How To Make A Website
A Complete Step-By-Step Website Design Tutorial For Beginners
- Skill Level: Beginner
- Estimated Time: 3-4 Hours
- End Goal: Professional Website
Also, as seen in the footer, I have to pay my bills too. So if you happen to take my advice and use the services I suggest, I may receive a compensation. AT NO EXTRA COST TO YOU.
I also want to let you know, to keep it easy for you to go between the links on this page, all links will open in a new tab.
Like I said before, this page is a work in progress and I plan on updating this as much as possible but definitely will be weekly.
From the desk of CJ Hallock
Jonesborough, TN
Last Updated: February 26, 2020
If you would like to know how to build your own website in an afternoon…even if you don’t know how to write code, this may be the most important guide you’ll ever read.
I have been building websites for almost 20 years. Over the years, the technology has changed a lot. There are many ways to make a website. Below this brief introduction, you will find a complete breakdown for website design.
Everything you need to know is listed below section by section. Be sure to expand each training session and follow every lesson.
Don’t worry, before we get started we will cover website cost, time involved and everything you need to know before you start building a website.
If you have any questions, please shoot me a tweet @cjhallock.
I hope this helps.
CJ
What Everyone Should Know About
Website Design
(Before We Start)
Website design is very important to your business/brand. You need to have a website that not only makes a great first impression on your visitors but allows for high-levels of visibility and converts your visitors to customers/clients.
A responsive WordPress website might just be the solution you have been looking for. I have been building websites with WordPress since 2009 and it is, in my opinion, the easiest and most cost-effective way to create a website for your hobby, event, passion, or small business. It also helps you increase your relevancy and visibility.
There are a lot of different moving parts to a successful website. Don’t worry, That is what this guide is for!
So You Want To Make A Website?
Before we can get started making your site we need to cover some frequently asked questions and a few other things we need to know. It may seem like a lot of work, but we’re not building trash, so be sure to put in the work so your website properly represents your brand.
This is not as simple as a “one size fits all” answer. There are things that you may want to have on your website that may require an additional purchase. But, for a professional website with a blog, contact forms and a lot more, you can build a website for under $1/day. That includes your domain, hosting, security & more!
If you would like a full breakdown you can check out the blog post here: How Much Does It Cost To Build A Website?
Just like above, I can’t just give you a direct answer. Some people pick up on how to use the page builder in 20 minutes and can design a page in half an hour. Others may need more time to understand how everything works. For the most part if you include time for writing content, gathering images and everything else, you can build a professional website in about an hour a day over a weeks time.
If you are wanting to schedule time and try to get a good idea for your project you can read more here: How Long Does It Take To Build A Website?
Understanding what and who your target market is, will forever change the path of your business. According to Entrepreneur.com your target market is defined as a specific group of consumers at which a company aims its products and services.
There is a lot to this, so be sure to read the full guide: How To Define Your Target Market
Are You Ready To Get Started?
Ok, it’s time to get started building our website. Well, it’s time to get all the pieces together so that we can start a website. This section is going to cover what you need before we can actually start. Once again please follow every step. If you want to make a website the right way AND market it the right way, you will need every step unless it is marked (Optional).
***READ EVERYTHING***
You may already have a “name” for your business or brand and that’s OK. What we’re doing here is making sure we have a “username” or “handle” that is unique, uniform, and available across every platform you plan on using.
That means you have a good, short name that can be your .com, @username on Twitter, Facebook, & Instagram.
You also need to be sure that the name you want to use isn’t trademarked.
There are many other things you need to know. Read More Here -> Naming A Business
You may be asking what a secure password has to do with making a website. I’ll tell you!
If your passwords are not secure, you risk your website getting hacked. I promise, you don’t want to go through that.
Follow along with the tutorial here: How To Make A Strong Password
You can always create a unique email address with your brand like you@yourbrandsname.com but it is always best to have a backup and you will need an email to get everything setup to create your you@yourbrandsname.com email address. So if you followed along with the “naming a business” step and found a good name you can create that now. yourbrandsname@gmail.com
You can use your personal email address if you wish. I would recommend getting the gmail for yourbrandsname just in case. You don’t want your competition setting it up and taking your business.
If you need assistance you can follow the blog post here: How To Create A Gmail Account For Beginners.
This is 100% optional.
I am only listing it because there are still a lot of people who don’t know about this but should.
Google Voice is a free phone number that can redirect to your current line. This allows you to have a second number so you don’t have to give out your personal number to everyone. It also allows you to send strait to voicemail. You can text with it and a bunch of other stuff.
Learn how to set it up here: How To Get A Second Phone Number With Google Voice FREE!
In this step, we are registering our domain with HostYak.com. We did cover most of this already when we did the “Naming A Business” step, but it doesn’t help to cover everything again. After all, this is the backbone of your brand online.
If you want more info, get it here: Buy A Domain Online.
In this step, we are going to get our hosting, security & malware protection. Follow along with the post below to go step by step and be sure you get the right packages.
Read More Here: WordPress Website Hosting
This is it! The first true step to actually seeing progress! In this step we are going to be setting up our hosting account. We will be “activating” our domain, SSL certificate, installing WordPress, then we’ll finish with setting up the website security and malware protection.
Follow along with the blog: How To Set up A WordPress Website Like A Professional (FREE GUIDE)
Let's Build The Foundation
Now that we have installed WordPress & assigned your domain to the installation, it’s time to build. The first thing we are going to cover is your “Branded” email (you@yourbrandsname.com). Once we finish that we’ll get moving, making our website.
When it comes to building your brand, your email can solidify your dedication to your brand. It always helps to have an email address with your branding like you@yourbrandsname.com instead of a free email address like yourbrandsname@hotmail.com.
Go through the steps here: How To Have Email With Your Own Domain
When it comes to WordPress themes you can use either “FREE” or “PREMIUM” themes. Because we are building our website with ElementorPro, I strongly recommend you using “Hello” by Elementor.
One of the main reasons I love the pairing is because of the “Theme Builder” function. It truly allows you to custom build a WordPress theme CHEAP!
See a full WordPress theme breakdown: Best Free WordPress Themes
Coming Soon …
The Structure of a Successful Website
Once you finish getting your WordPress site started with the right theme and plugins, it’s time to start thinking about the purpose of your website & what it should include.
If you want to see the last day this was worked on just look at the top of the page :)
