Now let’s think for a moment. The Internet is probably the best marketing medium and the Internet is all about websites. So whether you are a large corporate firm or a small single homemaker, you need a website. Let us now discuss ‘How to build your own website’. You basically have 4 broad ways of building your own website:
- If you know any programming, e.g. HTML, then you can get a code editor and thereafter build your own website from scratch. This is the preferred option, but not everyone has these programming skills.
- If you have good design skills, then you can purchase a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) website creator where you don’t need to know any programming. These are getting more popular and most people use this feature without them knowing, e.g. posting on forums.
- If you don’t have either of the above skills, then you can use a range of template-based online website creators. This cuts out the technical stuff, and you’re simple editing and adding to an existing template, a sort of plug and play.
- If you are fortunate enough to have lots of cash, then you can simply pay someone to build a professional website for you depending on your requirements.
Most people wanting their own website would use on of the above methods. But the key is knowing the purpose of your website. Do you simply want to put up a simple 5 page website (known as a static website) promoting an offline business, or maybe an interactive, informational website (known as a dynamic website? Therefore, the purpose of your website, will no doubt define the route to building it.
As an online marketer, though, I have to advocate learning the basics of website design and gaining confidence in building sites. You can start with a simple 5 page website, using a simple point-and-click sitebuilder and then expand as you go on. The best part is that you can have full control of your website.
Nowadays though, you can’t just build a website, you have to build a Search Engine Optimised website, so that when your site goes online, it can be found by the search engines and hence get traffic to your site – I mean there’s no point having a business website if just you and your auntie are viewing it!
Learning how to build your own website is a wonderful skill, and one that can be learnt quite easily. I personally think they should start teaching website design and marketing basics in school. They say knowledge is power – but put that knowledge onto a website and you will no doubt make money. That is real power!
