As you can see, nowadays, everything becomes digital. There are more and more companies that prefer doing their business online. No wonder, everyone wants to take their place on the online market. All in all, bulding a website without coding provides so many opportunities for any business niche. In fact, the ability to save on paying the rent is only one of them. What else do you get when managing a professional online project for your company? To make a long story short, thanks to the properly built website, you can:
- double your audience without extra additional payments,
- find new prospects abroad by making your site multilingual or translation-ready,
- promote lots of products and share all the details regarding the services you provide,
- sell your goods online,
- let people book appointments on your website to further the working process,
- automatically inform your customers about sales, special offers, new arrivals, etc.
Actually, all of these were just to name a few. In 2019, website building does have numerous advantages. That is why, today, everyone wants their online project to be done. Honestly speaking, I can’t name at least one company who would stay on the market without being online. Can you?
So, in case you are going to develop your business, a thoroughly featured company website is just what you need! The good thing is that you can get it without losing a mint of money! To say more, you won’t even need to touch a single line of site code. We live in times of simple, creator-friendly technologies! It means that, in 2019, you can run the website of your dream effortlessly. It’s possible thanks to different ready-made products, like this premium WP Bootstrap theme. Here is one of them called Monstroid2.
Finally, let’s move to my ultimate guide so that you will know how to build a site in a code-free way. There is nothing complicated at all!
Step #1: Choose Your Hosting Provider
As expected, your first step will be choosing and purchasing the hosting plan. However, to do it, you should find the worthy hosting first. As always, the modern market has a lot of web hosting companies for you to choose from. How to choose your one and only provider? Here are the things to consider when looking for a perfect hosting provider:
- hosting price,
- additional options that are available,
- the work of customer support,
- the amount of provided file space,
- and security policy.
Here are the hosting providers that are popular in 2019:
- Bluehost,
- InMotion,
- SiteGround,
- HostGator.
Step #2: Choose Your Hosting Type
Basically, there are 3 main types of hosting to choose from. They are:
- Shared hosting,
- VPS hosting,
- and managed hosting.
And what does it mean? Let’s see!
Shared hosting is a popular option that is widely used nowadays. Even such famous companies as Starbucks use the system for their websites. To put it briefly, shared hosting comes with 1 server which can house hundreds of various online projects. The cost is always split between all domain owners. That’s why this option is lucrative. On average, shared hosting would cost you approximately $5 per month.
However, there are some disadvantages to this hosting type you should know about! Firstly, keep in mind that lotta sites are running from the same hardware. It means that, in case of a coding bug, there can be a lack of memory for your content. And many websites will not work for some time. Secondly, when using shared hosting, you increase website security risks. It’s always easier for intruders to get control over all the projects when they hacked the main site.
Still, if you want to choose this option, here are top companies which provide shared hosting:
VPS (virtual private server) hosting is quite similar to the previous option except it will not cause so many problems. When using VPS hosting, you still have to share hosting with other site owners. However, there will be only a few users. In addition, the hardware is always partitioned equally. It is cool, especially compared to shared hosting that lets a single account use up to 80% of the whole resources. When it comes to VPS hosting, a single account will be able to use only 25% of the resources.
What about hackers, they will have even fewer chances to get your info. Actually, with VPS hosting, it is almost impossible. This hosting type will cost you nearly $15-$20 a month. These are the most popular VPS hosting providers in 2019:
Managed hosting is the system which supports only the websites powered by their CMS. WordPress hosting is the best example of managed hosting. It uses server technology in its own way so that you can see a great difference. Without a doubt, there is a reason why WordPress managed hosting supports only WP-based sites. It is all about security! It provides hosting owner with the full pack that was made exactly for your website. Here is what you get.
- The security levels will be higher.
- The updates will be free and automatic.
- Caching will be server-level.
- Support will also be free, friendly, and available 24/7.
Although you can’t install any other CMS when buying managed hosting, many new items are compatible with different third-party plugins. Finally, don’t forget to view out the web hosting providers reviews!
Step #3: Choose Your Domain Name
Logically, now it is time to choose your domain name. Should I explain to you why this step is so important? Obviously, when you work on an online promo, any detail matters. However, the domain name you choose is gonna be the first thing prospects hear or see about your business. Seeing that, you should choose wisely. Although this step sounds pretty easy, many beginners still fail when choosing their domain names.
So how to choose the right domain name for your business site? When working on this step, keep in mind that the domain name you choose will always identify the site to visitors all over the globe. Here is what you should remember to make a smart choice.
- The domain name you use will influence how people refer to your business site.
- I suggest you look for short domain names because shorter names are always easier to remember. What is more, they are also very easy to type, so here is what you should look for.
- Moreover, whatever your brand is about, the domain name will present it to the online audience. For these simple reasons, your domain name should be brandable too. I want you to make it memorable, so people won’t mix up your site with other projects.
- Prefer catchy domain names! Your final choice should be attention-grabbing enough to attract new users.
- Undeniably, your domain name should contain keywords related to your business. In the end, the closer your domain name is to your business niche, the better it will be for SEO.
To sum everything up, the best domain name is the one which rolls off the tongue. Thus, make sure that it is short, easy-to-type, unique, and niche-specific.
Step #4: Buy Your Domain Name And Not Only
When you are about to get the chosen domain name, there is another topic to think of. Note that:
- if you are serious about your branding and you will continue developing it, you may also need to buy a couple of TLD’s to book your new name;
- when you decided to register something like mybusiness.com, you may want to buy the .net, .org, .info and the local version too;
- and, finally, you will be able to choose the length of your registration domain after you use the default one for 1 year.
Step #5: Choose Your Platform
So, we already have the hosting provider, the plan, and even the domain name. Looks like it is finally time to put all of these together and run your website. To do it, you will need to choose a CMS (Content Management System) first. Needless to say, your choice depends on your own needs and references. Still, I have prepared the list of the most useful platforms. According to the statistics from WebsiteSetUp, in 2019, the most popular website builders (or content management systems) are:
- WordPress (free) 52%
- Wix (paid) 7%
- Joomla (free) 4%
- Progress Sitefinity (free) 4%
- Squarespace (paid) 4%
- Weebly (paid) 2%
If you are looking for a mighty and highly-functional website builder, MotoCMS can serve your purpose. It claims to be appropriate for all the users no matter what coding knowledge they have. Furthermore, it suits all the business niches and their demands. Anyway, it is better to know everything about this website builder in detail.
- It is going to take nothing to choose the most visually-attractive design. The assortment of ready-made templates will impress your imagination. You can promote a small business, corporate services, personal projects, and many other fields.
- Then, when it comes to working with your content, you can experience easy-to-use visual editing. Thanks to a drag-and-drop function, it takes nothing to add your texts, imagery, and other components.
- MotoCMS makes every page of your online-project fully-responsive. It means that your visitors can look through your content using mobile and desktop devices.
- The admin panel includes a set of additional integrations and plugins. A MotoCMS team adds brand-new functionality regularly. Now, you have the freedom to add an appointment manager, contact form, Google Maps, video player, social media options, and others.
- Finally, another way to assure you of being able to build all the website types is to tell about its advanced eCommerce functionality. You can work with different search options, taxes, shipping options, and other functions.
Step #6: Choose Your Website Theme
Finally, here is where the birth of your website will start. As you may know, the modern world is full of different client-oriented products. They are easy-to-use and become simpler and comfier every year. Obviously, the website building process did not make an exception. In 2019, you can design, feature, and run a worthy business site without touching a single line of its code. The days when you needed to hire a professional web developer to get a primitive online page are far behind. Today, you can get it with the ready-made products, like these tech WP themes. There are multiple supporting products you can find on the market. Here are the most popular digital marketplaces to visit:
By the way, some of the named companies (e.g. TemplateMonster and Wix) provide free templates. They are well-designed and feature-rich so you can set up the desired website without overrunning your budget.
To help you to choose the very theme, I listed all the must-haves any beginner needs for the first website. Here is what you should search for when selecting a website theme or template:
- wholly responsive design,
- mobile-friendly or mobile-first design,
- cross-browser compatibility,
- multilingual or translation-ready layouts,
- SEO-ready design,
- drag-and-drop functionality with a real-time mode,
- simple and creator-friendly design,
- visitor-friendly navigation,
- premium plugins,
- addons with different content elements, etc.
Step #7: Create Your Logo
Same to your domain name, the logo you are going to use is extra important. It also represents your company to the whole world, and that is why this step requires your special attention. To start with, make sure that the logo you choose is connected to the niche your company covers. If the logo was designed properly, your prospects would quickly recognize your business among other providers or sellers. Are you ready to design a bright logo for your business site? In this case, don’t forget that it should be:
- memorable,
- eye-friendly,
- eye-catching,
- 100% original,
- simple,
- and meaningful.
Already created the logo? Thus, put it in the top left corner of the website. According to the statistics from Google, it is the most popular place. The visitors of your website are most likely to expect to find your logo there. In addition, I recommend you to link the logo to your main page. It is another feature people will definitely expect from you.
Step #8: Fill Pages With Content
If you have ever tried to work with website themes, you already know that they come ready-made. In other words, the packs of such products already contain different pre-designed pages for such things as:
- Out Team,
- Blog,
- Our Contacts,
- Gallery,
- Shop Page,
- Our Project,
- Customer Feedback, and much more.
Just choose the pages you need and add your content. You can use the pages the way they are or style them up to your taste. All the worthy themes are fully customizable and come with rich, flexible settings for every single element.
Step #9: Add Visual Elements
When your content is where you want it to be, move to the creative part. Needless to say, fashion is such an unpredictable thing! All in all, web design trends appear every day. They become extra popular, replace each other, and even make comebacks. Surely, you don’t need all of these trendy products. However, some of them are your must-haves. As the name of the point says, I recommend you to add some visuals to the website design.
To make a long story short, our brain is a weird and complicated thing. It usually recognizes visual elements faster than other types of information. Furthermore, it also remembers visual info for a longer period of time! Seeing that, you certainly need to get some visuals. Use them to highlight different important details you want people to notice. As always, there are numerous visual web design elements you can find. Here are the most helpful ones:
- various counters,
- call-to-action buttons,
- graphics and infographics,
- progress bars,
- carousels,
- slideshow, etc.
Look for them when choosing your website theme.
Step #10: Create Visitor-Oriented Navigation
At the beginning of this post, I already told you that everything around us becomes more and more comfortable. To make your website a popular place, work on its navigation. You should make it simple and as visitor-friendly as possible. Keep in mind, no matter what people came to your site for, they should find it immediately. Here are a few features that will help you:
- hip hamburger menu that contains lots of info without overloading the pages look,
- easy-to-use website navigation that lets you sort its content with categories and subcategories,
- a trendy sticky menu which remains on the top of the page when a prospect scrolls it down,
- properly designed headers and footers with all the needed buttons and information,
- back-to-top button,
- intuitive search that shows results when a user is typing,
- tags system,
- related products feature, and much more!
Needless to say, I recommend you to look for these features in the pack of your future theme as well.
Step #11: Get Use Of Social Media
In 2019, social media is the thing everyone uses. It already became a big part of our everyday routine. All in all, so is not just a place to communicate. Today, it is a huge online world that can increase your sales and bring new customers to your company. According to the Instagram statistics, only in 2019, there are:
- 1 billion people who use the platform every month,
- 72% of teens use Instagram,
- people like 4.2 billion posts every day,
- 500 million people use Insta stories every day,
- and 60 % of them discover new products on Instagram.
As you can see, social media integration can quickly enlarge your audience. Therefore, I recommend you to link your website to all the popular platforms including Facebook, Tumblr, and Pinterest.
In Summary
Should I say it one more time? As you can see, there is nothing complicated! These days, everyone can run a beautiful and powerful website for their business or personal needs. Thanks to such things as ready-made website themes and WYSIWYG technology, you can set up the desired website in hours. Just make sure that the theme you choose comes with all the must-haves I mentioned above. Good luck!