Launching Your Website Guide
How to Build a Successful Website
Remember the good old days when owning a website was a luxury? Nowadays, creating a website is one of the fastest ways to accelerate your small business. Thanks to website builders, the process has never been more accessible or more affordable. You can choose to hire a web designer for a professional touch (less involvement, but pricier) or create a free site (the cheapest option, but with some limitations).
Before creating, Ask yourself: What do you intend to achieve with your website? Crafting a clear vision for your site will help you determine which features should be prioritized first and guide your entire website-building process.
Here's what you'll need to get started:
- Domain Name: Your online destination, like "www.visitmywebsite.com," is important in guiding visitors to your site. While you have the freedom to select any name, aligning it with your business or personal brand is advisable. Not only does this ensure brand coherence, but it also plays a pivotal role in determining your visibility on search engines. Opting for a firm domain name can boost your search engine rankings, driving more traffic to your website.
- Sign up for your domain and select your design and hosting services: After choosing your domain name, register it through a domain registrar like Domain.com or Network Solutions. This usually costs between $10 and $20 per year. Additionally, you'll need a separate provider to host your website and possibly use a design tool. To streamline the process, consider a provider offering registration, hosting, and design services in one package. For speedy business website creation, nothing beats the efficiency of a website builder. These tools help you design web pages and add features easily. With drag-and-drop interfaces, you can create without needing coding skills.
- CMS: A content management system is software that enables you to create, manage, and update website content without any coding knowledge. Choosing the right content management system is important, and numerous choices are available, such as Wix, Squarespace, WordPress, and Shopify.
- Start Publishing: Congratulations! You have successfully set up a fully functional WordPress website with a reliable hosting company. That wasn't so hard, was it!? From now on, your main task is to publish as much content as possible.
Starting a website doesn't have to be expensive, but some essential costs could include purchasing a domain name or a web hosting service. Using specific website-building tools and platforms to spruce up your site and content may require payment. If you decide to advertise for more visibility, that comes with costs. You don't need anything fancy; go for an affordable host with good speed, security, and customer service to get the job done.
Shopify Website Builder
With Shopify's website builder, your creativity isn't limited to online stores; you can craft a wide range of websites that truly reflect your vision. It also lets you take payments, gather leads and customer information, and automate emails—all in one easy-to-use platform.
In addition to Shopify, there are other well-known website builders and e-commerce platforms, such as Wix, Squarespace, and WordPress.
Does My Choice of Web Host Matter?
Yes, it does!
There are different types of hosting.
- Shared Hosting
- Dedicated hosting
- Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting
- Cloud hosting
Know your hosting needs to choose the right web hosting that works for you and your business. They offer different payment plans with data transfer limits, domain email accounts, and storage.
Your choice of web hosting provider can make or break your success.
Choosing a bad host can have serious consequences. They may not prioritize your website speed, leading to a poor customer experience and potentially lost business. They might also offer incomplete plans just to upsell you later, adding to your costs and frustrations.
We reviewed the leading web hosting services to help you find the most suitable option.
Can you have a Successful Business Without A Website?
Having a website is important for connecting with customers and looking professional, but there are other ways to get your business noticed by people. If you're working with a tight budget, you might want to explore different marketing and communications strategies to get noticed.
- Social Media Marketing (SMM)
- Google My Business Profile
- Email marketing
- Facebook ads
- Influencers
We all understand the importance of having a website. Still, sometimes, new entrepreneurs fall into the trap of focusing too much on constantly fixing or improving it before they have the traffic and audience they need. Without the audience, your work is just an excellent website that no one is looking at.
So, try Creating landing pages. It's simpler than you think. Your online digital spot quickly showcases your brand and highlights your strengths. If the idea of creating a website seems overwhelming. Remember, it's all about having a clear vision of your online success and using the right tools to help you achieve it.
Website Hosting and Website Builders
Bluehost
Bluehost is known as one of the best overall Web Hosting of 2024. Bluehost has some of the best website security measures to give you peace of mind. Best part is that you can simplify install WordPress, a champion website builder, with just a single click.
FEATURES
Free domain name & SSL for a year
Easy-to-use website builder
WordPress integration
High uptime and fast loading speed
With Malware scanning
24/7 customer support – contact via chat, email, and phone.
Bluehost Basic starts at $2.95/month
PROS
+Value-priced starter plan
+Free CDN
+Expert live chat and phone support
+User-friendly interface
CONS
-Lots of upselling
-Renewal rates are High
-E-commerce capabilities not available on all plans
-No month-to-month plans
Hostinger
Hostinger is a reliable and user-friendly website builder that offers many AI tools to help users create their websites quickly and easily. It's affordable, has high-quality hosting, user-friendly tools, and outstanding performance. Fast loading times and high uptime rates.
FEATURES
Control Panel Integration
CMS Support
Web Framework Support
E-Commerce Integration
Database Support
Security Tools
30-Day Money-Back Guarantee
Lowest Plan Starting at $2.99/month
PROS
+Suite of AI tools
+Ecommerce included
+24/7 Customer support in 11 languages
+Hostinger offers cloud hosting and cheaper renewal plans
CONS
-No Free Domain on Single Hosting
-Missing Features on Budget Plans
-No Phone Support
-No Free Trial
SiteGround
SiteGround is the most popular and intuitive front-end site-building plugin for WordPress. It lets you design any theme, page, and layout with ease. You can completely control all critical website components, including headers, footers, menus, blog posts, etc.
FEATURES
All-in-one design, marketing, and drag-and-drop editor
Popup Builder
Integration Capabilities
Free Plan available
Starter: $9.99/month
Business: $19.99/month
PROS
+Excellent Free Version
+Ease Of Use
+Price/ Value
+30-day money-back guarantee
CONS
-No lifetime option or renewal discount
-Big Updates known to Cause Glitches
-Can be confusing for beginners
GoDaddy
GoDaddy is praised for its user-friendly interface, making it easy for beginners to set up and manage their websites. They offer a variety of hosting options at competitive prices, making it a popular choice for individuals and businesses looking to establish an online business.
FEATURES
Storage: 100GB
HTML Input
E-Commerce
Site Analytics
24/7 network security
Free Domain
Economy $2.99/month
Deluxe $9.99/month
Ultimate $14.99/month
Money-back guarantee: 30 days for annual plans, 48 hours for monthly plans
PROS
+Very beginner-friendly and easy to use
+Integrated e-commerce and marketing tools
+Large storage space
+One-click WordPress installation
CONS
-Design flexibility is somewhat limited
-No cloud hosting
Elementor
Elementor is the most popular and intuitive front-end site-building plugin for WordPress. It lets you design any theme, page, and layout with ease. Completely control all critical website components, including headers, footers, menus, blog posts, etc. With Elementor's toolset, you can add landing pages, popups, animations, and forms to enhance website-building.
FEATURES
All-in-one design, marketing, and drag-and-drop editor
Popup Builder
Integration Capabilities
Free Plan available
Starter: $9.99/month
Business: $19.99/month
PROS
+Excellent Free Version
+Ease Of Use
+Price/ Value
+30-day money-back guarantee
CONS
-No lifetime option or renewal discount
-Big Updates known to Cause Glitches
-Can be confusing for beginners
Wix
Wix is a beginner-friendly, all-in-one tool that makes it easy to create a professional-looking website. Wix offers over 800 design templates that allow you to customize a site for various blogging and all small business needs.
FEATURES
LiteSpeed Web Server
Free SSL
Built-in SEO
SSD Storage
Weekly backups
Monthly Price Starting $16
All plans include a 14-day money-back guarantee.
PROS
+Good mobile-site-building tools
+Great Modern Templates
+Extensive e-commerce tools to build a feature-packed web store
+All programs have a free custom domain for one year and a free SSL Certificate.
CONS
-Third-party plugins may cost extra -Email not included as standard (it’s a paid extra)
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Helpful Plugins For Your Website
✔️ Lasso – A great tool that helps you organize your affiliate links and display your affiliate products.
✔️ Pretty Links–Pretty Links is a popular WordPress plugin that is often considered one of the best affiliate plugins available. It is designed to transform long and unattractive affiliate links into shorter, more visually appealing versions that are easier for visitors to remember.
FAQs
What is Web Hosting?
Web hosting is an online service that makes your website’s content accessible on the internet. When you purchase a hosting plan, you are renting space on a physical server to store all your website’s files and data.
Is It Necessary to Buy Hosting?
Usually, yes. Opting for a web hosting company is the most convenient and budget-friendly way to host a website. Top hosts also employ advanced technologies to ensure the safety and security of your site. However, if you create a blog using WordPress.com, you won't need to purchase a hosting plan.
What is SSL Security?
SSL, short for Secure Sockets Layer, is a vital tool for secure online communication between devices. It ensures a safe connection between machines on the internet or within a network. Web browsers use SSL to securely connect to servers, as the internet can be pretty risky. When SSL is active, you'll see a padlock icon or a green bar in the URL, indicating a safe connection.
What are Domains?
A domain is the registered website name people type into their browser’s address bar to access your website. Domains can have a variety of structures, such as the ever-popular “.com” names as well as .net, .org, .gov, etc. In this example of a URL, https://domain.com, the domain name is domain.com