How to Start a Website, a Guide for Novices


Website design might seem like a dark art to many people, but learning how to start a website is relatively easy with the wealth of low-cost and free web hosting companies and web builder packages now available online.

While small businesses and individuals may need to use professional web design services costing thousands of dollars, those with the time and dedication can have fun building their own websites with a unique domain name and save a small fortune along the way.

Create Your Own Website Using a Blog

A blog is just a website under a different guise using frequent updates which are often hot topics in the news. Popular blogging sites are Wordpress and Blogger where anyone can set up a blog and domain name for free. Users have access to a variety of templates with different options to customize their blogs and, using simple cut and paste tools, they can quickly set up a site then just type away to create the content. Site owners can also transfer a website easily with these platforms.

How to Start a Website Using a Free Web Hosting Company

Individuals and small businesses needing a low-cost information website for marketing purposes may want to start a website using a free web hosting company. These web design companies make it easy for the novice to start a website using customizable templates and drag and drop tools to place text and graphics within a variety of one, two or three column layouts. Graphics can be uploaded and contact forms and various other options added for a user-friendly simple website.

It is advisable to purchase a personalized domain name for around $10 which is best done through the chosen web hosting company as additional charges are incurred to transfer a domain name from one host to another.

Downsides of Free Web Hosting and Web Building Packages

Whilst building and even hosting a website for free sounds attractive, it’s important to understand some key limitations associated with “free” sites:

  • Template designs are usually quite basic, after all they are free!
  • Unless users purchase their own domain name, the name of the web hosting company stays as part of the URL. This does not make for a short catchy domain name nor is it very professional.
  • Free hosting companies sometimes go offline due to technical problems or because of their small size relative to the number of users. Businesses that have to be online 24/7 should take note.
  • Free sites have lots of restrictions in terms of size of website and graphic upload capabilities not to mention lack of opportunity for ad placement. Many also require web owners to display the web host name and link on each page plus advertisements to link partners as this is how they make money.
  • Good SEO (search engine optimization) techniques need to be employed to drive traffic through correct choice of keywords; free hosting sites give little or no help on this critical topic.

For the novice who wants to take a basic website to the next level, many of these restrictions can be overcome by upgrading to a “premium package” with the chosen web host. Enjoy unlimited page space with hundreds of high-tech templates, get a unique domain name without the name of the host company and receive dedicated SEO support; all at a price of course!

Create a Website

Create a low-cost or even a free website in just a few hours using one of the above options. Provided the limitations are understood and users simply want to build an information site with limited commercial opportunities, they offer a cheap way for thousands of small businesses and individuals to build an online presence.Create a low-cost or even a free website in just a few hours using one of the above options, or other great one like SITE123.

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