Welcome to How to Make a Website 101! I created this site to prove that anyone (even you!) can create their very own website even if they have no prior knowledge at all. So if you want to learn how to create websites but have no idea where to get started…you’re in the right place!

On this page you’ll learn how to get your own domain name, how and where to host your site so people can see it, and how to build a site from the ground up. I’ll also teach you how to create content for your site, how to get lots of web traffic, and how to monetize that traffic so you can start earning money from your website if you want to.

No Experience Needed!

Most people think you need to have a degree in computer programming to build websites. But that couldn’t be further from the truth!

If you can send emails and post updates on Facebook, you can learn how to make a website all on your own using tools that are free and readily available. And if you follow my instructions your website will be ready to go in less than an hour!

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A few people have told me that I’m out of my mind for giving away all of this information for free. They suggested I turn this site into a paid membership site or package it into an ebook and sell it for $47 or even $97!

But instead of charging everyone who wants to learn how to make a website, I chose to give away this priceless information completely free. I do make some money with advertising and affiliate links where I earn a commission if you make a purchase (such as under the Recommended Resources to the right).

But as long as I earn enough to keep this website growing it will remain a free resource.

How to Make a Website 101

I like to compare building a website to building a house.  First you have to find the right location.  Then you start with an empty lot of land, lay down a solid foundation, and continue building until you have the house of your dreams.  Or perhaps a mansion!

Step 1 – Register a domain (www.yourdomain.com)

Your domain is like the street address of your house (123 Main Street). It is how people will find you on the internet.  When they type your domain into their web browser it brings them right to your home page, which is like your front door.

Your domain is also the deed to your virtual real estate.  It gives you the right to build whatever you like at that address. No one else can touch it.

Domain registration fees vary but generally they cost around $10 a year. I register all of mine through Namecheap and I recommend you do the same. Namecheap is very reliable and their customer service is outstanding. Plus, I prefer their account interface to other services I’ve used in the past. And if you use these Namecheap coupon codes you can save yourself a few bucks!

Choosing A Domain Name

Here are some tips to help you pick out the perfect domain name.

1. Short domains are generally better. You want your domain to be easy to remember so keep it simple.  A couple of keywords or an easy to remember phrase are both good options.

2. Try to get a .COM, .NET, or .ORG. These letters that appear after the “dot” at the end of your domain are called Top Level Domains (TLDs) or domain extensions.  Think of them as your zip code.  As far as search engine ranking is concerned, there is no real advantage to choosing one of the big 3 extensions.  But they are the first that people think of so it is better to use them for branding purposes.

3. Limit or skip hyphens. Search engines are able to distinguish the words just fine, but you have to keep your users in mind.  If they are trying to tell a friend about your site, will they be able to do so easily?  This site would simply be pronounced how to make a website 101 (dot) Net.   But if I used hyphens it would be how-hyphen-to-hyphen-make-hyphen-a-hyphen-website-hyphen-101.Net.  Which is easier?

4.  Make your domain descriptive. When someone hears your domain, they should immediately know what your site is about.  How to Make a Website 101 is pretty clear right?  If possible, try to use some keywords related to your niche since that can help you rank higher in the search engines.

5.  Watch out for unintended word combinations. For example, if you own a pen store named Pen Island and you registered penisland.com, you might be surprised to find many of your visitors are looking for something very different than pens.

Registering a Domain

To register a domain name just go to Namecheap.com and run a search to see if it is available.  You should have a few backup choices in case the name you want is already registered.  When you run a search you’ll see results like the ones below.  I wanted to set up a test blog to show you how easy it is to register a domain so I ran a search for “mytestblog”

Notice the .COM and .NET extensions are already taken.  Since I’m only using this domain for testing purposes, I decided to go with the .INFO because it is the cheapest.

When you find a domain you like just add it to your cart and then click on Checkout to purchase it.  There are a couple of pages to complete including your contact info and billing information.  When you get to the page asking for Domain Name Server Setup (DNS) just leave it blank for now.  We’ll come back to that in a few minutes after you’ve set up your hosting account.

Step 2 – Find a Web Host

A web host, or hosting provider, is simply a company that hosts your site on their servers so it can be seen by the rest of the world.  If the domain is like your website’s mailing address, then the host is like the lot of land you can build on.

There are countless hosting providers and new ones pop up every day.   But you need to choose your host carefully. If you choose poorly, your site will be down all the time and you’ll get little or no customer support at all.

Personally, I like Host Gator, and I recommend you choose them. They allow you to host an unlimited number of domains for one price, they offer 24/7 customer support, and they have cool programs that let you install important features such as WordPress with one click of your mouse.  How to Make a Website 101 is hosted by Host Gator.

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What about all those free web hosting services?  Wouldn’t it be a good idea to start with a free host and then switch to a paid service once the site reached a certain size?

No!

That’s a big mistake that many newbies make and if you do so you will regret it.

Why?  First of all free web hosts plaster ads all over your site…ads that earn THEM money, not YOU.  Their customer support is usually non-existent, and many of them actually maintain ownership of your sites and they can delete them without reason or warning.

Trust me, stick with a reputable web host like Host Gator.  For less than 10 bucks a month you can host as many web sites as you want.  It’s a no brainer.

Once you decide which Host Gator plan you’d like to use, you just have to enter the domain name you are using (this will be your primary domain, depending on your plan you can add many more domains later).

Just follow the instructions, set up your contact and billing information and choose a username and password. In just a few minutes you’ll be ready to go.

In order to access all the cool behind the scenes stuff you need to access your control panel.  To do that just open your browser and go to http://yourdomain.com/cpanel.  This is where you can do lots of cool stuff like add new domains and setup email accounts.

Step 3 – Lay the Foundation

Once you’ve registered your domain and set up an account with a hosting provider, you need to link them up. This is really easy to do. You just have to take a pair of coordinates called Name Servers (they’ll look something like ns123.hostgator.com) that your web host provides you and plug them into your Namecheap account.  The name server is just the spot on the server where your site is located, so when someone enters your domain name in their browser the domain automatically points to the correct location on the hosting provider’s server and your website pops up!

To find your name servers just log in to your cPanel.  They’ll be listed right on the main page, usually near the bottom.  All you need to do is sign into your Namecheap account and add the name servers to your domain.

Make sure you match up the name servers exactly or your site won’t work.  Visitors will get an error message because the domain is pointing to the wrong spot on the server.

Once you’ve linked up the domain with your hosting account you can go in and start building your site. There are different ways to do this.  But the one I recommend to everyone is WordPress.

Why WordPress?

1. Easy to use…seriously, if you can write an email you can post an article using WordPress.
2. It’s extremely popular and therefore it is easy to find support if you run into problems.
3. With all the themes, skins, and plugins available WordPress is infinitely customizable.
4. It’s FREE!

Setting Up WordPress

Because you were smart enough to choose a host that has cPanel, you can install WordPress in about 5 minutes!

Just login to your cPanel by going to http://yourdomain.com/cpanel and entering your username and password.  You’ll see a screen that looks like this:

See that little smiley face near the middle?  Thats Fantastico, a neat little tool that allows you to automatically install cool software such as shopping carts, forums, photo galleries, Wikis, and of course, WordPress!

Just click on the Fantastico button, then choose WordPress, then New Installation.  You’ll see a screen like this:

Make sure you have the right domain selected (if you have more than one).  “Install in Directory” should be left blank unless you want your blog to be somewhere other than your home page (i.e. yourdomain.com/blog instead of yourdomain.com).

“Admin Access Data” is just the username and password you’ll use to access the WordPress dashboard, which is where you go to write and publish your posts.  The other fields are pretty self-explanatory and they can be changed from the dashboard later if needed.

Just click on Install WordPress and then you’ll see a confirmation page.  just doublecheck your settings and click Finish Installation and you’re all done!

You now have your very own website set up and ready to go!

That’s the default theme that comes with WordPress.  You can keep it if you like, but with tens of thousands of themes available most people prefer to choose something else.

To start building your site just log in to your dashboard at http://yourdomain.com/wp-admin.

Take a half hour to familiarize yourself with the dashboard.  Play around with the settings, test things out, and install new themes to see how they look.

Step 4 – Build Your Site!

Now that you’ve built a strong foundation using WordPress, you can start building the floors, walls, ceilings, windows, and more.  These are the pages, posts, links, widgets, and images on your site.

In other articles we’ll talk more about creating content, researching niches, getting traffic to your site, and more.