The Website Process: A Bird's Eye View For Novices

Starting out making a website may seem like a complicated process. However, if you find a good, web-savvy company to help you it will make the process much easier.

Below is a very macroscopic list of the milestones a client starting their first website should expect to go through:

Domain Name

One of the first things you will want to do is figure out what address you want your website to live at. Your domain name will be the first thing all visitors will type into their browser or see before they click a link to come to your site. You can buy a domain name from many different registrars on the internet.

Hosting

If the domain name is the address for your website, then hosting is the property that you will build your website on. If this is your first website, you may not realize that hosting is needed to have your site display on the internet. In order to have a site that people can access on their computers you will need to put your files on a web server. There are many web hosts that you can get hosting from, I recommend Siteground.

Find a Web developer

Assuming you are hiring somebody else to make a website for you, your next step will be to find the right person to make your website. When you find a web designer, communicate with them and make sure that they are a right fit for you and your goals. Your web expert will be able to take the reigns on this step of the process and help you get your site up.

Marketing

Next is to market your site. Make a Facebook and Twitter account and be sure to post on each at least once a day. Also be sure to communicate with your followers on these social networks. Do you plan on buying advertising or pay-per-click ads?  Be sure to ask your web developer any questions you may have about marketing your website.

Maintenance

You will need to continually maintain your website even when it is done. If you have a blog make sure to keep it updated. Keep your contact info, hours, employee list, locations and everything else up to date. You got a website to provide information to visitors so make sure it’s correct information!