How To Build A Website From Scratch : DIY

Often one of the first questions I get when it comes to blogging is “how do I start?!” The first step is thinking of a name for your business/brand. I am Life as Leah! That is my Blog, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter – Life as Leah is my brand. Who do you want to be? What do you want to write about? From there, the next step is creating a website! Creating a website from scratch can be challenging if you do not know where to start. In fact, so many people and businesses think that the task is extremely daunting and do not even try. The only thing that this is hurting is themselves and their businesses! In order to get your name and your products out there, you need to take advantage of the internet and its capabilities. Now, more than ever, the world revolves around the interwebs and if you do not have a website and social channels that allow people to learn about your products or business, you are definitely missing out. This applies to any business! 

Constant Contact says, “Consumers typically start their buying journey with research and recommendations from peers and social network connections. Studies show that once a consumer has an idea of what they need or want, they start researching, and 72 percent of them go online to find educational material, reviews, and testimonials, according to a recent report. So if you’re not staying competitive with your competition, you’re giving shoppers a reason to buy from another brand.”

So, now that we know that everyone needs a website, I want to make the task of building a website easier and less intimidating for those that do not know where to start! That’s why today, I am going to be talking about how to build a website from scratch. Here are the first steps you need to take, in order to build your own website:

Choosing A Platform

Your first step to creating a website is choosing a platform. There are many different websites such as WordPress, Siteground, Blogger, Wix, and more. Search through them all and figure out which is the right option for you. If you are trying to rank on Google (which, you will want to), I highly recommend WordPress, but that comes down to a personal opinion. If you are just getting started and want to go with a free option (more on this in a minute!), Blogger or Wix might be the best choice for you. It isn’t a one size fits all decision, and that’s okay.

Choosing A Theme

If you are selling products, you want to make sure you purchase a website theme with selling capabilities. There are plugins that you can install, but I would just go ahead and purchase a theme that comes with the ability to promote and sell products. Better yet, if you are a business that really wants a professional website, get one custom designed specifically for your needs! This will cost more, but it will be worth it in the end, I can promise you that! (Check out Etsy for website themes too!) 

Purchasing A Domain Name + Hosting

You will want to purchase a domain name and hosting (if you are going with WordPress.org). A domain name is essential to make your business look legitimate and it is only about $1 to get started. It really is a no-brainer. Like I mentioned above, hosting is only needed if you choose a platform that is self-hosted, such as wordpress.org. There are many perks to having a self-hosted website such as flexibility, ownership of your website, and customization. 

Optimizing Your Website

Optimizing your website is extremely important, in order to compete with your competitors. If you do not focus on search engine optimization, your potential customers and website visitors will never be able to find you, unless they are personally following you on social media, but as a business, you always want to make sure you are attracting new customers and the best way to do that is through search engine optimization! If you are feeling overwhelmed with the thought of creating a new website on your own, SEO is a whole new task that you probably do not want to take on yourself because it is constantly changing and it can be very confusing.

Local New Jersey company, NJ SEO can help you out with not only your SEO, as well as web design, development, and more. So, if you are building your website from scratch, I would reach out to them before you start anything because they can help you out along the way. NJ SEO is a full-service New Jersey marketing agency that provides and develops effective content strategies for forward-thinking companies. They offer professional SEO services that help websites increase their organic search score, which allows them to compete for the highest rankings, no matter how competitive the keywords are.

Matt Anton is the former online marketing manager of Liberty Travel and is currently in charge of client strategy and execution at NJ SEO. He is listed in the top 62 SEO marketers, has been cited as an SEO expert and has many endorsements and recommendations, as well. Matt, along with NJ SEO is committed to providing an outstanding service that is custom-made for each client, no matter how big or small the business is. If you are looking to turn your visitors into customers, improve your organic search ranking and gain more traffic, then look no further than NJ SEO.

Create Social Channels

Creating social channels are very important for your online presence and for Google, as well! Most customers expect businesses to have social media channels so that they can communicate with the brand, get product use ideas, and stay in touch + up to date. Having an Instagram and Facebook are great steps, but I also believe that Pinterest and Twitter are very useful to have, as well, especially since Pinterest helps with SEO and can bring in new visitors.

Good luck! Remember to represent your brand how YOU want to!