Can You Design Your Own Website?

(Photo credit: J Garrattley)

Designing your own website may seem like a good way to save money but can you really have it looking professional? The short answer is ‘absolutely’ and you don’t need a degree in web design to do it either. There is a wealth of free applications on the Internet that can make creating your own website a breeze. No business can do without a website either with the Internet now becoming one of the main drivers of business. A website is just as important as every other aspect of your business, such as your phone system, office furniture and stationery.

What do you want your website to do?

This is the first question you need to ask yourself before starting to create your own website. It is a site where people can buy products? Is it a site for your business that is designed to attract customers? Or is it a site for your local sporting club or just for your family to share photos? There are infinite possibilities for your website and quite often the content – or subject – will dictate which type of site you need to create.

Don’t be put off by the jargon

An understanding of basic computing is going to go a long way. But it’s understandable if some of the jargon is confusing. There are many options available to create a website and quite often it is a matter of following the instructions on the screen. Free website options use templates to make it much easier to create your own site and are often quite simple in their appearance and design. For something a little more advanced you will have to start parting with some cash. There are plenty of good software applications available to help you create your own site as well.

Where to start

Google ‘create website’ and you will be inundated with choices. The best place to get an idea of the best web design options for you is by flicking through online forums or discussion groups such as Whirlpool. These threads are posted by real people who have actually used some of the applications and posted their opinions. It can also help you to weed out the duds from the real deal.

What you use is going to depend on your skill level. A basic knowledge of HTML (the computer code that creates websites) will be a big advantage. You also need to consider somewhere to ‘host’ your site (more on this soon) and quite often web hosting companies offer a web design service to sign you up. These are appealing to many people as everything to do with your website can be done in the one place.

Hosting and domain names

There is more to it than just creating a website, however. Your site needs a place to ‘live’ (known as a host) and it also needs an address where people anywhere in the world can see it (known as a domain name). Without these two things, your site won’t exist. Many newcomers to website creation use a web hosting company that does all three for you. It makes getting your site live much simpler.

Quite often these companies will offer added extras such as SEO (which enhances your Google ranking). A Google  search of ‘web hosting’ or ‘domain name registration’ will put you on the right track. Make sure you compare what they offer and the price because it can differ greatly.