The simple truth: If you run a small business it is essential that have an online presence! Your customers expect you to be online! They want to be able to type a search into Google and instantly find the businesses that they are looking for. If your business doesn’t have a website, your customers will go elsewhere and you will miss out on sales!
The good news is that creating a website from scratch isn’t difficult and it need not be expensive. This post will teach you how to start a WordPress website from scratch so that you will never again have a lost opportunity. So, let get started!
How To Start A WordPress Website From Scratch!
There are various website builders that will help you to develop your website. But many of them are expensive. Furthermore, in order to get the best functionality you may need to fork out more money for such things as security or higher speed options.
Web designers can design a website for you. But in many instances, you get a product that you aren’t quite happy with. Plus, they will end up charging you a packet for something that you can easily do yourself.
Creating a website from scratch with WordPress isn’t difficult for most people. If you are a creative individual, it can be a lot of fun and a very rewarding exercise. Plus, you can save a ton of money by simply building your website yourself.
Why Use WordPress?
WordPress is a great platform for anyone to use. First of all, it’s free to use and it offers feature that are way ahead of the competition. It’s extremely user-friendly and is easily customized to suit any business, large or small.
Many people think that just because WordPress a free open source that it may not be up to par. Nothing can be further from the truth. Many big brands such as Sony, Disney, The New York Times Company, Beyoncé and many others use WordPress. In fact more than 25% of all websites worldwide use WordPress to manage their website content.
While WordPress is a free platform there are costs that are associated with starting and running a website. Costs include:
- Purchasing a domain name
- Purchasing a website hosting service
- The cost of a theme for your website
- Marketing and operational costs
Running a WordPress site with web hosting for a small business can cost up to $1,000 or more a year. But you can create a website for free if you so choose. You do this by having a subdomain. (More about this later).
How To Build A WordPress Website For Beginners
Below is a simple step-by-step process which will show beginners how to start a WordPress website from scratch.
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Get a domain name.
Your domain name is the URL that identifies your website. Possible domain name choices are endless, although the most popular are most likely unavailable. The best domains for SEO end in “.com” and can be anything that you like. But make sure that your domain name relates back to your business. A good domain name should be:
- Short
- Memorable
- Brandable
- Pronounceable
If you purchase a domain name it will usually cost between $10-20 per year. But you can get free subdomains. Subdomains run off someone else’s main domain.
For example, WordPress offers free subdomains. If you get a free subdomain with WordPress and want to call your website “doglovers”, your website name will be “doglovers.wordpress.com” In this example, wordpress.com is the domain and doglovers is the subdomain.
Subdomains are great if you are just starting out and want to get the feel for running an online business. But if you want a professional looking website, purchasing your own domain name is the way to go forward.
To find out more about choosing a domain name read: What Is The Best Way To Make Money Online For Beginners.
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Choose a hosting provider.
Your web host provider stores the back end of your data and enables your website to go live. This enables it to be found by search engines. There are thousands of hosting providers to choose from.
I recommend that you choose a host provider that is compatible with WordPress. This is because WordPress is one of the best and simplest content management systems to use. WordPress makes it easy for people with no web design experience to create posts, upload images and videos, and manage the appearance of their website.
Prices and functionality vary between different web host providers. Before buying into any hosting plan, find out what other people think of the web host provider by reading user feedback. This will help you to choose the right host provider for your business.
Some platforms do provide free hosting such as 000WebHost, InfinityFree, FreeHosting, as well as many others. The problem is that they generally have restrictions on bandwidth, storage, and limited security. While free web host providers do offer basic features like email accounts and website installations, they are usually slow, and unreliable.
With free web hosts you have limited control over your website. Many have been known to place ads on websites without consultation. Some free web hosts providers have also deleted websites and online businesses without prior notice.
If you want to use a free web host provider the two that I recommend are WordPress and SiteRubix through Wealthy Affiliate. While these have limitations, they won’t place adds on your website nor will they delete your website. You can watch the video below to see how you can easily create a website in less than 30 seconds.
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Pick your WordPress theme.
Once you have your host provider it’s time to start to make your website look presentable. You do this by choosing a WordPress theme. There are thousands of paid themes to choose from so there should be one to suit your business. However both WordPress and SiteRubix offer free theme options.
Initially it is best to start with a theme that is simple to use and reflects your business. Use a simple, straightforward theme, as complicated ones can cause unnecessary confusion. A straightforward theme will help you to get your content published as soon as possible. You can always change your theme at a later stage if you want a different look.
You can further customize your theme in WordPress by installing your logo and using different fonts or text colors. Once you have these in place you can then start adding your own awesome content, images, graphs, etc.
Your content should be interesting and unique. It should provide information that is helpful to your readers and penitential customers. If you want to know more about writing content that converts, click here.
Summing Up
There you have it a simple 3-step process on how to start a WordPress website from scratch for your small business. As you can see starting a WordPress website from scratch isn’t difficult. Doing it yourself can be a lot of fun and it will definitely save you money! Your customers are waiting, so build your website today!
What’s holding you back from starting up your digital presence with your own website?
Do you use WordPress, or do you prefer a different content management system?
If you have any comments or questions please leave them at the end of this post.
Great post and tons of great information that will help those who are just starting out to get a good grasp on how to move forward in building a website for their business.
Hi Norman, Thanks for your comments. I think that using simple website builders is great for people who are just starting out in business. This is because funds are unusually limited at the beginning. Building a website yourself from scratch also allows you to get the exact look that you want.
Very good information for beginners. This could inspire some persons who are not aware of the ease and simplicity of creating their own website. Considering that the world has become a global marketplace, there is value in this post.
Hi,thanks for your comments. Most novices don’t have any idea on how to build a website, and many are put off by the huge expense of hiring a website designer. But building a website yourself is a simple matter when you use great website builders such as SiteRubix or WordPress. And the best thing is that they are free!