Building a website is one of the best ways to grow your online presence and share your work with the world. A website is a great way to share your work and grow your online presence. Whether you’re looking to showcase your business, sell products, or simply want a digital home for your passion, there are a lot of steps to consider before getting started. You have to think about a lot before you start, whether you want to showcase your business or sell products. I recommend using a website builder to help simplify the process, but I’ll walk you through your options and the building journey step-by-step. I recommend using a web builder to simplify the process. I will walk you through the options and the building process step-by-step. This article was updated on 10/04/24 – find out more about the changes I’ve made: This article was updated 10/04/24. Find out what I’ve changed: I’ve added a new step to the guide – “Set Your Navigation”. I’ve added “Set Your Navigation” as a new step in the guide. This provides instruction and advice on building your site’s structure and navigation while considering the customer journey. This guide provides advice and instruction on how to build your site’s navigation and structure while taking into consideration the customer journey. I’ve also updated outdated information, such as GoDaddy’s new pricing for its Basic plan, and added helpful tips throughout the article to make the process of building a website as easy as possible. I’ve also updated outdated info, such as GoDaddy’s new pricing for their Basic plan, and added useful tips throughout the article.
1. Determine Your Site’s Purpose
Decide the purpose of your site. The first thing you need to do is determine what type of website you want to build. You need to decide what type of site you want to create. What purpose do you want it to serve? What is the purpose of your website? Are you looking to create an online community to sell products to customers? Are you interested in creating an online community that sells products to customers? Do you want to share your expertise through long-form blog content? Want to share your knowledge through long-form blogs? Whatever your goals, it’s best to outline the following details before proceeding:
It’s important to know the following before you proceed:
- Type of website – think about what you want to share with visitors and what actions you want them to take, whether that’s through a blog, online store, or restaurant website
- Brand identity – your website’s tone of voice, color scheme, font choice, and unique selling point, will help your website stand out and bring consistency across your site’s design
- Goals and vision – make a note of what you aim to achieve through your website, such as growing email subscribers, and refer back to this as you build your brand and website
- Market research – see what your competitors are doing, identify gaps in the market, and recognize opportunities to connect with your target audience in a unique way
Having this information at the ready will help you as you start your website-building journey. This information will help you get started on your website-building adventure. And, if you’re more of a visual learner or you’re short on time, check out our video guide on how to build a website:
2. Choose a Domain Name
Every website needs a domain name – the part of your site address visible in the browser’s search bar that identifies the website for people browsing the web. Every website requires a domain name. This is the part of the site address that appears in the search bar on the browser and identifies your website to people surfing the web. For example, ours is tobestloan.com.
The good news is that plenty of website builders package a domain name with your subscription (usually for the first year only), so keep that in mind when choosing your website builder in the next step. It’s good to know that many website builders include a domain with their subscription (usually only for the first year). Keep this in mind as you choose your website builder. And don’t worry if you need to switch builders or platforms down the line – you can take your domain name with you. You can also take your domain name if you decide to switch platforms or builders in the future.
Besides using website builders, you can also get a domain name from a registrar, such as GoDaddy or Domain.com. You can also buy a domain from a registrar such as GoDaddy or Domain.com. This can cost around $10 to $20 annually for a .com domain name. A .com domain can cost between $10 and $20 per year. I used GoDaddy’s domain checker to see pricing and available names.
Source: Website Builder Expert
There are a few things to consider when choosing a domain name:
- Make it unique and relevant to your website, business, or brand so repeat visitors and customers can easily find your site again
- Keep it as short as possible so it’s not a pain to type in the search bar or search engine
- Avoid numbers to reduce confusion when reading or typing (numbers can also be harder to remember!)
- Think long-term and choose a domain name that you’ll stick to – changing a name, especially for an established business, requires a lot of time and effort
- Choose a short, memorable domain name that represents what your brand does
- No need to forcefully add a keyword into your domain name – this isn’t a ranking factor either! Prioritize what makes sense for your audience and what aligns with your brand identity.
- I would also recommend opting for a recognized Generic Top Level Domain (gTLD) such as .com, .ai, .org, or .co. gTLDs are not tied to any country and can be used worldwide. This is the ideal choice if your audience spans across more than just one country, or you plan to expand internationally in the future.
This is a great choice if you have a large audience that spans more than one country or if you plan to expand internationally. Caitlin Hathaway Content Strategist Caitlin Hathaway Content Strategist
3. Pick a Website Builder
To get started, you need the tools and instruments to build a website – a website builder is my top choice. A website builder would be my first choice to get you started. Website builders help you build, customize, and manage a website, no matter your skill level. Website builders allow you to create, customize and manage a site, regardless of your level of expertise. They’re a user-friendly option for anyone short on time or lacking confidence when building a site from scratch.
These tools are a great option for those who lack the time or confidence to build a website from scratch. The best part is that website builders cater to all users, from beginners looking to create a personal site to industry-leading businesses. Website builders are a great option for all users. They can be used by beginners to create a site or by industry leaders. For example, Shopify is home to titans of ecommerce, such as Mattel and Gymshark.
Shopify, for example, is home to titans in ecommerce such as Mattel or Gymshark. I had no trouble adding products and setting up an online store with Shopify. I had no problem adding products and setting an online store using Shopify.
Source: Website Builder Expert
Of course, if you want to get into the nitty gritty when building your website, you can also choose to build with a CMS, like WordPress, and organize your web hosting yourself. If you want to be more hands-on with your website building, you can choose to use a CMS like WordPress and manage your own web hosting. While this gives you total creative control, it’s not as accessible or intuitive to use as website builders, so I’d only recommend this route if you have prior building experience.
This gives you complete creative control but is not as intuitive or accessible as website builders. I would only recommend this route to those with prior building experience.
We regularly review the best website builders in the market, using our years of experience and rigorous research process to share recommendations based on 200+ hours of testing. We review the top website builders on the market using our experience and rigorous research to make recommendations based upon 200+ hours testing. You can see our top five website builders below:
| Website Builder | Overall Rating | Starting Price | Free Trial | Number of Templates | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wix | 4.8 | Starting at $17 | Free plan or free trial | 900+ | View Wix |
| Squarespace | 4.6 | Starting at $15.30 with code ‘TAKE10’ | Free trial or plan | 150+ | View Squarespace |
| Shopify | 4.4 | Starting at $14.40 with code “WBE10” | Free trial or plan | 150+ | View Shopify |
| GoDaddy | 4.3 | First month $1 | Free trial or plan | 200+ | View GoDaddy |
| Hostinger | 4.3 | Starting at $9.99 | Free trial or plan | 150+ | View Hostinger |
As you can see, Wix is our top-rated website builder overall. As you can see from the table above, Wix is the top-rated website creator overall. It offers over 900 stunning templates, impressive built-in website features, and a beginner-friendly drag-and-drop editor. It has over 900 beautiful templates, impressive website features built-in, and an easy-to-use drag-and-drop editor. That said, if you’re looking to build an online store, Shopify’s ecommerce features are unparalleled. Shopify’s ecommerce tools are unmatched. And, for a simple editing experience, Squarespace is the easiest website builder I’ve tested in 2024. Squarespace has the simplest editing experience of any website builder that I’ve tried in 2024.
What type of website do you want to create? What type of website would you like to create?
Building With AI
If you’re not too confident when it comes to building a website or you’re short on time, AI is the answer. AI can help you build a website if you aren’t confident or have limited time. Website builders are jumping on the AI hype in 2024 – you can start up a conversation with Wix’s AI chatbot, let GoDaddy Airo help you build an online presence, or Squarespace’s recently improved Blueprint AI to generate a basic site structure for you. In 2024, website builders will be embracing AI. You can chat with Wix’s AI bot, use GoDaddy Airo to build your online presence, or use Squarespace’s improved Blueprint AI. AI website builders are a great way to save time and energy, whether you use it to create pages or write content. AI website builders can save you time and energy whether you are creating pages or writing content. But be wary of overdoing it! Be careful not to overdo it! AI-generated websites won’t be as unique as something you can craft manually. AI-generated sites won’t be unique as something that you can create manually. I shared a website plan with Wix’s AI chatbot and it quickly generated a site based on my responses to its questions. I shared a plan for a website with Wix’s AI bot and it quickly created a site using my answers to its questions. Source: Website Builder Expert
4. Customize Your Template
Now that you’ve got this far, you should have a pretty solid foundation to build on. You should now have a solid foundation on which to build. You know what type of website you want to create and have a set vision in mind, you’ve settled on a domain name, and you’ve signed up to a website builder. You have a vision for the type of website that you want to build, you have chosen a domain and signed up with a website building service. So, what’s next? It’s time to design your website – your website builder should direct you to choose a template during onboarding (if you’re not building with AI). Your website builder will direct you to select a template when you sign up (if you are not using AI). Wix offers the most variety with 900+ templates to pick between. Wix offers the most variety with 900+ templates to pick between.
Most template libraries can be filtered by industry or website type, such as “Blog” or “Wellness.” Plus, the majority of templates offered by website builders are free to use but do factor cost into your budget since some platforms, like Shopify, slap a one-time price tag on its templates. Most template libraries allow you to filter by industry, website type or even by keyword. For example, “Blog” and “Wellness”. I could filter Squarespace’s template library by industry or website type, such as “Food”. I could filter Squarespace’s template library by industry or website type, such as “Food”. Source: Website Builder Expert
With your chosen template, you can then start customizing your site. After choosing a template, you can start customizing your website. Builders like Wix and Squarespace offer a drag-and-drop editor, making it easy for beginners to move elements around and position sections. Builders such as Wix and Squarespace have a drag-and drop editor that makes it easy for beginners. Others, like Shopify and GoDaddy, use a section-based editor that limits you creatively but keeps things simple. Shopify and GoDaddy use a section editor that limits your creativity but keeps things simple.
As mentioned before, I recommend using the free trials and plans available to play around in the editor first – see which editor style works best for you. I recommend that you try out the free trial and plan available first to see what editor style suits you best. I found Wix’s drag-and-drop editor incredibly easy to use. I found Wix’s drag and drop editor to be incredibly simple to use. Source: Website Builder Expert
When customizing your site, draw ideas and inspiration from the brand identity you determined in step one. Take inspiration and ideas from the brand identity that you established in step 1. The important things to consider are:
- Color scheme – use the same color palette across design elements to pull the site together and keep things looking intentional
- Font type – I recommend choosing a font type that aligns with your website goals or business type, e.g. a trendy, modern font for an artist website or something more classic and professional for a real estate website
- Visuals – add your eye-catching images and graphics to break up the text
- Content – make sure to replace any default template text with your own copy
Replace any default template text by your own copy. I loved using Squarespace’s color palette editor, especially since I could upload an image and have a palette generated based on those colors. I really liked Squarespace’s color editor because I could upload an image to have a palette created based on the colors. Source: Website Builder Expert
5. Set Your Navigation
While your site’s looks are important, you must prioritize your site’s usability and navigation. You should prioritize usability and navigation over the appearance of your website. If a visitor or customer can’t find what they’re looking for, you’re not serving their needs effectively. If you can’t help a customer or visitor find what they are looking for, then you’re not meeting their needs. One of the key areas to consider is your website’s navigation bar or menu.
The navigation bar or menu of your website is a key area to consider. It directs visitors to separate pages on your site, but your navigation doesn’t need to include every page or link. It directs visitors to different pages on your website, but it doesn’t have to include all of them. Keep things simple to avoid overwhelming visitors with options, and direct readers to the most important pages, such as a contact page or your site’s shop. Keep it simple to avoid confusing visitors. Direct readers to the most essential pages, such as a contact page or shop.
Top tip
When building your site’s navigation, consider the journey you want visitors to take. Consider the journey that you want your visitors to take when designing your site’s navigation. Is it easy for them to get from point A to point B? Is it easy to get them from A to B? Can they easily find their way back to your homepage? Can they easily return to your homepage? You don’t want to force visitors to click more than a handful of times to find the page they want. You don’t need to make visitors click more than a few times to get to the page they are looking for. Learn more about navigation best practices in our detailed guide. Our detailed guide will teach you more about navigational best practices.
Of course, your navigation bar should be your primary focus here, whether it sits at the top of your site or in the sidebar. Your navigation bar, whether it is at the top or sidebar of your website, should be the main focus. However, don’t neglect your site’s footer since this is home to crucial site and business information. Don’t forget to include important information in your site’s footer.
Most website builders let you customize your site’s footer, meaning you can display the information that’s important to your site, such as a business address, social media links, or a newsletter sign-up form. Most website builders allow you to customize the footer of your site. This allows you to display important information for your site such as your business address, links to social media, or a sign-up form for your newsletter. I added a range of elements to my Hostinger website footer, such as social links and an email newsletter sign-up box. I added social links to my Hostinger footer and a sign-up for an email newsletter. Source: Website Builder Expert
6. Create Relevant Website Pages
Once you’re happy with your site’s appearance and aesthetic, you’ll need to flesh it out with relevant pages. After you’re satisfied with the aesthetics and appearance of your site, you will need to add relevant pages. A lot of templates come with pages built-in already, so the work is sometimes done for you. Many templates already have pages included, so you don’t need to do anything. For example, when I tested Wix, I could add pages from the editor using the “Pages & Menu” button in the sidebar. When I tested Wix I was able to add pages using the “Pages & Menus” button on the sidebar. With Wix, I could view my site’s pages in the editor sidebar and easily add more. Source: Website Builder Expert I was able to easily add pages with Wix. Source: Website Builder Expert
Regardless of your template or builder, it’s important to know what pages to include when building your website:
- Homepage – this is the heart of your website and should engage your visitors appropriately, sharing key information and branding so that people know the purpose of your site right away
- About page – use this page to tell your story, mission, and goals, whether that’s for an individual or business
- Shop and product pages (if you’re creating an online store) – naturally, an online store should feature pages for shopping so make sure to include plenty of product images and information to help drive sales
- Contact page – help website visitors connect with you or your business through a contact form, social media links, and general contact information (such as an email address or your store’s opening hours)
- Blog page – a blog is the perfect place for you to share engaging content, build an online community, and showcase your expertise in the market
Some bonus extras could include a FAQ page, customer review page, membership area, or booking page to take appointments – these can be great pages to further customer relationships and build trust in your website. These pages can help to build trust and further relationships with your customers. While I’d argue that every website should have a homepage, about page, and contact page, the rest is up to you and your website’s needs. I would argue that every website needs a homepage, an about page, and a contact page. The rest is up to your website and what you need. If you’re building a portfolio website, you’ll want to add a portfolio or gallery page to showcase your work so potential clients can see what you’ve been up to. If you are building a website to showcase your portfolio, you will want to include a gallery or portfolio page to show off your work. This allows potential clients to see what you have been up to.
7. Add Website Functionality
The level of website functionality you need will depend on the type of website you intend to build. The type of website that you want to build will determine the level of functionality you require. For example, you’ll need ecommerce tools if you’re looking to sell products or services, but a simple blog won’t need these features at all. You’ll need ecommerce features if you want to sell products or service, but a blog will not need them at all.
The features and tools you add to your site will also vary depending on your chosen website builder. The features and tools that you add to your website will also differ depending on the website builder you choose. Wix includes a lot of powerful features built into the platform, such as email marketing and internationalization tools. Wix has a number of powerful features that are built into the platform. These include email marketing and tools for internationalization. Shopify, on the other hand, relies heavily on third-party apps to add functionality. Shopify, however, relies heavily upon third-party apps for functionality.
Ecommerce
For online stores, we recommend choosing a dedicated ecommerce website builder, like Shopify. We recommend using a website builder that is dedicated to ecommerce, such as Shopify, for online stores. You’ll want a platform that offers intuitive product management tools and important features, including:
- Lots of payment options to give your customers choice at checkout
- Multichannel selling so you can reach and sell to customers across social media and online marketplaces
- Ecommerce-focused marketing tools, such as Shopify’s 3D scanner to dynamically present your products or email marketing features to engage with customers
- Security measures, such as SSL certificates and fraud detection, to keep your business and customer data safe from malicious threats or attacks
- Shipping methods that suit your business – for example, Shopify offers real-time shipping rates and label printing
Apps & Plugins
A lot of website builders offer third-party apps and plugins that you can install to add additional functionality to your site. Many website builders allow you to install third-party plugins and apps to enhance your site. Some are free to use, such as Wix’s own Wix Bookings app, while others can cost extra on top of your subscription, such as Mailchimp for advanced email marketing tools. Some apps are free, like Wix’s Wix Bookings, while others may cost extra to use on top of your subscription. Mailchimp, for example, offers advanced email marketing tools.
Top tip
While it’s great to explore available apps to enhance your website, I recommend taking the time to properly research plugins before downloading them in case of security issues or poor performance. It’s great to explore the available apps to enhance a website, but I recommend that you thoroughly research the plugins before downloading in case there are security issues or poor performance. I could browse over 8,000 apps in Shopify’s app store. I could browse more than 8,000 apps on Shopify’s App Store. Source: Website Builder Expert
8. Optimize Your Content
The next step is to optimize your website content and design. Next, optimize the content and design of your website. This will help boost your site’s visibility across search engines, improve the overall experience for visitors, and build brand awareness. This will improve your site’s visibility in search engines, enhance the user experience, and increase brand awareness.
Consider these factors when optimizing your content:
- Search engine optimization (SEO) – boost your website’s visibility and traffic by optimizing your site for search engines, like Google, through SEO basics and best practices, such as keyword research, image alt text, and more
- Content hierarchy – place important information in prime locations on your pages so visitors don’t need to scroll or search around for it
- Publish content regularly – build up your authority and expertise in your niche by sharing relevant and valuable content with your readers, such as blog posts
- Consider all devices – almost 59% of website traffic comes from mobile devices instead of desktops, so make sure your website looks and works well for all screen types
- Optimize your visuals – compress any images or videos to prevent slowing down your pages and frustrating your website visitors, but don’t compromise on quality
- Assess the user journey – review the navigation and desired user journey to make sure the experience is smooth and intuitive
Search engine optimization (SEO), also known as search engine optimization, is a way to increase your website’s visibility, traffic, and conversion rates by optimizing it for search engines like Google. This can be done through SEO basics, best practices, and other techniques, such as image alt text and keyword research.
Content hierarchy – Place important information in prominent locations on your page so that visitors don’t have to scroll around or search for it.
Publish content regularly – build up your authority and expertise in your niche by sharing relevant and valuable content with your readers, such as blog posts.
Consider all devices. Nearly 59% of all website traffic is from mobile devices, not desktops. Make sure your website works well on all screen types.
Optimize your visuals – compress any images or videos that are slowing down the page to avoid frustrating your visitors. But don’t compromise quality.
Assess the user journey – review the navigation and the desired user journey in order to ensure that the experience is intuitive and smooth.
9. Review and Publish Your Website
The final stage of building a website is to review your work and push it live! Review your work before you push it live. You don’t want to publish your website blind – even an experienced builder is bound to make an error along the way, whether it’s an element that needs moving or a line of copy that needs editing. You don’t want your website to be published blindly – even the most experienced web designer will make mistakes along the way.
Before you publish, you need to make sure everything’s working and looks the way you want it. You need to check that everything is working and looking the way you want before you publish. Go back through the steps above for final checks:
- Re-check the steps you’ve already completed.
- Is your site’s purpose clear to visitors?
- Are you able to clearly communicate the purpose of your website to visitors?
- Do all of the buttons and links work?
- Have you checked your content for errors or spelling mistakes?
- Is it easy to navigate?
- Has everything been optimized for SEO?
- Does your site run and load quickly?
Luckily, website builders make previewing your website really easy. Website builders make it easy to preview your website. Many include a button in the editor so you can see what your site looks like live – it’s handy to get a visitor’s perspective when editing. Many website builders have a button that allows you to see how your site will look live. This is a great way to get the perspective of a visitor when editing. Lots of builders, like Wix, also offer a toggle to change views, so you can see what your site looks like across devices. Many builders, such as Wix, offer a toggle that allows you to switch between different views. I toggled between desktop and mobile view when building my test website with Wix. Wix allows me to switch between desktop and mobile views when I am building my test site. Source: Website Builder Expert
Finally, it’s worth getting external eyes on your website before publishing. It’s also worth having an external eye look at your website before you publish it. You know the website, pages, and content inside out, so request feedback from family, friends, and strangers. Ask strangers and family members for feedback on your website. You know it inside and out.
What Happens After Publishing Your Website?
Is your website ever really finished? Is your site ever finished? No. After you’ve published your website (congrats! No. ), the work doesn’t stop. After you’ve published your website (congrats! ), the work does not stop. You might want to tweak the design, expand your audience, write new blog posts, or adjust your pages based on the user experience. You may want to change the design, increase your audience, create new blog posts or adjust your pages according to the user experience.
Website Maintenance
It’s important to monitor your website and listen to feedback to make effective improvements. Monitor your website and listen for feedback to make improvements. Keep an eye on traffic and performance through your website builder or third-party integrations like Google Analytics. You can monitor traffic and performance using your website builder, or third-party integrations such as Google Analytics. This will give you insight into how people are engaging with your website, meaning you can use this data to share future updates or edits. This will give insight into how users interact with your website. You can then use this data to make future updates or edits. For example, people might regularly visit your “About” page – over time, this could become outdated as team members change or your business evolves, so editing the page is an easy way to keep things fresh. Editing your “About” section is a great way to keep it fresh.
Top tip
I recommend running regular checkups and audits of your website. I recommend that you regularly audit and check your website. Now, this doesn’t have to be every day or every week, but keep an eye out for things like broken links or outdated content. This doesn’t need to be done every day or even every week. But keep an eye out on things like broken links and outdated content.
Promoting Your Website
After publishing your site, you’ll want to spread the word, whether that’s across social media platforms, like Instagram and TikTok, or through email newsletters. You’ll want your site to be known, so you’ll need to share it, whether through social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok or email newsletters. This is a useful way to encourage traffic back to your website and build awareness. This is an effective way to drive traffic to your website and increase awareness. Sharing content between your website and social media channels can also help foster trust in your brand and improve customer relationships. Sharing content across your website and social media can also improve customer relations and foster trust in your brand. Plus, additional channels like these can be great if you’re trying to share updates about your website or bring attention to new products or content. These channels are also great for sharing updates about your site or bringing attention to new content or products.
How To Build a Website: Recap & Next Steps
If you’ve followed these nine steps so far, that means you’ve successfully built and published a website. If you’ve followed these nine steps, you’ve built and published your website successfully. Congrats! To recap, once you’ve figured out your site’s purpose, chosen your domain name, and picked an appropriate website builder, the rest of the building process is all about customizing and optimizing. Once you’ve determined the purpose of your website, selected your domain name, chosen a suitable website builder and then customized and optimized it, the rest is easy.
And, as I’ve already mentioned, make sure to review and regularly check your website to spot areas for improvement. As I have already said, you should review and regularly check your site to identify areas that could be improved. There isn’t a finish line when building a website – while you can get your site up and running quickly, be prepared to dedicate your time and energy to keeping content up to date. When building a site, there is no finish line. You can get it up and running quickly but you will need to devote time and effort to keep the content updated.
