Simple Steps to Create Your Own Website

Setting up your own website:

Step 1: Get Your Domain Name

This is what gives a name to your website for e.g. “google.com” and “msn.com” are the domain names of Google and MSN. Getting a domain name is equivalent to registering business in the brick-and-mortar world. While choosing a domain name, remember that it is good to have a name that reflects your site or business. The name of the site is the URL. So if the URL is related to your business then there are better chances that they will remember it. But there are chances that the domain name is with some other owner. Check up the “who is” information for the domain and find out if that person is interested in selling it.

Step 2: Register Your Domain Name

After getting a domain name, the next step to create your own website would be to register it. You have to register the name you want with an organization called ICANN through a domain name register. You choose a domain name and pay a registration fee which is between $10 and $35 that is valid for a year. Then you have to renew it for approximately the same amount of time every year. To pay for the domain name you will need a credit card or PayPal account. There are numerous domain name registers like GoDaddy.com, Dotster.com, Register.com, Moniker, 1&1Internet.

Step 3: Choose a Web Host and Sign Up for an Account

A web host is an organization that has a lot of computers connected to the internet. When you place your web pages on their system, everyone who uses the internet will be able to view it and navigate through it. So this is like a home for your website. When you registered, you got the business name and now the next step to create your own website is to sign up with the web host which is like renting out office premises in the real world. You could choose a free web host or a commercial web host. A free web host would impose advertising on your website. Also, the amount of web space available to you would be limited. Some web hosts limit the max size of files you can upload, but an important aspect of getting a host is reliability and speed of access.

Step 4: Designing Your Web Pages

The next step you’ll have to undertake is to design the website itself. To get a web page onto your site the best thing is to use a WYSIWYG (What you see is what you get) web editor. With such editors you can design the site visually and not bother about the technical details. In fact they behave as normal word processors. Again, you have a choice of commercial or free web editors. Dreamweaver is a very good commercial web editor, while KompoZer is an example of free WYSIWYG web editor.

Step 5: Create Content for Your Website

Once you have registered the domain name and decided on the web host, and designed it, the next step to create your own website comprises of creating content to put on it. Depending on your website, you might need to write and upload pictures. You need to make sure that the writing on your website is unique at all time, as you can do this by using article checkers like Copyscape. Also, if you want to put up pictures on your website you must be aware of copyright and use only royalty free images.