In the late 1990s and early 2000s, setting up a website seemed so confusing. The materials offered were very basic and to a lot of people confusing. Yahoo! Geocities, Tripod, and other free webhosts were a bit difficult for the common Internet user because it meant you had to have a basic understanding of HTML or you ended up having a strange design generated from what the free hosts offered.
Today, it is much easier to set up a website. WordPress.com, Blogger, Typepad, and a few others offer a much friendlier means to have a presence online.
How easy is it to set up a website?
This is the easy part – Establishing a host, a site name or domain are just the very first steps. It is designing, and creating content that is what is a bit more challenging.
First time bloggers may want to start off with a free host as it might be a good base to make sure that they are serious enough and have established a readership.
So, as a summary of how easy it is, here are the general steps:
- Brainstorm what you want your site to do and who you want to reach.
- Choose a web host.
- Come up with a site name or select a suitable domain name for the website.
- Start creating content.
- Choose or create a design.
Why did I list creating content before design? Well, you can set up a site in WordPress and start writing right away. This is important as when your site is beginning, it is often that the content is the most difficult part to continue maintaining. If you can jump start your site with a couple posts, you will be able to give visitors a clue to what you want them to get from your website. The design can come second and be a nice surprise. Technically the design will probably change as you grow into your own brand.
I know some would not agree on this, but frankly, your visitors, even if your site has an awesome layout, will find more value in what you have to say. Why not start that first and grow into your brand. A lot of interesting people have grown or are still growing into their sites and brands. Just some examples: Kim Castleberry of Just Ask Kim, Ileane Smith of Basic Blog Tips, Kristi Hines of Kikolani, and Hesham Zebida of Famous Bloggers.
However, once you have a web host in mind, you can choose to install a free theme or pay for a premium theme in the case you are not design savvy. Remember that you control what your site will be. When you put your content together, you are paving the road to your own success.
Also remember that there are a lot of great places out there giving awesome FREE advice to people wanting to become a successful blogger, online business owner, or great webmaster. Use that to your advantage.
Setting up a website is not as difficult as it use to be.
What tips would you like to share to others looking to start their own website?
Great post Nile. The development of platform (wordpress) design (themes) and tools (plugins) made it possible for everybody to establish a website with a matter of few clicks, a few minutes and a few dollars. Said that, the primary concern now has moved towards great content. We are completely free to concentrate on for what we started the site.
I like and agree with your idea to start with some posts before design. Designs can be changed at any time and most probably changes as the site gets more recognized.
My recent post Best Blogging Tips – Writing Blog Posts – Part 1
It just does make sense having some content up. I have always felt awkward going to a new website and seeing nothing there to try to get a feel for. It really is important to prepare your site for visitors. The design will come eventually.
Hey Nile, I really enjoyed reading this post, especially when I saw the link love you gave me 🙂
Seriously, I think too many experienced bloggers frown upon using free blogs like WordPress.com. It's a shame they feel that way and it's quite refreshing to see you advocate using free hosts in the early stages.
Many new bloggers can get overwhelmed with everything that they have to learn and they end up quitting or produce sub-par content simply because they don't know how to use their software. And even after you have graduated to self-hosting, concentrating on content is paramount to design.
Thanks for everything Nile.
My recent post How-To Customize Your FeedBurner Feed With Your Logo
Not a problem Ileane. When writing, I thought about your journey and it seemed like a great way to mention you along with some of the others that have progressed. I have been blogging for many years and have seen what works… and of course what has not.
It is nice to see how other bloggers have grown.
Nice post Nile. Some good points! Maybe when before making a final decision on choosing a host, make sure you have the correct package plan, for example, WordPress needs a Mysql Database. Choosing a unique name for the website is also a good point to consider, something short and sweet thats easy for people to remember!
Thanks for writing a good article!
It is easier to create a website these days than several years ago. Now there are many free website builders available with many options to create great small websites consisting of a few pages and even with interactive features.
They are a lot nicer than the ones I got to play with over 10 years ago certainly. Yahoo! Geocities was nice for its time, but today, even with their generator still available, that part was out of date. I would have liked to see Yahoo! develop more as they started Yahoo! 360, and then not too long after, got rid of their blogging platform. That would have been a nice idea to cultivate.
Really great tips when someone like me thinks to create a website and its essential that we must consider these points before developing or designing a website. And it would produce a great result for the website owner.
As for me when I first starting up my blog I encounter huge problem especially when setting it up. To be honest I don’t regret experiencing any of those since I really learn a lot from it. If I am going to encounter it again I will face it head on.
For those who is going to build their own website I suggest you take it seriously or don’t do it at all because chances are you’ll end up wasting your time.
Thanks guy for useful advice. I liked the script but i am confused with selecting the best web host. I don’t know what to consider before finalize the web host because i am on a way going to create a new website which is related to offer tricks and tips of computer.
Very useful information! I agree with Allen!
So much easier and simple compared to the olden days haha!