This blog post contains a couple of affiliate links, and I make a small commission if you use them. These are website tools I’ve used for years, and I hope they help you, too!
I’m going to tell you a story I’ve heard over and over again…
It is 10 o’clock at night, and you are trying out yet another web builder that promises this time, it will be easy to DIY your website. You drag and drop elements, fill them with text and pictures, feeling like you might just be getting the hang of it… until you pause to check your work.
Staring back at you, on the screen, is a web page that lacks personality, and doesn’t even highlight your business mission. Frustrated, you close the browser window, and accept the fate that maybe you weren’t meant to have a beautiful website.
It’s hard to DIY an impactful website when there’s so many ways to do it.
Lucky for you, I’ve put together this guide that will walk you through putting a good website building together. Step by step, from buying a domain, to hitting publish, this blog post will guide you on making your own professional, WordPress website.
Step 1: Buy a Domain
If you don’t have one already, the first step to building a website is to buy your domain name. If your website is your internet home, you can think of the domain as your street address. The domain name registrars I recommend are GoDaddy and Google Domains. Both registrars offer competitive pricing and easy to use interfaces.
When it comes to choosing a domain name, keep it simple. Stick to .com or .org domains, as these tend to rank better in Google, and they are timeless. If you have a long business name, such as Harvey’s Delicious Bagel House, consider buying a domain like HarveysBagels.com. A short and sweet domain name will go a long way in being memorable for customers.
Step 2: Purchase Web Hosting
After you’ve secured a domain, it is time to get a web host. If your domain is your street address, think of a web host as the plot of land you build your website on. While many domain name registrars will try to sell both domain and web hosting, it is a better practice to keep your domain and web hosting separate. Keeping domain and web hosting separate gives you more authority over your site, and reduces the likelihood of a web company from owning your information or holding your site hostage.
For web hosting, I love to recommend GreenGreeks – the only web host out there that gives back 300% of the energy they use to power websites. They offer affordable web hosting that is perfect for solopreneurs and small business owners. Affordable + good for the planet + works like a charm? Can’t beat that for a solid web host.
When you purchase hosting, be sure to choose the WordPress hosting plan that fits your needs. In most cases, the Lite plan is what you’ll need, if you are building just one website. Bigger plans offer bigger “plots of internet land” to build more websites, if that is what your project entails.
Step 3: Install WordPress
Now that you have a domain and a web host, it is time to connect the dots and set up your website. The first thing we need to do is change the nameservers in your Google Domains or GoDaddy account. All this does is point your domain to your web host, so that your domain will take people to your actual website once it is built. These directions from Google Domains will help you set custom nameservers. These are the nameservers to use for GreenGeeks – all nameservers for any web host are public, Google-able information!
Once you change your nameservers, you’ll find that most of your domain settings will now be managed through your web host. Woo-hoo! The next step is installing WordPress to your web host. GreenGeeks makes this process really simple. There is a Quick Launch Wizard that will install WordPress and an SSL certificate for you, with just a few clicks. These directions on starting a new site will provide more detail on that.
Step 4: Get your Elementor Pro License
What I love about WordPress is all the cool plugins that can make your website more powerful and easy to build. Plugins are tools that you install on your website. They can offer different functions, but the most important one you will need to DIY your website is Elementor. This plugin has changed the game for building WordPress sites, because you no longer need to code out templates. You simply drag and drop your site design. They have a powerful tool to see how your site will display on tablets, mobile, and desktop, and you can create completely custom designs for each screen size.
In order to get the most out of Elementor, I recommend upgrading to Elementor Pro. This gives you more widgets, such as building forms, pre-built blocks, and access to more templates in their library. It also opens the door to buying templates from designers. If you want to see an example of templates designers create for solopreneurs and nonprofits, check out my own template shop. Marketplaces like Envato and Theme Forest are great places to find Elementor templates, too.
Feeling a little more confident already?
I love helping people feel empowered to build their own websites. The internet is a powerful tool that can elevate small businesses and promote social missions. If the task of DIY-ing a website still feels daunting to you, please shoot me a message.