How to Make a Website in 2025 (For Beginners)
This guide is designed to help you create a website for your business, blog, or portfolio, even if you have no prior experience. Here’s a breakdown of the process:
Contents
Define Your Website’s Purpose
Start by clearly outlining your goals for the website. Having clear objectives helps you focus your content, choose the right tools, and target the right audience. Here are some common website types:
- One-page website
- E-commerce store
- Personal blog
- Business website
- Portfolio
- Lead generation
- Membership site
- Non-profit organization
Choose a Domain Name and Hosting Provider
- Domain Name: This is your website’s address (e.g., “yourbusiness.com”). It consists of two parts: the domain name itself (e.g., “webiner”) and the extension (e.g., “.com” or “.org”).
Tips: Choose a name that’s easy to remember, spell, and reflects your brand. Avoid using abbreviations.
- Hosting: This is a service that stores your website’s files and makes them accessible on the internet. Think of it as renting space for your website.
Here are some Hosting Providers with Domain Registration:
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- AdriaHost (Serbia) – Hosting + WordPress
- GoDaddy (USA) – Hosting + WordPress
Pick a Website Builder or WordPress
- Website Builder: A website builder is a user-friendly tool that allows you to create a website without coding knowledge. They often use drag-and-drop functionality and pre-designed elements.
Popular Website Builders:
Website builders are easy to use but might have limitations in flexibility and customization.
- WordPress: WordPress is a free, open-source content management system (CMS) that lets you easily create, edit, and manage your website’s content. It offers more flexibility than website builders but requires some learning about WordPress and web design basics.
Popular WordPress Page Builders:
- Gutenberg (built-in)
- Divi
- Elementor
Customize Your Website
- Theme Selection: Choose a theme (or template) that aligns with your brand or industry and is easy for users to navigate. Themes are pre-designed layouts that you can customize with your content.
- Plugins: Plugins add functionalities to your website. They come in various types (free, paid, regularly updated, abandoned).
Some Essential Plugins:
- Site Kit by Google – Connects your website to Google Analytics for traffic insights.
Optimize for Search Engines (SEO):
A good SEO strategy can increase your website’s visibility on search engines like Google. You can optimize your SEO using tools like Google Analytics, adjusting permalinks (permanent URLs), and using relevant keywords.
Here’s how to add some SEO tools:
- Google Analytics: Tracks user activity, user demographics, page views, and more. It helps you understand where your visitors come from and which keywords are performing well. Most website builders offer an easy way to add Google Analytics.
- Google Search Console: Provides insights into your website’s performance in search results. It helps you monitor key factors affecting your website’s visibility on Google search.
Managing and Maintaining Your Website
This section covers how to manage and maintain your website after it’s built.
Website Builders vs. WordPress
- Website Builders: If you use a website builder, most of your website maintenance is automated. This includes regular updates to plugins, the website editor, and automatic backups.
- WordPress: With WordPress, you might need to adjust automatic plugin updates or check for updates regularly to ensure you have the latest versions installed. Keeping WordPress and plugins up-to-date is crucial for security.
Additional Maintenance Steps
Here are some additional things you can do to maintain your website:
- Blog: Regularly publish informative blog posts to educate your audience, improve SEO (search engine optimization), and establish yourself as an expert in your field. A blog can also help you interact with your audience through comments and social media sharing. Be sure to maintain consistency and relevance in your posts to keep your followers engaged. You can even create a large amount of content in advance and schedule it for regular publishing.
- Categories: Organize your website’s content into categories to make it easier for users to find relevant information. This also helps search engines rank your website for specific keywords and topics.
- Contact Form: Include a contact form on your website to allow visitors to easily contact you without needing your email address directly.
- Privacy Policy and Terms of Service (TOS): Small businesses should create privacy policy and TOS pages that clearly explain how you collect and use visitor data. Following the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is crucial, especially if you use cookies to track visitors, regardless of your location.
- Navigation: Ensure your website menu is clear and user-friendly, guiding visitors through the buying journey (if applicable). For instance, “About Us,” “Contact,” and “Policies” pages are typically placed at the end of the navigation menu.
- Pop-ups for Lead Generation: If you have a small business website or online store, consider using pop-up windows to collect email addresses for newsletters or promotions. This is a great way to build your email list for email marketing campaigns. However, avoid intrusive pop-ups that disrupt the user experience.
- Social Sharing Buttons: Add social sharing buttons to your blog posts to encourage visitors to share your content on social media and generate organic traffic to your website.
- Images: Include relevant images on your website pages and posts to enhance user experience and improve SEO. Remember to add alt text for accessibility purposes.
- Search Engine Submission: Submit your website to search engines like Google My Business and Bing Places to improve local search visibility, especially if you have a physical location. You can also consider submitting your site to other online directories relevant to your industry.
- Automated Backups: Regularly backing up your website or online store is essential. This way, you won’t lose all your information if something goes wrong. Using an automated backup and restore service for WordPress websites can provide peace of mind. Additionally, take steps to secure your website from hacking, viruses, and other threats.
- Widgets: Widgets allow you to customize the look of your website by adding content to sidebars and footers. WordPress offers various plugins for social media, e-commerce, communication, and more, which can help you add functionalities to your website.
Creating a functional website can be complex, but hopefully, these tips make it a little easier!
For professional assistance in website creation and maintenance, consider partnering with Webinera Agency. Our team offers a range of services, including website design, SEO optimization, and ongoing maintenance, to ensure your online presence thrives.