look for websites that resonate with you. Maybe they
offer a browsing experience that feels unique and helpful. Or perhaps their
ecommerce offering is one that you’d like to lend your online marketplace.
Even a website’s simplicity and straightforwardness can help generate ideas.
Be sure to find fonts and typefaces that you love and are also easy to read.
The last thing you want is a website that uses a boring, standard font like
Times New Roman or something similar. You also want to avoid anything that
is too narrow, light, or ornate, in case it makes it difficult for people to read it.
Be smart about how you choose and lay out your information.
For instance, when someone first comes to your page, they should
immediately be greeted with your logo and maybe even colors that make
them think of your brand. The overall experience of your site should also
match your brand. For instance, if you’re creating a website for a bed
and breakfast, you may want it to have more of a homey vibe. But if you
run a sleek, minimalist nail salon, the design and experience should
convey this feeling.

9. 9 | Easy Guide to Building a Website
Make Sure Everything
is Working
Once your website is built and filled with
content, it’s time to start testing. Testing is an
important part of the website building process
because it forces you to see things through
your customers’ eyes.
One basic testing task you can take on is seeing
how your website looks on different browsers.
That means you should visit your site on Safari,
Chrome, Windows, and other browsers to see
if there are any visual errors or inconsistencies.
And of course, don’t forget to see how
everything looks when viewing on a tablet or
mobile phone since a big chunk of your business
may be coming from these sources.

10. 10 | Easy Guide to Building a Website
Make Sure Everything is Working
You’ll also want to work with someone
- or a group of people - to make
sure every component of your site
is working as well. If you have an
ecommerce section, you’ll want
to make sure that orders are going
through correctly and that money is
being moved correctly. If you have a
contact field, make sure there are no
bugs that make it a bad experience
for the sender or the receiver. And of
course, make sure to hire a copy editor
who can go over your written content
and search for typos or other errors
that detract from your site.

11. 11 | Easy Guide to Building a Website
Let People Know
You’ve Launched
You’ll also want to submit your website to
search engines like Google and Bing. If you’re
getting links from other outside website, you
may not need to do this step, as the search
engines will most likely automatically register
your website for you. But if you’re not getting
links yet, this is a good step to take.
You might also think about a paid media
campaign to get the word out about your site.
Google and Facebook both have ad programs
that are affordable and easy to execute.
You may also want to reach out to digital
influencers who can spread the word about
your site. See if they’ll share a link to your site
with their readers, or link to you in their own
content. This will help you in terms of search
results, and also connect you with those
influencers’ audiences.
Once you’ve built and launched your website, it’s time to let people know that you’re up
and active. If you already have social networks established for your brand or business,
you should push out news of your new website, and also add the address to your basic
profile information.

12. 12 | Easy Guide to Building a Website
Test and Change
Websites go through changes all the time. As you’re launching your site,
feel free to make any edits or changes whenever you see something that’s
not working. For instance, if your ecommerce experience is clunky, work
on making it better. If the colors of your site make the text hard to read,
start looking for a new color. Like a newly purchases home that’s in need
of some fixing up, your work on your personal website is never done.
Sources:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2424725,00.asp
http://www.thesitewizard.com/gettingstarted/startwebsite.shtml
http://www.creativebloq.com/web-design/steps-perfect-website-
layout-812625
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