Website creation is a vital part of any business. A proper website offers numerous advantages, and it can help you in multiple different aspects, such as customer acquisition, credibility, and online presence. It also provides cost-effective marketing, data analytics, and tools for customer engagement. Websites offer a strong edge for every company while building a foundation for a business. In this essay, we are going to be introducing ourselves to the necessary steps of creating a website for a business.

Step 1: Domain name

The first step to creating a website for a business is to purchase a domain name. There are multiple domain registrars, but GoDaddy.com stands as the largest one with over 70 million domains. A domain name is a web address used to identify and locate resources on the internet. Usually, a domain name consists of two main parts: domain label and top-level domain (TLD). A domain label is the name or keyword that you choose to represent your company. For example, in the domain name “godaddy.com”, the domain label is “godaddy”. The TLD indicates the purpose and type of the website. Some examples of a TLD could be “.com”, “.org”, or “.net”. A popular TLD can also be the country code of the country that the business originates from, for example a Finnish company might have “.fi” as the TLD. In the previous example of “godaddy.com”, the TLD is “.com”. Domain names are unique, and two websites can never have the exact same domain name. A domain name should be catchy and easy to remember to increase search engine visibility and business recognition.

Step 2: Purpose

Once you’ve registered your domain, it’s time to decide and understand the purpose of your website. A business website can have a variety of objectives for a company. The main purpose of every business website is to create an online presence for the company, since there aren’t many companies that can survive without an online presence. But whilst creating an online presence, a website can help a company grow in multiple other ways as well. A website can be used to sell products through showcasing products and services, while also offering features like shopping carts and secured payment processes. It can also be used to build trust and learn about new potential customers while expanding awareness about the company on a larger scale. A website offers an incredibly diverse range of options for a company to tailor a website for their target audience and specific goals.

Step 3: Hosting

The next step of building a company website is to decide on a hosting provider. At its core, a hosting provider is a company or a service provider that offers the technical resources that a website needs to function properly. A hosting provider makes sure that your website is available and accessible around the clock and that it has the necessary server space for your website’s files to be stored. They are responsible for the maintenance of your websites servers and everything that goes on behind the scenes of server management. This also often includes server security, software updates and technical support.

Now that we understand the main points of having a hosting provider, it’s important to understand the types of hosting services there are. The most common hosting models are dedicated server hosting, shared hosting, and cloud hosting. Let’s first dive into dedicated hosting. Dedicated hosting provides an entire physical server for a single client, making it optimal for large websites with lots of activity. This option gives the client full control of the server’s resources, making it the most reliable, yet the most expensive option.

Unlike the dedicated hosting model, shared hosting can be a suitable option to consider if you are looking for a cost-effective variation of a hosting model. Shared hosting is a model where multiple websites share the same servers’ resources. This model usually requires minimal technical expertise, and the hosting providers handle the maintenance and the security of the server. However, unlike the dedicated server, this shared server might suffer from limited resources during traffic spikes, that can lead to poor performance.

Cloud hosting takes advantage of virtual servers instead of a physical one. Cloud hosting provides flexibility and scalability since resources can be transferred and allocated as needed. Cloud hosting offers a pay-as-you-go type of a solution for pricing, meaning that the client is charged based on the actual usage of the cloud’s resources, instead of a fixed fee. It aligns expenses with actual resource utilization, encourages efficient resource management, and accommodates changing needs, making it a popular choice.

Selecting the right server hosting model is crucial part of creating a website and it’s important to weight the pros and cons of each model. Selecting the right model depends on the specific needs and factors of your website, such as budget, technical needs and size and nature of your website.

Step 4: Creating

Now that we have purchased a domain name, decided on the type of website, and selected a hosting model suitable for our website, we can delve into the actual building process. There are many ways to create a website, but when starting out, there are multiple user-friendly options to choose from. One of the best ways for beginners to build a website is to take advantage of website builders. These platforms offer drag and drop features and a wide range of templates, so you don’t need to be a professional coder to get started with your business website. Some examples of the most popular website builders out there are GoDaddy, WordPress, Wix and Squarespace.

Another variation of website building is to use content management systems (CMS). A content management system is software that simplifies the process of website creation with an easy-to-use interface and requires little to no coding skills. WordPress is by far the most popular CMS in the world, and it’s known for its flexibility and extensive themes. A CMS simplifies website management, and it allows the creator to shift their focus from the technical aspects of website creation into content creation and publishing.

Step 5: Design

Once you’ve decided on the method of website creation that feels the most comfortable to you, it’s time to start building and planning your website. Map out the pages that you want to include on your website. The MoSCow prioritization method could serve as a useful tool that you could implement during this part of planning. Think about the different options and start small. Creating a simple website in the beginning can help you get more comfortable with website design.

Conclusion

Like with any skill, learning how to create a website takes time and patience. Whether using user-friendly website builders, content management systems, or even delving into web development and coding, the learning experience itself can be empowering and intellectually rewarding. Website creation is an ongoing process and it’s important to continue to develop your skills as a website developer. Start with the method that feels most comfortable to you, and gradually expand your skills from there. The commitment to learning and understanding how to create a business website is an investment in the future and a vital skill for any entrepreneur.

Sources:

How having a website can benefit your business | the Hartford (no date) Business Owner’s Playbook. Available at: https://www.thehartford.com/business-insurance/strategy/building-website/10-reasons-need-website (Accessed: 30 September 2023).

Preusler, C. (2023) 20 largest domain registrars in the world (Oct. 2023), HostingAdvice.com. Available at: https://www.hostingadvice.com/how-to/largest-domain-registrars/#godaddy (Accessed: 30 September 2023).

Smith, C. (2022) Wondering how to create a website for your small business?, A simple guide to setting up a business website. Available at: https://www.simplybusiness.co.uk/knowledge/articles/2022/11/guide-to-creating-website-for-business/ (Accessed: 30 September 2023).

What is a content management system (CMS)? (2023) Kinsta. Available at: https://kinsta.com/knowledgebase/content-management-system/ (Accessed: 30 September 2023).

What is a hosting service provider (HSP), and what do they do? (2021) Acronis. Available at: https://www.acronis.com/en-eu/blog/posts/hosting-service-provider/ (Accessed: 30 September 2023).