How To Make A Website From Scratch (2019) – Free Easy Guide to Building a Website
“How To Make A Website”
A Simple Guide On How YOU CAN BUILD Your OWN WEBSITE In Just 90 minutes. If you have been planning to build your personal/business website from scratch but just didn’t have a clue where to begin, then you have landed in the right place…
Step 1. Choose a Website Hosting
Based on my experience, SiteGround is really the best hosting provider. The first option that i like is there speed in hosting sites. I got 93% speed in Gtmetrix. Before I got issues with speed but i learn the secret. I’ll share it to you in the next blog. But first I want you to experience getting SiteGround Up and Running.
SiteGround has three plans and one can sign for any of them with a great discount through an affiliate link.
It is also good to make a recommendation for the most appropriate plan to your audience:
- The StartUp plan is perfect for people with one website that are starting now
- The GrowBig plan is a great value for money offer, including the option for multiple websites and the SuperCacher that greatly improves a WordPress and Joomla website speed
- The GoGeek plan is perfect for people with e-commerce and larger sites, or more geeky development needs like staging and GIT integration
Step 2. Choosing Domain
Clients can choose to buy a new domain, or sign up with an existing domain. This is a good place to emphasize the free website transfer, which is included for GrowBig and GoGeek plans.
What if you have a domain already?
Well if you have a domain name already purchased somewhere like Namecheap. Then that is not a problem you can then choose I already have a domain and proceed to step 3.
Guide in choosing a domain name
Now if you are trying to think of a decent domain name for your website, it can be the toughest thing about building your own website. This will probably took you an hour to figure the best domain name if you are a beginner.
But let’s make it short, The domain name that you should work on is Catchy, Unique, and Easy to remember.
Sounds really easy right? Well you’ll figure it out.
Step 3. Review and Complete
Unlike many other hosting providers SiteGround advertised discount applies to any of the initial periods chosen during the sign up process. Being able to get the low price for the one year period is a fact that increases conversions greatly in comparison to other providers where the lowest monthly price applies only for the longest period. So highlighting this fact may strongly increase your conversions.
Important disclosure:
Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase, I will earn a commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you. Please understand that I have experience with all of these companies, and I recommend them because they are helpful and useful, not because of the small commissions I make if you decide to buy something. Please do not spend any money on these products unless you feel you need them or that they will help you achieve your goals.
Step 4. Setting Up Your WordPress Website & Making It Look Professional!
Now you have your hosting provider and website domain name. The next top that you’re going to do is making a website live and making it look at professional to your audience.
Don’t worry most of the boring stuff is almost done!
Step 4.a Install WordPress with One Click
You have two choices. Install with 1-click installation or manual installation. But in this guide I will show you the quickest way on how to do it which is the 1-click installation in SiteGround.
What does this mean? One click and you’ve installed WordPress. Most web hosts will have the 1-click-installation integrated as standard within their dashboard. This service will have you up and running in a blink of an eye and help you to make your own website with ease! If this service is not available on your hosting providers? then you better switch to SiteGround.
- Login to SiteGround
- Click My Accounts Menu
- Click Go to Cpanel
- Navigate to AutoInstallers Section
- Click Softaculous
Click WordPress and Install
Please take note of the Username and Password that you have added in the installation because that will be the one to use when we are going to login to our WordPress Dashboard.
Step 4.b Log In To WordPress
Open an internet browser (Chrome) and paste below URL to the address bar. https://YOUR-DOMAIN/wp-admin/
[Important]: Change YOUR-DOMAIN with Domain Name, which you have purchased.
Log in with your Admin User, which you have created in the previous step.
(Password was sent to the Admin Email address.) So that’s why I said to take note to your Username And Password.
After you have successfully login to your WordPress dashboard. You will see something like this.
How to visit the front page of my WordPress Website?
Hover over to your website title at the top left corner and then not click on the visit site.
Now you will have a website something like this. Nothing really fancy because this is the default website theme which is the Twenty Seventeen Theme.
Step 4.c Change WordPress Theme
When you are going to change the WordPress theme and you accidentally in the front page of your site. Over again at the top left corner and navigate/click the dashboard.
Navigate to Appearance > Themes > add new
This time you have the chance to choose the best free theme or WordPress. Now this may take a few minutes to choose which is the best. And when you finally found the best theme for your website. You just click install and activate.
Now what is activated. All you have to do is check the front page of your website. From here you have different options that you have to do to customize with the theme. The options will be based on what theme are you using.
Step 5. WordPress DashBoard Settings
So you have successfully installed your favorite WordPress theme. Now it’s time to set up the basic needs for your website. First thing that we are going to do is go to your WordPress dashboard.
General Settings
In the general settings page all we need to do is change the site title and the tagline. In this part you will be the one to choose what information you put in. Basically the site title and tagline will match your domain name that will also help you in terms of SEO.
After that, Navigate to the bottom to save changes.
Permalink Settings
In the permalink settings all you have to do is change the option to post names and save changes.
Step 6. Install And Configure Useful WordPress Plugins
Smush
Smush is the best plugin to compress images but not lose its quality you can make your website load much faster. But on a free version of smush, you can’t compress images more than 1 mb. If you have images that has a ton amount of sizes like more than 1 mb when can use other softwares or website like photoshop or online image compressor.
Installation
Go to Plugins > Add New.
Search for Keyword: Smush
Install and activate the plugin.
In the settings of Smush all you have to set-up is turn the Automatic Smush and you are good to go.
WP Fastest Cache
Now wp fastest cache for me is the best caching system out there. All you have to do is turn on all the settings and you are good to go. You can read the settings one by one if you like it.
Installation
Go to Plugins > Add New.
Search for Keyword: wp fastest cache
Install and activate the plugin.
After you check all the settings click on save changes.
Autoptimize
Autoptimize will going to help you minify the html, css, and javascript on your website. I really like this a lot because it is compatible with WP fastest cache. After you activate and install the plugin. Be sure to clear the cache of your site. The settings are very simple you just take 3 boxes which is for minifying html css and javascript.
They already have almost a million active install. Which means that lots of people are loving this plugin.
Installation
Go to Plugins > Add New.
Search for Keyword: Autoptimize
Install and activate the plugin.
After activating the plugin, navigate to Settings > Autoptimize
All in one SEO Pack
The All in one SEO pack plugin is for SEO purposes. This plugin is really good in adding meta title, meta description and keywords. Most SEO pro’s told you that having method keywords is not important for your blog post or website is a total BS. Keywords are still important for the bots to understand what the page is all about. But manipulating the search engine by using a keyword is totally dead.
Installation
Go to Plugins > Add New.
Search for Keyword: all in one SEO pack
Install and activate the plugin.
After installation navigate to All in one SEO > Feature Manager
And activate XML Sitemap, Social Meta, and Robots.txt
iThemes Security
Now you have your website and it is time to have a security in it. The iThemes Security is the best security plugin based on my experience. And it is really simple to setup. All you have to do is go to it’s settings and then secure your website. And you are good to go.
Installation
Go to Plugins > Add New.
Search for Keyword: ithemes Security
Install and activate the plugin.
And That’s It! Well Done On Creating Your First Website!
Creating a website can be quite complicated for someone who has never learned how to code or had any experience with websites. This guide helps people to get their website online quickly, effectively and without the need of a website developer.
If you have followed all these steps in this guide, then chances are you now have a website! I’ve really enjoyed putting this guide together and I hope it’s helped you produce the website you’ve always wanted.
If I can be of any more help, please feel free to get in touch via the contact form or email me at pinoyseoservices@gmail.com.
Last word from Mr.G
If you love what I do then please share my work with your friends, family, work colleagues and anyone who might be interested in setting up their own website.
Check out our other web resources that will help you in making your own website, as well as our CMS Comparison Infographic. Once you have got your website online be sure to follow my guide on setting up a professional email for your new website.
All the best!
Mr.G
Peter Brown
April 3, 2019 at 4:47 pmThank you so much for providing such a wonderful content Mr.G,
Now I have an idea in creating my website from scratch.
Can you also add more details on how to add post and pages.
cheers,
Peter
WPGIO ONLINE SERVICES
April 3, 2019 at 4:48 pmSure Peter, Thanks for the suggestion.
I’ll add more details on how to add new posts and pages.
Mr.G