How to Make a Website
In 4 Steps
Been meaning to start your own website? Follow this helpful guide that breaks down how to get your endeavor online in 4 simple steps.
Secure A Domain
A domain is your digital address, it will be where your website is located on the web, and what your business emails will look like: (www.example.com)
Design Your Site
Your website is your home-base on the internet, so you want it to reflect your company voice and culture, while bringing an impressive experience to the user.
Develop the Code
Knowing what you want to achieve going into the website development phase is essential. Your code should be custom built around your business model, operations and goals.
Launch and Market
Congrats! You finally have your own professional website! It will be a great tool for your operations and customers, but, how do you get it in front of people? Read more…
Average Cost of a Website Breakdown:
A Website is your Digital House
A good analogy for the different parts of a website, and how they all come together, might be a house:
- Lot number/Physical land to build on address to receive mail at, for instance – Hosting
- Foundation – Domain
- Framing – The base code (PHP, CSS, HTML, Java), the basic structure of your site (eCommerce?,
- Walls, roof, flooring, etc. – Customizing the content and design of your site
- Furniture, lnadscaping, etc. – Polishing desing and content touches and supplementary
There a number of different “parts” that all come together to make a good website, so let’s break it down.
Domain:
This is the URL, or address of your website (ours, for instance, is www.highdesertdigitaldesign.com). You can purchase a domain through numerous “registrars” out there. Often, host services (like GoDaddy, Bluehost, or HostGator) offer thier own domain registrar services. Regardless of how or who you register your domain with, you can always “host” or build and make public, a website on any platform using that domain. Need help choosing a domain? We can do that.
Hosting:
This is the actual server space where your site files will live. A good host also offers additional services like server-level security, site speed optimizations, webmail, and more. Yes, we offer hosting! In fact, HD3 offers full-service hosting including security, webmail, on-call support and even a free SSL certificate (with select subscriptions) at prices comparable with, or lower than other host platforms out there. Talk to us about it.
Design:
This is where you get to let your brand’s culture and voice shine. Design refers to the fonts, colors, images and general layout of your site, but it also refers to the functionality. A good designer knows how to best structure a site for UX (user experience), but a great designer knows how to design a site that looks and works great, but also funnels users to make actions based on your goals. At HD3, we design every site based on current trends, best practices, and real-time user data.
Development:
Once the design has been created and approved, the developer begins thei work. Development consists of writing the actual code that the design will need to function. Generally, this includes PHP, CSS, HTML, and JavaScript. It’s the developers job to use all current standards, versions, and best practices to make the site not only look dn work the way you want it it to, but to make sure it’s complying with
Just like building a house, you want a clear idea of what your goals are and what you are looking for BEFORE you start building.
Also like a house, a website is something that will need care over time to keep its integrity and value. Regular updates should made to the code and systems the site uses, security should be constantly monitored, and consistent updates to content itself is a great way to gain favor with search algorithms!
For more about websites specifically, and the technology behind them, read our article on “What is a Website?” HERE.
At High Desert Digital Design, our mission is to make digital marketing more accessible and effective for businesses of all sizes. We are experts in the field, and we are dedicated to helping our clients reach their goals.
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