Free Website Maker: Design And Creation
Paid And Free Website Maker Tools
Are you looking for a paid or free website maker to get started on the internet? On this page you can learn the steps involved in creating your very own website from scratch, even if you have no prior experience with website building or using a paid or free website maker.
The website building steps on this site will help identify how to get up and running with a web page using a free website maker available online without spending lots of money in the process.
1. Identify the goal of your site and outline the type of content you will be using
It can be astonishing how much people overlook this step. The first thing to do, before using a free website maker is to establish what the website pages are for and what purpose they will serve.
You may want to use a free website maker to create a site that describes who you are and where people can contact you. Others may want to design a site specifically for teaching others some how to information, or for keeping up with daily news and events.
Some may have the intention of designing something that is for making sales or generating leads and subscribers.
Whatever free website maker you decide on, you will have to know in advance, whether you will be adding content to the site regularly.
You will also need to know whether you want some areas of the site to be inaccessible to viewers. You may even want the website to be only accessible by certain people (exclusive membership area). If you want a member's area you will need some form of password protection.
Jot down the intention of your site, the content upload frequency, the design structure and well as the exclusivity you want on it. You may decide that you don't want to make the homepage the most important page.
You may want the homepage to serve as a map, directing people to specific areas of the site which would be of interest to them.
Once you have made a sketch on paper what you want your website to look like, it will probably be easier for you to create it in its digital format.
2. Find the most relevant domain name for your website that is available and then register it.
Selecting the right name or site address is important. This is the name that people will have to remember you site by.
Some people like to name a site based on the benefit the user will receive but short enough at the same time.
Others like to select a name which is memorable, like having the same alliteration at the start and the end of the domain name or a domain name that rhymes. If the domain is short and it is a popular topic, it may be hard to find a .com domain that is available for registering.
The domain extension .com is for a global audience and it is the first choice for many when they are selecting a domain name for a global user base. For local reasons you may decide on a extension that is relevant to your area.
3. Find a hosting service to host your chosen domain name
A web hosting company will provide with the service of storing your content of their servers, which will be displayed on the internet 24/7. If you want complete control of your hosting service, you should purchase a hosting plan instead of a free hosting plan.
Web hosting is quite inexpensive these days. Some cost a few dollars a month. Companies that provide domain registration also provide web hosting.
4. Choosing the right publishing platform for your content
Back in the early days of computers and the internet, it was critical that you had lots of knowledge about html (hyper text mark up language) when creating a website. However, known html these days is not that much relevant. You can build a site without knowing html.
It is better to know a little bit about html and many recommend that you learn the basics of html and website coding. The paid and free website making tools out there show provide you with software where you can solely use the tool without being aware of what is going on in the background.
Many free website makers will give you the option to manually edit the html. You have the choice of using a online free website maker or a offline platform.
Offline website builder software
If you go for this option you will first have to install the software on the computer, whether yours or someone else's. There are a lots and lots of paid and free website maker kits for offline use.
The most famous offline site builders is Dreamweaver. This is not a free website maker software and it is a quite a comprehensive software.
However, there is quite a learning curve that comes along with using this software and it is better if you know some html coding if you want to have a few advanced features.
Many website design companies use Dreamweaver as their main website creation software. There is a free download version for limited use.
Online Builder Software - Paid and Free Website Makers
An online website maker needs to be installed on your server which you then use via your internet browser. You typically do not need to install the site creation tool on your on the computer. You can access and edit your website development area from any computer that is connected to the internet.
5. Choosing a style that gives the impression you want the visitors to have
If you want the visitors to perceive the website as professional then you cannot have a cheap web design. If visitors see a cheap website they may think that you are sloppy and not so bothered about having a clean layout. It can lower your professional reputation, your credibility and trustworthiness. If you are thinking about making sales people will feel safe order from a professional looking website and not a cheap, badly designed website.
Whatever paid or free website maker you choose, you can obtain templates that you can plug into the software creation tool. Many people hire the services of a web designer who can create a flash or basic website template which you then plug into you paid or free website maker.
6. Creating the content for your site
Once you have selected your paid or free website maker, it is now time to identify how you will layout your content. You obviously want your content to be a value to your customer. You may not have the time to overly perfect the wording but remember that may be on the internet for a very long time. If you are a guru and you are selling and promoting yourself, you would want good quality content.
It is also good to add some pictures and even videos to add extra value to your content or to further expand on your content.
Lots of people are almost primarily using video content.
If you have text content you may want to add image illustrations. Remember, you will need permission to use images that are not created by you.
Before you submit you text content, check for spelling and grammar. Lots of paid and free website maker software's already provide an in-built spell checker. Microsoft Word is also a great tool for reviewing spelling and grammar.
Make sure to regularly check that your links on the website are working. Visitors never like to click on a broken link or a link that shows an error.
7. Publish your finished work to the internet
Now that the website content and design has been created using either a paid or free software maker, it is time to make it available for viewing on the internet. In order to do this you will have to get your files that you created on your website creation tool and put them up on the web host server.
Many paid and free website maker platforms allow you to publish your content to the internet literally at the click of a button.
If you have used an offline website creation tool, you will need to upload your content to your web host using FTP (File Transfer Protocol). Free website maker software's may not include the file upload feature.
You can also use software that is solely made for upload files to your web host. These software's have become very easy for users to use and make it all happen in a few clicks of a button.
However, you will need to be mindful of locating and placing your files in the correct folders on your web host.