Want to increase your online presence and reach more customers? There’s no better way to do it than through your own website.
The great news is that the process of building a website has become much simpler over the years. As you’re about tosee, you can make oneyourselfwithout any coding skills orneeding tohirea developer.
You canmakeithappenin no timebyfollowingthis 9-stepplan. Ready? Let’s dive in.
How to build a website from scratch
- Specify a goal for your website and list all your requirements
- Research your market and competitors
- Research what appeals to you visually
- Choose your website builder
- Choose your web host
- Choose your domain name
- Add your content and customize the layout
- Connect all the necessary tools
- Preview and publish
Did you know? With GetResponse Website Builder you can make a website of your own, completely free, in no time at all. It comes packed with a variety of ready-made free website templates, intuitive UI, and uses artificial intelligence to help you build a website from scratch, automatically. Watch the video below to learn what you can achieve with this new website creator, and start building a website for your small business today.
1. Specify a goal for your website and list all your requirements
If you want to build a website from scratch, it’s best to start by figuring out what goal or purposeitshould serve. In other words, what do you want to achieve with it?
Are you planning to sell products or services? Perhaps you want to show off your portfolio? Or maybe you’re buildingyour own websitepurelyforbranding purposes?
The answer to this question will help you determine:
- Whattypes of pages you’ll want to publish(portfoliopage, pricing page, aboutuspage)
- Thetypes of content you’ll want tofeature on them (image gallery, articles, videos)
- As well asthe technical capabilities you’ll want (such asintegration with an email marketing platform or a live chat solution)
If you’re not 100% sure about this step, this guide tackles the big question – Why do I need a website? And if you already know that you need a website, but aren’t sure what to base it on, then these profitable website ideas might come in handy.
Once you’ve figured that out, you can move on to the next step, like researching your market and competitors, for example.
Bonus: Want to refer to this guide later? We’ve turned it into this handy infographic.
2. Researchyourmarket and competitors
With your goal and initial ideas in mind, it’s time to research your target audience andcompetitors.
What you want to find out is:
- What type of information your potential customers are interestedin
- What types of content have your competitors been publishing to capturethem
The best way to do it (althoughslightlytime-consuming) is to manually go through competitors’ pages, social media groups, Q&A sites, and forums – and note down all relevant information like the topicsaddressed, questionsasked, and types of content that you see.
To give you an idea of what this kind of research could lead to, imagineyou’re a personal trainer. By checking out other personal trainers’ websites, you’ve noticed that all of them have these kinds of pages and content on their sites:
- Aservices page where they describe their services and pricing plans
- An about page describing the trainer and their background
- Apage with testimonials andtransformations of the happy customers
- Ablog with training tips and stories
- An email newsletter signup form offering a downloadable meal recipe plan
- Socialmedia links leading to their YouTube and Instagram profiles
On top of that, on social media groups,you’ve noticed that your target audiencefrequentlyasksabout personal trainers working in specific locations. Because of that, you also decideto add an extrapagelistingall the gyms where you provide your services.
It’s even super important to do your research even if you’re creating an informative-only directory, such as a website for your local church. You should determine exactly what those members want to see, so you can plan your content accordingly.
Once you’ve finished your research, note downeverythingthat you absolutely mustinclude on yourown websiteandmove onto the next step.
3. Research what appeals to you visually
Now it’stimeforsome visual researchtofindwebsite design layouts you and your target audience would find visually appealing.
Just likethe previous step, you’ll want to start by researching your competitors, going through various website template galleries, and Pinterest.
The important thing in this step is toremember the goal of your website and the target audience the page is meant to serve. These two factors should help you decide the direction and layout of your website (for example, you could be building a multi-page website or a one-page website).
While you can get some inspiration from them, you don’t want tospendtoo much time looking at websites from global companies if you’rerunninga small local business. Not only would such companies have different goals from yours, butthey’d likelyalsohave a larger budget and a whole team of designers and developers building the page for them.
Alright, let’s now move on to the slightly more technical step – selecting your website builder.
4. Chooseyourwebsite builder
Let’s start by answeringaquestion – do you really need a website builder to make a website?
In short, no.
If you have coding skills, you can create a website from scratch using just a code editor and HTML, CSS, and JS libraries like Bootstrap. However, this approach requires a lot of time, skill, and experience.
You could also hire a web developer to build a website for you. Most likely, such a developer would customize one of the templates they’ve already worked with and set up the website for you using WordPress oranother popular content management system (CMS).
This is a popular approach, especially if you’re planning on running a blog, but it’s not ideal. The most important disadvantage is thatWordPressneeds constant updating, and its dashboard is not intuitive or flexible. And if you want to make any visual changes that go beyond what your template offers, you’ll need to ask your developer for their help.
The third approach – one that is the most cost-effective and gives small businesses like yours all the flexibility – is touse drag-and-drop website builders. They come with free,ready-made templates, intuitive user interfaces (UIs), and don’t require that you know any HTML or CSS. Plus, you don’t need to update them to have your website up and running without any delays.
Some of them, like GetResponse Free Website Builder, also help you further improve the process of building your website and your online presence by:
- Using AI to build the perfect website to match your business goals and needs
- Giving you access tothousands of free high-resolution images you can use on your pages
- Automatically connecting your website with marketing solutions to run email marketing campaigns, connect with your audience through live chats, or run paid ads through Facebook or Google
- Automatically making your pages mobile-friendly and securewith free SSL
- Givingyou free web hosting and lettingyou register your own domain right inside the dashboard
To choose the best website builder, you shouldreferto the outcomes of your researchin the previous steps. If you’ve narrowed down the types of pages, content, capabilities, and visual layouts you’d like to have on your website, you shouldbrowsethrough the most popular website makers and see which ones check most of your boxes.
Onceyou’ve narrowed down your list, go ahead and try them out. Most of these tools come with afreeor free trial account that’ll give you a better feel of their UI and how easy they’re to use.
On top of that, when choosing your favorite websitebuilder,you may also want to look at theseslightly more advancedfactors:
- Does the website builder come with any specific limitations or, for example, doesit offerunlimited bandwidth?
- Does it offer search engine optimization(SEO)capabilities?
- Does it come with a content management system (CMS),and how complex is it?
- How difficult it is to connect other essential tools,such asGoogle Analytics?
- Is itanactualdrag-and-drop builder?Anddoes it require additional skills like HTML or CSS?
To help you make the right choice, we’ve narrowed down and reviewed the best website builders for small businesses. And if you’re on a tight budget, here’s the list of free website builders that are worth checking out.
5. Choose your web host
When building a website from scratch, you may also need to choose where your page will be hosted– the placewhere all the files that make your website willbestored.
Choosing the right web hosting provider is important for a few reasons:
- It can affect the speed and performance of your website, which is key to ranking high in search engines.
- It can help you ensure your business website is secure and capable of withstanding any potential threats.
- It can help you back up your files and the whole websiteso that it doesn’t get lost under unforeseen circ*mstances.
- On top of that, different web hosts provide various levels of service in terms of customer support or flexibility to make changes in your website settings (such asDNS settings).
In otherwords, the web hosting provider can heavily impact how effective your website is and how your small business will be seen by others.
The good news is that most of the popular web hosts have robust capabilities,and the difference between them will largely be noticed by bigger companies that attract hundreds of thousands of website visitors every month.
Small businesses won’t need to worry, especially if they’re creating their business website using a website builder, like the one offered byGetResponse. Mostof these tools offer highly reliable free web hosting,meaning that you don’t need to dive into the technicalities yourself. And if you’re building a personal website or even a website for your small business,you don’t want tohave to stressabout these things.
6. Chooseyour domain name
It’s time to pick a domain name for your business. In other words, the URL address your target audience will need to type intotheir browser to find yourwebsite.
When using a websitebuilding tool,you’ll have the option to pick betweena free domain and registering your own custom domain.
UsingGetResponseWebsite Builder as an example, this means your page can have the following URLs if you were to use one of the free domains:
- YourCompanyName.grwebsite.com
- YourCompanyName.grweb.site
Now, if you registered your own custom domain, the URL would be much simpler and more memorable,like this:
- YourCompanyName.com
- YourCompanyName.org
- YourCompanyName.io
- Etc.
As you may have noticed, when registering a custom domain, you can choose which extension you want to use (for example, .com). This is called the top-level domain (TLD).
The difference between those isn’t only in how memorable a given domain name is. The keythings are reputation and the potential effectiveness of your marketing campaigns.
As a business owner, you want your website and your domain name to have a higher reputation. The stronger the domain, the easier it will be for you to drive website trafficfromsearch engines such as Google or Bing.
Now, how one builds domain reputation is another story (for example,citations, link-building), but the important part is that if you’re using a free domain, that means your reputation is built and shared by everyoneelse that’s also using the same domain. Although good for the start, this isn’t an ideal scenario.
It’s also important to have your own registered domain name if you’re planning to run email marketing campaigns. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) such as Gmail or Yahoo!more favorablyfilteremail communication that comes from registered domainsratherthan from domains that are widely available for everyone. As a result, using a custom domain namecan increase your inbox placement rate,as well asthe chances of converting your audience to your emails.
Now the good news is that if you’re using a tool likeGetResponse, youcanregistera custom domain name right inside the tool,andyou’ll also have an email domain set up for you automatically. That means you don’t need to play around with the technical settings (like SPF or DKIM) to build high deliverability,asolidsender reputation, andanoverall strong online presence.
7. Add your content and customize the layout
Now that you’ve done all the setup work, it’stime to start putting the pieces together.
In your website builder,you should have three optionslike the one inGetResponse:
- Pick a ready-made template and customize it to your liking
- Use an AI tool to create a website based on the information you provide, like your website goal and industry
- Build the entire website from scratch (using a blank template)
If it’s the first time you’re building a website, I highly recommend that you go for one of the first two options. It’ll help you get started more quickly and thedrag-and-drop editor will give you all the flexibility you need to adjust the web design and pages to your liking.
Within your website builder, you should be able to:
- Add new pages and remove the ones you don’t want to see
- Fill in your own content (text,buttons, images, links, videos, etc.)
- Add contact forms and subscription forms
- Add social media icons
- Customizewhat goes into your navigation menu
- Managethe website and individual pagesettings (title, description, favicon)
- Integrateexternal tools, like Google Analytics or Facebook Pixel
- Add an online store and payment processors (coming soon inGetResponse)
- Createmembership sites and limited-access pages
On top of that, you may also have access toadditional tools that’ll help you quickly migrate your existing website (coming soon) and create color palettes based on your company logo.
When it comes to the types of pages you can include on your website, the choice will largely rely on the kind of business you’re running.There are some standard pages that most small businesses includethough, no matter if they’re running an online store, donation site, or even a church website:
Homepage
Every website needs an inviting homepage. In most cases, it’s the first page your website visitors will see,so itmustmake a good first impression and get your audience hooked. Make sure your homepage is welldesigned, clear, and includes intuitive navigationbecause you wantittodirect the different kinds of users you’re going to attract to the relevant places on your website.
About us page
When building awebsite,you can’t forget to include theabout uspage. This is where you can share your story andtellyour audience whatyou andyour businessare allabout. This is where you can sell them on your idea, your values, and your mission. Ifdonewell, folks who end up on this page will continue engaging with your websiteandsearching for ways they can help your cause.
You’ll find more examples and tips on how to design an effective about us page on our blog.
Contact page
The contact page is essential for every business website. Through this page, you’re not only providing a way of contacting you, butyou’realso building credibility. Some people may want to check where your company is registered,or even chat with your team before they choose to buy from you. Becauseof this, you’ll want to ensure your web design builds trust and makes you look approachable.
Offers
If you’re selling products or services online, you’ll want to have anofferspage. Through it, you’ll want to highlight your offer along with everything thatmakes it unique and beneficial for your audience. The offer page should also allow users to either buy your products directly or direct them to your online store, where they’ll be able to place theirorder.
A blog
Whether you’re running an online store or providing professional services,chances are you’d like to have a blog on yourwebsite. Blogs, much like the one you’re reading right now, can help you educate your target audience, show your expertise, and help build a list of email subscribers you’ll be able tocontinuesending your content in the future.
404 or not found page
A 404 page is the page a user sees when the content they’ve searched for was not found.Ittypicallyappears when someone clicks on a link or an ad leading to a page that’s been temporarily or permanently removed. While this page doesn’t provide tons of business value, many companieschoose to design their 404 pages so that they both are funandprovide easy navigation to the rest of the website’s content.
If you’d like to explore this type of page in more detail, check out our article where we review some of the best 404 pages we’ve seen on the web.
FAQ
The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page can help you answercommon questions raised by your audience. Whether these relate to your pricing, terms of service, or just explain your offer – the FAQs can help youinform and educate youraudience, andclear your prospects’ doubts before they choose to do business withyou.
Reviews and testimonials
Companies of all types and sizes can benefit from including reviews and testimonials on their websites. Got happy customers who have already used your services or bought your products? Highlight them here and benefit from thesocial proof they’ll provide. It’ll increase your website conversions and make your business more credible.
When you build a website, you’ll most likely want to connect it with other external tools and platforms.
For example, by connecting your site with Google Analytics, you can learn many things about the people who visit your website, like which pages they visit the most, how long, on average, they’re staying on these pages, and what their demographics are.
On theother hand, by connecting to Google Tag Manager, you can set upso-called events. With these, you can track individual interactions with your website, like clicks onparticular call-to-action buttons or form submissions.
And suppose you connect your website with an email marketing platform. In that case, you’ll be able to collect newsletter subscribers directly from your pages, send automated email campaigns in real-time, and even retarget users who don’t finish a particular action (for example,they abandon theirshopping cart).
Now depending on the tools you’re using, connecting your website with individual platforms may require that you either install external plugins or paste lines of codeinto your HTML code.
However,if you’re usingGetResponseWebsite Builder, connecting all the different tools is super easy.
Out of the box,GetResponsecomes fully equipped with:
- Facebook & Instagram Ads
- Google Ads
- Email marketing
- Marketing automation
- Live chats
- Webinars
- Web push notifications
- Conversion funnels
- Forms and popups
On top of that, you can connect Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager by simply providing your User-ID–no coding skillsneeded.
And if you’d like to use the website created insideGetResponsewith external platforms, you can do so via over 150ready-made integrations andthroughZapier.
9. Preview and publish
Before you launch your website, you’ll want to double-check that everything looks good,you’ve filled in all your content, andyourcontact forms and signup forms are working well.
Once you’veconfirmed thatandyour website’sOK, go ahead and publish it. Congratulations, your website is live!
Now you can start sharing the link to your newly created website with your friends and family to ask for their opinion. Let them test your page thoroughly,play around with it,andsee what it looks like on different devices.
After they’ve provided you with their feedback and you feel you’re ready to shareitwith your target audience, you’ll want to do two things.
First, in your website settings, make sure that the website is indexable and that your audience will find it when usingsearch engines.
And second, add it to your Facebook page, Google Business profile, and all the other social media profiles you’re actively using to promote your business.
Summingup
As you’ve now experienced, building a website from scratch is not all that difficult.
Eventhough it may seem like the process is a bit lengthy, with the right tool, you’ll be able to build a website and share it with your audience in just a fewshortmoments.
Want to see how it works in action? Just watch this video walkthrough below and build your site using GetResponse Website Builder for free today.
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