If you ever want to grow your business both online and offline, you must know by now the importance of a good website. Creating a website is the first and most relevant task to carry out if you want to scale your online store. The question, however, is whether it is difficult to create a website or not. So, is making a website difficult? Milia Marketing specializes in Website Design and we’ll walk you through step by step below.
The simple answer to the question is yes and no. This is because there are several options to explore. You can simply hire a web design expert or take on the job yourself.
This article will show you everything you need to know about building websites, web development, and more. It’s an all-inclusive blog post about starting a website. Let’s get into it.
Do you really need help building a website?
There’s a very famous myth that a strong knowledge of CSS, JavaScript, Python, and all the other coding programs are necessary if you want to create a website with high-level responsiveness.
That myth has been debunked in recent years with the advent of CMSs like WordPress, Wix, and other much easier website builders that simply let you drag and drop the design you want to see on your website.
As easy as that sounds, it’s definitely not a task you want to dive into without a proper understanding of the intricacies. A website is made up of several components and they include the host, the domain name, and the design. We will take a clearer look very soon.
Small business owners make the mistake of taking on the role of website design experts. This will not only take up all the time you should be spending on other important aspects of your business but can also leave you frustrated and confused. You may never get to see your website live. Work with a professional web design agency in Cleveland today.
There are several types of websites and before you can say that building websites is difficult or easy, we need to consider what these types of websites are.
Types of websites
Before you can create a website, you must first decide what kind of website you want to have. Do you want an e-commerce online store, an effective business website that helps you improve your online presence or a blog where you can share content, grow your followers, and maybe sell something using an affiliate program? Let’s take a look at the types of websites:
1. Business website
This kind of website is created specifically for your business. It almost combines all the features of an eCommerce website and a blog. This is because, within the website, you can have a blog and some e-commerce features where your customers can easily purchase your product or request your services.
Good business websites will also be used to showcase your portfolio and help potential clients or customers learn about your business.
2. eCommerce website (online store)
An eCommerce website is an online store where people can look through your gallery of products, add some to their carts, and eventually pay for them and wait for delivery.
An eCommerce website does the same thing as your land-based. The only difference is that it is on the internet and your customers may never get to meet you in person.
A smart way to scale e-commerce is to create a website that makes it super easy for your customers to see and buy your products. One known way to do that is to make it possible for visitors to filter their searches by categories.
You can also highlight special sales, where you want your customers and potential customers to find out about a new product or a promotion you’re offering. Platforms include WooCommerce, Shopify, BigCommerce, Magento, and more.
E-commerce websites are mainly just pages with products and product information. They don’t offer special features like blogs.
3. Blog
A blog is a kind of website that features regular posting of articles, pictures, videos, and other media. Blogs are hardly ever used to sell products. They only direct people to websites or businesses where they can buy what they want.
A blog can be about anything, ranging from personal lifestyle to trending gossip to news to informational and many more. It can be used to boost the online presence of an individual or business but is hardly ever linked to a business.
Before you build a website, you must first be sure what kind of website you want to have. This knowledge will affect the design as well as the functionality of the website.
Is it easy or hard to create a website?
The question of whether it is hard to build your website will have relative answers. There are two categories of people who would want answers to the question.
The first category is for people who are planning to become expert web designers. The second category is for people who want to create a simple website for their business.
If you want to become an expert in website design and development, you should consider taking an extensive course in web design and development. You’ll need all the coding knowledge required to maneuver every project.
If you’re only interested in creating a small business website to grow your business, this article will help you a whole lot. You will learn the easy steps required to build your own website.
Building a website is not easy, neither will it be the most difficult task you have ever undertaken. However, a substantial level of knowledge and experience will be needed if you must scale the project.
Some supposed experts will advise that you start with a free website and gradually learn to use the platform. However, this is as unhelpful as not doing anything at all.
A free website does not, and will never, have most of the exciting features that help you create a spectacular site. WordPress, for example, will not give you access to some of the most important plugins to protect your site and grow it.
Nothing is ever really free and we will only base this article on the paid WordPress platform as well as the other website builders online.
How to create a website (building websites in 2023)
There are three major steps to building the perfect website for your business or blog. Remember, it is not easy but it is doable if you have the right knowledge and that is exactly what you’re getting from this page.
- Get a reliable web hosting provider
- Get a domain name that supports your business/brand
- Choose the best scalable CMS (content management system)
If you have done all these things successfully, then you should reward yourself with a good bottle of beer or coffee, or any kind of drink you love because you have just finished the most difficult part of the project.
What comes next is how you can design the site to make it look as beautiful as you want. Before we go into that, let’s consider these three major steps in more detail.
#1: Get a reliable web hosting provider
The first step to creating a real website is to pay a web hosting company. For any website to be featured on the worldwide web, it has to be allocated to a server. You cannot create a website without first ensuring that your site will have a place to stay on the internet.
Consider web hosting as the home for your website on the world wide web. There are several types of hosting services to choose from and they all offer some special services. The three major types of hosting include:
From our explanation of what hosting is, we can explain shared hosting as a form of hosting service where your custom domain gets to share a server with several other domains.
Starting a new website, you can make do with a shared hosting plan as it is convenient and very affordable, especially when you have less than a hundred thousand visitors to your website.
(II) Dedicated server
A dedicated server is something you may never need, depending on the kind of website you’re building. An example of a website that may require a dedicated server is Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and several other websites that pull in millions of people daily.
So, what is a dedicated server? A dedicated server is one where you have the entire server all to yourself. It is the exact opposite of a shared hosting plan. As a beginner, you don’t want to pay these huge fees yet. The good part is that you can easily switch servers with time.
(III) Virtual Private Server
A virtual private server (VPN) is what you can refer to as a blend of shared hosting and dedicated server. This is because you’re allowed to have your own space within a shared server. So, instead of your domain living in a large room with other domains, you simply have a room in it that’s just for you. As the name suggests, it is private.
Web hosting comes at a price. A very cheap one anyway. Around the price of a cup of coffee per month. However, instead of paying per month, you could simply select a yearly or bi-annual plan that offers a good discount.
#2: Get a custom domain name that supports your business/brand
Getting a domain name is tricky but can be the easiest thing you’ve ever done. Your domain name is the online name for your website. People can simply type it into search engines (without the dot-com {.com}) or search for you by typing the entire URL. You cannot build a website without a domain name.
For a company website/eCommerce website you don’t need to try too hard to come up with a domain name. You can simply use your business name. This also makes it easier for your customers to trust your website and your business.
Imagine that your business name is “Marcus Clothing” and your domain name says “Buy clothes,” you’ll have to do a lot more work trying to convince your customers that it is the same business.
For a blog, your domain name does more than just explain what you do, below are some points to consider.
(I) Make it simple and short
Domain names should be easy to remember. Keep it simple and short. Doing this will make it easy for your customers to easily search you out on their browsers.
If you are using a long company name as your custom domain name, consider using abbreviations and acronyms to make it easier to memorize.
(II) No hyphens or numbers
Hyphens and numbers are irrelevant when choosing a domain name. Domain names should be clear words or acronyms (if it’s a business name). Numbers will make it look fake to users as well as search engines.
(III) Use the right extension
Extensions are the characters that follow the period sign (.) in a website address. Always ensure that you use the .com extension as opposed to .net, .co, and the others.
It occurs very often that the name you have been dreaming of for your website has been chosen in the preferred extensions. What you can do is mix things up but ensure that it conveys a relevant message. Never use nonsensical names.
(IV) Research the name
If you’re stuck and can’t find a proper domain name that has not been chosen, do your research. Go online, search for popular brands in your niche or industry, and get ideas from how they name their website. Combine those and come up with something unique yet interesting.
(V) Make it SEO-friendly
For the sake of search engine optimization, you want the name of your website or online store to include a popular word in your niche. For example, if you’re into marketing like we are, you can include marketing in the website name. This helps search engines to identify you easily.
(VI) Make it futuristic
A futuristic website will never go wrong. Don’t limit your business to what you’re seeing currently. A good example will be a site like “www.bagsforgirls.com.” you don’t know if, in the future, you will sell more fashion items to a broader range of people. Make it smart and futuristic.
#3: Get website builder
Choosing a website builder is one of the toughest decisions you will make. But if you can scale this step, you’re more than 70% through with the task.
There are tons of website builders. Some web developers prefer to use WordPress for its ease and control. Others may prefer a much easier drag and drop option.
Choosing a website builder can be exhausting, especially because we have tons of them in our faces. However, we have made a small list for you below to choose the one that works best for you.
5 top website builders to choose from
We will look at some website builders that can help you build anything from a business site, blog, portfolio site, to an eCommerce online store. Below are our top picks:
1. WordPress
It should not come as a surprise that WordPress is coming on top of the list of site builders. Almost 70% of the websites on the world wide web today we’re created using WordPress.
Every web designer has at least one favorite website builder but for most people, WordPress is always on the list.
WordPress is a website builder, open-source software, and CMS (content management system) that anyone at all can create a website with.
In 2003, WordPress was simply a blogging platform, just like Twitter and the likes but has graduated into a web development platform, preferred by over 70% of the world’s website owners.
WordPress can be used to create a blog, business site, eCommerce site, portfolio site, or just about any other kind of site. WordPress has a free version that gives you a free website within the WordPress site.
This means that your domain name comes out as “www.mywebsite.wordpress.com” and that is not something you want to do with your time. We will talk about why a free website is a bad business later.
Although WordPress does not offer the drag and drop feature, it is completely user-friendly and scalable. Some features of WordPress include:
- Tons of free plugins and themes. This is because it is open-source software, meaning that anyone can create extensions to make it even easier to use.
- Easy management of website content
- No limits to posts, pages, and more.
- Post scheduling. This means that you can create blog posts ahead of time and schedule them to be posted at your preferred time.
- Add new page with just one click
- Properly managed website security
- Adequate customer support
- Add new website editors with ease
- Integration with several different systems like contact forms, mail chimp, and many more.
There are tons of other awesome features and benefits to using WordPress. As a new web developer, WordPress can be the best starting point for you.
WordPress doesn’t offer a free trial because using a WordPress site is totally free of charge. Don’t get this wrong. This doesn’t make it a free website. This is because you get to pay for hosting and the domain name. It is by far one of the best website builders in the industry.
Don’t forget that with WordPress, you can design a super-responsive eCommerce website using their free Woocommerce plugin. If you want a professional website that can stand the test of time, a WordPress site is what you need.
2. Wix
Wix is another amazing website builder on our list, used by millions of website developers worldwide. The Wix website builder is popularly known for its awesomeness in building eCommerce sites. They offer a free trial and you can check that out right away.
Both Wix and WordPress are two awesome website builders that every web developer should have in their tool kit. This is because one complements the other. Let’s take a look at some of the features of the Wix website builder.
- Intuitive Website Builder
- One-Pagers
- Drag n’ Drop Website Editor
- Easy-to-add blog
- Facebook comments
- Social Feed
- Automatic blog styling
- 100s of Designer-Made Templates
- Customizable Designs
- Reliable customer support
- Free and Reliable Hosting
- Optimized Mobile View
- Live Chat
- Social Media Buttons (Google+, Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest)
- Wix App Market
- Online Store: it is the best platform to sell products
- Email Marketing
- Display Events
- Multiple Payment Methods
- Communication Tools
- SEO tools including Site Analytics – Google Analytics
- Many more.
While Wix offers these features as a part of their website builder, WordPress offers them in the form of plugins and themes. The contact forms, for example, is a plugin in WordPress.
3. Weebly (drag and drop)
Weebly is a drag-and-drop website builder that allows everyone the ease of building professional websites. One cool feature of the Weebly website builder is that it has a mobile version that lets you create a website from anywhere and at any time. It is that easy to use.
With the integration with several third-party systems, Weebly allows you to create a website, blog, online store, and just about any other kind of website and customize it however you want it.
Below are some of the cool features of Weebly:
- Easy publishing
- Full-width page editor
- 24×7 Support
- Responsive templates
- App integration
- Free trial
- Domain registration
- Drag and drop website builder
- eCommerce Store
- Free Sub-domain
4. Squarespace
Squarespace is a website builder targeted mainly at small business owners. With Squarespace, designing a website can be the easiest task in your business you’ll ever do. All you need is access to the internet and a web browser.
However, you must know that Squarespace offers several other features that may cost ten times higher than the basic amount. Some of these plans include the Squarespace Select that assigns a professional to you for consultation & support and Squarespace Enterprise.
Some features of Squarespace website builder include:
- SaaS platform (this means that you pay per month for the service)
- Free trial available
- Gallery Blocks
- Audio Collections
- Direct Editing
- Mobile Information Bar
- Custom CSS
- Custom WYSIWYG Editor
- Template Switching
- Built-in Mobile Website
- Modern Templates
- Style Editor
- Content Downloading
- Social Media Links
- Automatic Image Scaling
- Site Annotations
- Drag-and-Drop Platform
- Responsive Image Loader
- Dropbox File Synchronization
Ensure that you properly explore your options before choosing one of these website builders.
5. Bigcommerce
As the name suggests, Bigcommerce is a site builder for eCommerce businesses. It is with no doubt one of the best website builders you can find online. There’s a chance that your web developer will use this to create your eCommerce website as it is super-easy to use and convenient.
They offer a free trial that lets you use their service and decide if you want to continue or not. Bigcommerce integrates with eBay and Amazon to make selling as easy as possible. They also have some social selling capabilities that let you sell easily on Facebook.
Some features of Bigcommerce include:
- Drag-and-drop page builder
- Delivery/event dates
- Social media marketing
- SEO management
- Domain name
- Secure shopping cart
- Product catalog
- Inventory management
- Content management system
- Payment gateway
- Marketing tools
- Hosting and security
- Images
- User-friendly platform
- Returns System (RMA)
- Google AMP on product and category pages
- Automatic image compression with Akamai Image Manager
- Extended functionality with Facebook Marketplace
- eBay selling
- Mobile-optimized store
- RESTful API
- Multi-currency support
- Dropshipping and warehouse
- Instagram selling
- Shopping comparison engines
- Product options and bundling
- Shipping
- SEO tools for reporting and analytics
- Customers segmentation
- Configurable fields
- In-store search
If for some weird reason, you don’t want to use WordPress site builder, we have given you tons of other options to choose from.
Having looked at all five of the top website builders out there, it is safe to summarize that all you have to do to create your own website is to get a web host, get a domain name, and get your website builder.
Every website you see online went through this same process. However, it doesn’t stop at just creating the site and designing it. There are several other features that your site should have to make it a successful one online.
An example of what your site needs after all the design is a good SEO strategy (SEO tools). Another example is a strategy and design that promotes a high-quality user experience.
The better your visitors get satisfied on your page or the entire site, the more favored you are by Google, and the more money you’re likely to make. Having looked at all the important things you have to know about building a site, let’s now consider some more important matters.
Why should you let an expert build your site?
Building a professional site can look easy on the surface. However, the real hustle starts when you begin the process. A lot goes into building a site than what you can see on the said site.
If you’re still wondering if you should give the project to a professional, below are some reasons you should do it now.
1. There are 1.7 billion sites online
This is not aimed to scare you from choosing to create your own site yourself. But if you think about it, there are millions of sites online and hundreds of thousands of them are probably in your industry alone.
Now, only about 10 of them appear on the first page of Google in an entire year. Let’s not forget that most of these sites were built by experts. How do you know your website will not just be lost in the crowd like the million others?
A professional web developer already knows everything you need to stay on top of the rest. A professional will give you a design that has a fighting chance against the real lions online.
2. Search engine optimization and user-friendly design
As mentioned earlier, there’s more to your site than the design and functionality. You can create the most beautiful site in the world but without the necessary systems, you may never make good sales.
A professional will install systems such as SEO tools, mobile-friendly design, chat not (for easy and automatic response to customers’ messages), integration with socials, and any other selling platform you can think of.
3. Saves you a lot of time
As a business owner, having your site online is only one aspect of your business. While you’re focusing a lot of time and energy on creating a site that matches and reveals the services you render, other aspects of your business like selling and advertising start lagging.
Another funny but true example of the time-saving effect of a professional is that your web host starts counting your days from when you signed up, whether it takes you five more months before you could upload your first blog posts is none of their business.
4. Site development and improvement
The older your site gets, the more improvements it will require. A professional will monitor the growth of your site, inform you of some changes that can help improve the site, to help you keep making massive sales.
5. Support and security
The worst thing that can happen to a website or any other platform for that matter is a lack of security. If a page on your website becomes compromised and customers constantly get spam emails and annoying referrals after visiting your website, they’re likely not visiting again.
Your site can also be hacked and information on a page changed without your knowledge. A professional knows how to protect and support your site against all kinds of intrusion.
These are some reasons we advise business owners to never use a free website for their business or blog. Pay a professional to do the job and enjoy peace of mind throughout your days online.
There are tons of other reasons why you should let an expert handle the project for you and you may not know these reasons until you start to create the website yourself.
Build a Website With The Best Web Design Agency
Nobody builds a website as spectacularly as our web design agency in Cleveland, Ohio. Not only have we had a track record of insurmountable success, but we have also helped our clients create wealth online simply by creating a page-by-page website.
Milia Marketing has been a leading example for other web designers and agencies in Cleveland to follow. Here’s an example of increased conversion gained by simply redesigning a website for a local academy.
Another matchless example is our work with the top pizzeria in Columbus, Ohio (Teritas Pizza). We redesigned their website and the results since then have been marvelous. Up to 2265% increase in organic traffic and over 2500% increase in sessions.
Milia Marketing is a full-service digital marketing agency completely invested in helping small businesses and huge market leaders create massive wealth and achieve insurmountable success both online and offline.
You too can create success online with our specialized website design offers that give your selling platform a huge boost in sales and conversion. Give us a call today for a free quote and watch your online business pick up at a pace you never thought possible.
Frequently asked questions
Want to find out more about how to design a website? Here are some questions we have answered to guide you even further in your quest.
1. What is the easiest site to build a website?
We always try to stress that building a site shouldn’t be based on ease but the performance. However, all the sites mentioned above are easy to use and have a high performance. In terms of ease, Weebly is one of the easiest.
2. How much does it cost to build a website?
What make up the costs of making a website are the hosting and domain name. WordPress and most of the other website builders are more or less free.
However, a flat rate for the domain name and hosting will be around $47 or less, depending on the platform you’re using.
3. Can I host a website for free?
WordPress, Wix, Weebly, and other website builders will allow you to build a free website with the catch that they can post ads on your site without your notice.
These ads are annoying. Your domain will also appear as a subdomain within the platform. Other than that, it is doable.
4. What is the difference between a website and a domain?
A website is everything you have online. All the pages, all the blog posts, the design, the functionality, and everything else. A domain, on the other hand, is the name of your website.
In summary
Building a website is not as difficult as you fear but we will tell you the truth that it is not as easy as you have probably read. So much goes into seeing a website come to fruition than you can see.
However, if you follow these steps diligently, and practice very often, you will become an expert with time. If you need help creating a website that helps you stand out and compete against the biggest sites in your industry, contact Milia Marketing today.
