You planned and you prepared. you have all your content ready and you know what kind of website you want to build. These are the next steps you need to take to go from concept to reality with your website.
Step 1. Come up with a Domain Name
A domain name is the address of your website. It also should say what your website is about. Be sure to add some keywords to your website. For example if your name is Mike and you want to make a blog website where you talk about how great the Miami Hurricanes football team is you might go with http://mikeshurricanesfootballblog.com.
whatever name you pick for your website address make sure it is consistent with your topic or that it expresses what the site is about. http://anthonycutaia.com for example shows that this is a website about a person.
Step 2. Buy a Domain Name
I use http://godaddy.com to purchase my domain names, but there are many domain name registrars out there. hopefully you have some domain names written down that you would like to use. When you go to a registrar you will search for the domain names you have come up with. MANY dot com names have been taken, so you might have to get creative. The more specific you can be the better. After you find a name that isn’t taken you can purchase it from the website. Congratulations you now own a one of a kind website address!
Step 3. Finding a Server for your Domain Name
You have a domain name. Now you have to find a hosting company that will store and maintain your website files. Once you find the company that is right for your needs and budget it is time to attach your domain name to that hosting company.
In order to connect your Domain Name to the hosting company you need to change the Domain Name Server address that is tied to your domain name. The hosting company will give you the address. It will look something like this “NS1.WEBSITE.COM”. Go to the website where you bought your domain name and you can change the DNS address there.
A Word on Servers
Every domain name has a server address tied to it called a DNS. The DNS (Domain Name Server) is where your website will be hosted. It is the address fo the physical machine that will be hosting your website. A server is just a computer that will keep your website files and make them accessible to people on the internet. When anyone goes to a web page on the internet they are really visiting another computer and viewing a file. That computer is called a server and it is hosting the files for you. We use hosting companies because maintaining a server is hard work and requires constant attention.
Step 4. Find a Design
Now that you have a host you can start building your website. First you will need a design. You can design your website in many different ways. You can use free templates, pay templates, edit a template, or hire a designer to create a custom design.
Just remember, the less money you spend on design the harder it will be to find a design that fits your needs exactly. I think free template designs are a great way to fit the budget needs of a small client. If you do use a free design, be sure to send the designer an email saying how you love the design and have chosen it for your website. I can assure you some designers spend more time than they really should designing some of these free templates!
Step 5. Upload Your Content
The last step is uploading all the text to your website. You may also add a contact form at this time. This is th final stage of the process. Now that the design is done you can fill the pages with text and images. That’s it! You have successfully built a website from domain name concept to hosting, design, and content.
As your website begins to attract business or followers you should add more pages and content to your site. A website is a constantly changing thing. if you are not updating your website on a monthly basis with something new for your visitors you risk losing them . Always update and keep it interesting.
