So you want to set up your own website? You have a rough idea how it's done but your either not too sure of the process or your feeling a bit overwhelmed by the thought of it.
No problem, so did I.
That's why in this article I am not going to just spit the information at you in a language you couldn't possibly understand but instead explain step by step, in English, what you need to set up your very own website.
It's actually quite easy and fun, as you will see! I know time is valuable nowadays.
With that in mind instead of boring you with information that you don't actually need I think it's best to cut right to the chase, don't you think? The first thing you need to do in order to get you going in setting up your own website is to register your domain.
A domain is basically the address of your website, e.
g.
www.
'Your website'.
Com.
You can not have a website without a domain, the same as you can not have a house without an address.
A domain will cost you generally $10 per year and there are numerous places you can get them.
They are called domain registrars.
An example would be 'Go Daddy'.
Tips on choosing a domain name: • Make it a.
com • Make it easy to spell and remember • Avoid hyphens and numerals in your domain Step one in setting up your own website done and it wasn't that complicated was it? Lets keep it going.
Next we want to choose our 'hosting company'.
A hosting company will provide you with a service that will allow you to make your own website accessible to everyone via the world wide web.
(you might want to read that sentence a few times to really get a good understanding of it).
When you sign up with a hosting company, which might cost you $8-9 per month, you will be sent an email.
In this email there are three important bits of information, • Your domain name servers • Your username • Your password All of the above will be unique to you.
Even though you might have no idea what these are or what purpose they serve that's perfectly ok for now, you don't need to.
You just need to be aware that you will be receiving them and they are important.
An example of a hosting company would be 'HostGator'.
There, that is pretty much the technical side of the basics of setting up your very own website! It doesn't matter if you don't fully understand it.
You don't need to right now, that's the good part.
You now know enough to get started.
The same as we don't fully understand electricity but we sure know enough to use it! So what is the next thing I need to do I hear you thinking! Plan your site! Nothing complicated about this step at all, but nonetheless one of the more important steps.
Literally get a notepad and a pencil and write down what you want to be on your site.
Write down how you want your site to look.
You can actually draw a rough sketch on what you would like your website to look like, you can get inspiration by simply checking out other websites and seeing what appeals to you.
Take special note of the ones that jump out at you straight away.
After all this is the desired effect you will hope to accomplish with your own website, right? Have fun with this step of the process.
Don't get bogged down during it thinking to yourself, Oh god how am I going to possibly turn these great ideas into an actual website.
That will come later and it is much easier than you are thinking it is right now.
Now you need to focus solely on what you would like your very own website to look like.
Don't get distracted by concerning yourself with that which has no bearing on your current step.