How Do You Make A Website?

A lot of my friends and family come up and ask me "how do you do a website?" I wish I could give them a very simple answer, but there are several things that all go together to make a website.

For example, it all starts with your domain name. I try to compare this to the physical address of a house. On the Internet, your domain name is where your website is found. So for example a domain name might be "Foxnews.com", and that's where Fox News displays all of their stuff.

Another common example is YouTube.com, where YouTube has millions of videos uploaded and showing every day.

Finding and buying a domain name is probably the easiest step with a website. When people ask me "how do you do a website", I try not to focus on this part too much. It's really the last 2 steps that take the most time and effort.

The second step, and probably the biggest and most important, is creating and updating the site itself. You see a website is basically just a bunch of files put together that create the interactive environment that we're all used to.

Using the real estate analogy, the website is the house itself. It has an underlying structure, as well as what you actually see. The structure of a website is the code, and what you see is the articles or videos that we're all interested in.

I think this is the step most people are thinking about when they ask how do you do a website. They know that the coding can be extensive and long, plus the best websites are constantly being updated with new information.

The good news is that creating a website doesn't have to be brain surgery. It isn't the easiest thing in the world, but thanks to a lot of templates and instructions online, it is much, much easier than it used to be.

I always recommend that my clients learn the basics of HTML coding when they first get into setting up a website. Even though it is a little more difficult than other methods, it is the best way to really learn how a website is set up. You also learn how to customize a site to look exactly how you want it to, which is important to stand out from your competition if you're especially if you are a business.

The last thing I discuss when people ask "how do you do a website" is the hosting. Using the real estate example, hosting is the land that your house is sitting on. On the Internet, your hosting company is basically the place that stores your website for you.

When you set up hosting, you want to make sure you work with the best company in the business. There are dozens of them out there, but by far the best is Host Gator. They have low prices but some of the top servers and customer service in the industry. They can walk you through setting up your website step-by-step, which is great for a beginner.

This should help get you started, and now you can even help someone out if they ask you "how do you do a website?"