What does it take to build your first website? It’s an exciting time deciding to create a website in order to build your business, build your personal brand, or put a message out into the world. Building a website may feel intimidating but it doesn’t have to be with a few tips to get you started. 

It may seem like a large undertaking with web designers to hire and coming up with a marketing strategy, but now you can do it all yourself with some easy online tools. From setting up your domain to choosing a site builder, here is a look at what you’ll need to get your first website built and started. 

<h2>First you’ll need hosting</h2>

The first place to start is to decide if you are going to hire someone to design your website or if you are going to take on the project yourself. While it may sound appealing to hire someone, it’s not so hard to build a website these days and most people don’t have the budget to hire someone to do the work. One way to go is to do it yourself now and hire someone later if you feel you need a website redesign. 

To create your professional website, first you’ll setup hosting and your domain. You have to purchase the domain and hosting by choosing a provider from a variety of sources. You could choose hosting from a shared server in which other people are paying to use the same host and they save money by sharing. 

A dedicated server allows you to have your own server but it’s a more expensive way to get hosting. There are other options like VPS and the cloud that are available as well. Choose a hosting service that is easy for a beginner and easy to setup.

Your domain will be how people find you and recognize you online. Make sure you choose a domain name that is easy for people to recognize and that represents your business well. 

<h2>Website framework</h2>

After you’ve done that part, you’ll need to choose a website framework or a website builder to work with. This is where those online tools come in handy and save you’re the big bucks from hiring a website designer. You can work with a website builder to choose the right framework which could include a site like WordPress. 

Site builders help you go through each step one at a time to get your website up and running. Sometimes your hosting service will provide you with these tools for free and you just have to choose which template you want to choose. You can customize the website to your preferences and goals you had for the website while using a site builder. 

Using a program like WordPress simply requires that you simply install it, customize it by choosing a free or paid theme, downloading the theme, and then uploading it. Customize it from there with using the dashboard.

Some people choose to build one from scratch but it can take a lot of trial and error to do so. For those that enjoy DIY projects and don’t mind a learning curve, this may be the way to go. You’ll get to really learn the world of coding and enjoy a custom website that will be unlike any others. 

Check out the CodeAcademy or W3Schools for learning how to code before attempting your own website. You’ll learn languages like CSS, HTML, and PHP to help you build a website to your exact needs. Having these basic coding skills under your belt will make it easier to customize your website anyway. 

Consider which route makes sense for you and remember that your website is like an online business card for your company. Do you want to build and grow your business from a reliable source like WordPress that can give you all of the website tools you could need or do you want to do it yourself by taking the time to learn the trade and then creating the perfect-for-you, unique website? Consider how much time you have to work with and what kind of budget you are working with. 

These are the things that you’ll need in order to build your first website. 



