How to Create a Website

A website is a must have tool for any meaningful engagement in the digital world. A website is a collection of information and resources filed in an orderly way, which can be publicly accessed over the internet. The place where you are reading this is itself a website, and that should be enough explanation of what a website is. If you are wondering how do you create a website, we are here to help you.

Requirements for a Website

Creating a website is easier and cheaper than it used to be a few years ago. In fact, one can create a website for just a few dollars by hiring a developer or even using some DIY tools. There are a few things you need to have in order to have your website running:

Domain Name

A domain name is an address that makes a website to be traced in the online world. Think of it like the physical address of the online world. A domain name is an address like www.example.com, www.example.org, www.example.co.za, www.example.cloud, www.example.co.ke and many other. The ‘example’ part is the domain name that you choose, while the other part like .com and .org is the domain extension. There are hundreds of domain extension that you can choose, and you can learn more on how to search for and get a domain name HERE.

A domain name can be bought from a domain registrar. Here is the pricing for domain names in Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and even globally. One needs to have a domain in order to create a website.

Free Domain

If you are using some web design services such as Blogspot, WordPress.com or even Wix, they can allow you to use a subdomain for free to run your website. This could be something like example.blogspot.com or example.wordpress.com.

Web hosting service

Web hosting refers to the space on a cloud server where one ‘stores’ their website once created. For a website to be accessible once created, it needs to be hosted.

There are many web hosting service providers such as Woza and Truehost Cloud. The cost of hosting depends on various factors such as the size of the website created, the number of email addresses needed, or even the type of hosting to be used for the website.

Some of the best web hosting providers in Kenya include:

• Truehost Cloud
• Woza Africa
• Kenya Websites Experts
• Sasahost
• EAC Directory

Free Web Hosting

If you are looking for a free web hosting services, there are a few options that one can use. This would be either using Truehost’s free web hosting service or hosting on free platforms such as WordPress, BlogSpot and WIx.

Web design service

Once you have the above services sorted, you need to have think of the website design service to use. You can hire a web designer from a place like Truehost Market Place or even find a web designer through referrals. The other option would be to adopt a DIY approach to creating your website, such as use of website builder. A website builder is a simplified way to create a website, where one does not need to have web development skills, but just basic computer literacy.

Whichever way you choose to create a website, here are the steps.

Steps to Creating a website

1. Find a domain name.
   Remember to keep it simple and short, and it would be an added advantage if it is descriptive of your business so that it can add value to your SEO.
2. Get a web hosting service.
   This would be majorly informed by the nature of the website that you would want to create.
3. Create the content for the website.
   If it is a business website, get all the information regarding the business together so that it will be easy to create the website
4. Plan with SEO in mind.
   Search engine optimization ensures that your website will be found by search engines. For more info on SEO, read HERE.
5. Design the website.
   You can get a web designer or use w website builder tool.
6. Optimize for maximum impact.
   Creating a website is one thing, but making it achieve what you want is something different. Once you have created a website, keep checking to see what needs to be adjusted or changed with time. This can help keep the website ranking high on SEO
7. Keep the website updated.
   A website is like a living organism. It is not just a one-time thing. A website needs constant updates so that users will find value when they visit the website.