How to Build Your Own Website in 4 Clear Steps

Looking to build a website for your small business or personal brand? You have come to the right place. I am going to walk you step-by-step through what it takes to build a website on your own.

Think of building a website like building a house. First you select a street, then you lay the foundation, create a floorplan, and finally you build & decorate it.

Now, let’s dive into each of those steps with a little more detail to get you on your way to a streamline and effective online presence.

Here are the key 4 steps to building a website.

Step 1. Choose your domain name.

The domain is the equivalent to your street so choose wisely because you are going to be repeating it a LOT. To that end, make it as easy to say orally as it is to write.

Hard to pronounce words and complicated spellings will only make it more challenging to reiterate on the phone and in your press interviews, which I am sure are on your goal list, as well as for people to find via search.

Then go to services like GoDaddy or Domain.com to purchase the name in every file extension you can. The biggies:

→ .com
→ .co
→ .net
→ .biz
→ .shop (if you are a retailer)

Step 2. Choose your hosting plan.

WordPress, SquareSpace, Wix, ShowIt…the list of options is seemingly endless, but the first two are the most popular.

This is where it’s a good time to talk with a marketing strategist or consultant (not a web developer) about what might be the right option for your business. (I recently did a comparison of Wix vs. SquareSpace vs. WordPress on the DCM Instagram in 2 short videos.)

I stress the “not web developer” part because sadly they often promote the platforms they know the best vs. the one that is right for YOUR business goals. Marketing consultants, like myself, know about all of them and can help you choose what fits your brand and technological needs/capabilities best.

This is the foundation for your house so if it’s not solid, then you’ll be rebuilding before you know it as your business grows.

Step 3. Decide on the pages and information architecture.

This is your floor p​lan. Questions to ask yourself:

→ How many rooms (i.e. pages) do you need?
→ What order should they be in? (i.e. this is your information architecture)

→ Think: top level pages, secondary under those then teriary

→ Where do I want someone to go after reading each page?

No one likes a mucky floor plan with weird twists and turns to get from the front door to the living room. Don’t make it complicated online either!

Step 4. Create the content.

This is the “fun” part people usually want to do most because it’s the graphics, photos, color choices, etc.However, this really does need to be positioned right here in this puzzle, even though it’s the largest piece.

This step is building & decorating the floor plan you just committed to creating. The “building” refers to the page layouts and information architecture (i.e. one page top level, child page nestled under it).

The “decorating” is the:

→ Copy that is compelling to your target audience in fonts that are easy to ready and appealing
→  Custom graphics that draw attention and further emphasize your story/services/products visually
→  Photos that make it personable and approachable to your ideal client/reader

This step takes the most time usually, but the more visually appealing your digital house is and the more it informs/entertains people, the longer they will want to hang out with you.

Spending time leads to liking you, which leads to increased SEO rankings and sales. In marketing we call this the “know like trust” principle.

Know you. Like you. Trust you. Then they buy from you. Boom!

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And of course, should all this seem a little more than you want to take on, the DCM team and I would be happy to build the site for you in a VIP Development Day.